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Where In The Bible Will I Find... The Church That Jesus Built?
Gary Colley |
All should be searching intently today for the New Testament church promised by Christ and built on Pentecost (Matt. 16:18-19). Every saved person was and is added to this church (Acts 2:47). Though there were already religions in the world when Christ came, He came to make the world religiously right (Jn. 10:10). Christ's church came into existence before either the Catholic or Protestant denominations (Acts 2). He does not approve of religious division (Jn. 17:20-21; 1 Cor. 1:10-13). We should be satisfied to be members of none other but His church (Acts 4:12). Christ's kingdom is not a physically warring sect, although we are to "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." (Jude 3; 1 Tim. 6:12). There are no earthly headquarters for the church that Jesus built, and Christ is the only head of the church (Jn. 18:38; Acts 2:25, 33). To be sure, the Lord knows His church from all others, and that His church acts in complete harmony with His revealed word in worship and work (Jn. 8:31-32; 10:10). As then, each congregation now is independent of all others and is responsible for taking the New Testament as its sole authority in religion (1 Cor. 1:10). Though 2,000 years have passed since its beginning, we still have the same church founded upon the word of God because of the same planted seed of truth in the hearts of men. This brings forth Christians exactly like those of the first century (Lk. 8:11-15). ". . . Seek and ye shall find . . ." (Matt. 7:7). |