The Nature of the New Testament Church

Ben Bailey

        Two thousand years after the institution of the Lord’s church, the ideal of the New Testament church has almost become lost.  In a world where an individual can find a denomination that believes and practices almost anything, it has become increasingly difficult to identify the New Testament church.  To identify the Lord’s church in the midst of all this denominational chaos, we must first identify what the church is not.

Not A Building.   The Church of Christ is not composed of walls, ceilings and pews.  The bold martyr Stephen proclaimed, “God does not dwell in temples made with hands…” (Acts 7:48-50).   Even during the time of the Israelites God did not want his people to trust in the temple.  In Jeremiah, the people were crying out “The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord” (Jer. 7:4).  Yet, their trust in the building did not save them from the impending Babylonian exile (Jer. 25:9-12).  Buildings burn, temples fall, yet the church of the living God will stand forever because it is comprised of individuals (1 Cor. 12:27).  May we never let our sanctuary become our cemetery. The Church of Christ is not a building.

Not a Denomination.  The word denomination by its very definition is in direct contradiction with the New Testament pattern.  Denomination means to call by or name something after another.  In the New Testament, the idea of naming the church after a person other than Christ is strongly condemned.  Paul said to the Corinthians, “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10).  In this context, Paul is dealing with the root problem of denominationalism.  Some were saying, “ I am of Paul, or I am Apollos, or I am of Cephas” (1 Cor. 1:12).  Paul points out that denomination is division by asking them, “Is Christ divided?  Was Paul crucified for you?  Or, were you baptized in the name of Paul” (1 Cor. 1:13)?  For anyone who desires to have a church named after them, Paul sets down two simple criteria.  First, one must be crucified as a sinless sacrifice for his followers. No person on earth today can serve as a sinless sacrifice (Heb. 10:12,Rom. 3:23).  Second, the leader of any group must have the God given authority to command baptism in his name.  In the New Testament there is no authority for baptizing into any man’s name, except Christ (Matt. 28:18-20).  Therefore, denominationalism violates the pattern of the New Testament church.  The Church of Christ is not a denomination.

        Today, we can and must be the church of the first century.  To identify the New Testament church we must put aside all bias, denominationalism and human creeds.  We must go back to Bible, and study the original blueprint in restoring the New Testament church. Is your congregation following this original blueprint?

Ben Bailey, McLish Ave. Church of Christ