“The Nature of the New Testament Church”

 Ben Bailey

            If a group of people on an unknown island found a Bible, read it  and decided to do exactly what it said, what church would they set up?   These people would not be able to set up many of the denominations we have today because they have no knowledge of the restoration or reformation movements that occurred in our country.  Their only safe option would be to try and establish the church of the first century, and nothing more.  Let us consider two characteristics needed to set up the New Testament church.

The Established Period.  The Bible tells us exactly when the church of the Lord would be established.  In Daniel 2:44, we are told that in the time of the fourth kingdom God would set up a kingdom which would never be destroyed.  Beginning with the time of Daniel in Babylonian rule and going through the Medo-Persian, and Grecian empires there was no new kingdom set up.  God’s people were still under the Old Covenant kingdom.  But, in the time of the fourth kingdom (the Roman empire) God did establish a new kingdom.  Jesus promised He would build His kingdom, which is the church (Matt. 16:18-19).  On the day of Pentecost the preaching of the gospel opened up the “new” kingdom and the Bible says, “The Lord added to the church daily… (Acts 2:47).  From this information we can learn that the church of the Bible was established on the day of Pentecost in A.D. 30.    This is very important to note because most modern man-made denominations began between 1500-1800 A. D.  Most modern churches were established 1500 years too late.  If the church you are a part of was established some other time than A. D. 30, it is not the church of the New Testament.

The Established Place.  The Bible also tells us where the church of the Lord would be established.  In Isa. 2:1-4, God promised that the “Lord’s house” would be established in Zion, which in context is Jerusalem.  It is very important to note that Isaiah cannot be talking about the Old Testament Temple because it was still in existence during the time of Isaiah’s writing.  What is this “house of the Lord” that Isaiah is speaking about?  This phrase refers to the church of the Lord.  In 1 Tim. 3:15 the Bible says that the “house of the Lord…is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth.”   In Jerusalem, on the day of Pentecost, the Lord’s church was established when we are told for the first time “the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:38-47).  Did the church you are a part of begin in Jerusalem or somewhere else?  Please remember that most denominations in existence today began in either the America’s or England.

            Today, it must be our goal to go back to the Bible and establish the first century church.  Remember, the Bible says the church began in A. D. 30 at Jerusalem.  We must stand behind the teaching of the Bible on the one church and its nature!!