WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BELONG TO CHRIST’S CHURCH TODAY?
After studying so many divisions, how can we recognize the church Jesus established?
We began this series with a simple question:
If Jesus established one church, how did Christianity become divided into so many churches?
We have followed the history through the growth of bishops, the claims of Rome, the division between East and West, the Protestant Reformation, and the movements that followed.
We have examined disagreements about baptism, worship, church leadership, salvation, spiritual gifts, prophecy, and religious authority.
We have also studied movements that claimed Christianity needed to be restored.
Now we come to a question that concerns every reader personally:
After all these centuries of division, what does it mean to belong to Christ’s church today?
We will not answer by choosing a modern religious organization and declaring that everyone outside it is lost.
Neither will we pretend that what a person believes and practices makes no difference.
We will begin where we should have begun all along.
With Christ and His apostles.
1. WHO ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH?
Read Matthew 16:13–18.
Jesus asked His disciples who they believed He was.
Peter answered:
“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” — Matthew 16:16, KJV
Jesus then said:
“I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” — Matthew 16:18, KJV
Notice whose church it is.
Jesus said, “my church.”
He did not describe it as Peter’s church, Paul’s church, or the property of a later religious organization.
Whatever conclusions Christians reach about Peter’s role in this passage, the church belongs to Christ.
That must remain our starting point.
2. WHEN DO WE FIRST SEE THE CHURCH IN ACTION?
Read Acts 2.
Peter proclaimed the death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus.
He concluded:
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” — Acts 2:36, KJV
The people who heard him were convicted and asked what they should do.
Peter told them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.
Read Acts 2:37–41.
Those who received his word were baptized.
Then Luke describes the life of the growing community of believers.
Read Acts 2:42–47.
They continued in the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers.
They shared with those in need, praised God, and lived as a community of people who belonged to Christ.
This is where our study of the church should begin—not with a later building, title, creed, or denominational structure.
3. WHO ADDED PEOPLE TO THE CHURCH?
Read Acts 2:47.
Luke says:
“And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” — Acts 2:47, KJV
The church was not presented as an organization that people invented and then invited Jesus to approve.
The Lord was adding people to His people.
That distinction matters.
We may help establish a congregation in a new location.
We may arrange a place to meet.
We may organize teaching and benevolent work.
But we do not create Christ’s church or determine who belongs to Him by giving our congregation a particular name.
Christ is the Savior and head of His people.
4. WHAT DOES THE WORD “CHURCH” MEAN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT?
The Greek word commonly translated church is ekklesia.
It refers to an assembly or gathering of people. In the New Testament, the word is used for Christ’s people collectively and for particular congregations.
Read 1 Corinthians 1:2.
Paul addresses the church of God at Corinth.
Read Galatians 1:2.
He writes to the churches of Galatia.
Read Romans 16:5.
Paul refers to a church meeting in a home.
The church is not the building in which Christians meet.
A congregation may assemble in a house, a rented room, a school, or a building constructed for worship.
The location does not make the people Christ’s church.
Their relationship to Christ is what matters.
5. IS THE CHURCH A BUILDING OR A PEOPLE?
Read 1 Peter 2:4–5.
Peter describes Christians as living stones being built into a spiritual house.
Read Ephesians 2:19–22.
Paul describes believers as members of God’s household, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone.
He says that believers are being built together into a dwelling place for God.
The language is striking.
Under the old covenant, the temple was associated with God’s dwelling among His people.
Under the new covenant, God’s people themselves are described as His dwelling.
A building may be useful.
It may provide shelter, room for teaching, and a place for Christians to gather.
But a building does not become Christ’s church merely because someone places the word church on its sign.
The people are the church.
6. WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH?
Read Ephesians 1:20–23.
God exalted Christ and gave Him as head over all things to the church.
Paul calls the church Christ’s body.
Read Colossians 1:18.
“And he is the head of the body, the church...” — Colossians 1:18, KJV
The church has one head.
Christ.
Elders may shepherd congregations.
Evangelists may proclaim the gospel.
Teachers may help believers understand Scripture.
But none of them replaces Christ as head of His body.
Every claim of religious authority must be examined in light of that relationship.
7. DOES THE NEW TESTAMENT SPEAK OF ONE CHURCH OR MANY CHURCHES?
Both expressions appear, but they refer to different aspects of the same subject.
Read Ephesians 4:4.
“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.” — Ephesians 4:4, KJV
Read Ephesians 1:22–23.
Paul identifies the church as Christ’s body.
In that sense, there is one church: the people who belong to Christ.
But the New Testament also speaks of churches in different places.
There were congregations in Jerusalem, Antioch, Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, and many other locations.
They were not separate bodies with separate heads.
They were local communities of people who belonged to the same Lord.
The distinction between Christ’s one body and its local congregations helps us avoid confusing the universal church with a particular modern institution.
8. DOES A CONGREGATION’S NAME ESTABLISH THAT IT BELONGS TO CHRIST?
No.
The New Testament uses several descriptions for congregations and for God’s people.
Paul writes of churches of Christ in Romans 16:16.
He also writes of the church of God in 1 Corinthians 1:2.
Other passages describe believers as saints, brethren, disciples, and members of God’s household.
These expressions identify relationships and characteristics.
They do not establish a rule that one particular arrangement of words on a sign guarantees a congregation’s faithfulness.
A congregation may use a biblical name and still depart from biblical teaching.
Another congregation may use a different descriptive name while sincerely seeking to follow Christ.
We should examine what a congregation teaches and practices rather than assume that its name settles the question.
9. HOW DID PEOPLE BECOME CHRISTIANS IN THE BOOK OF ACTS?
Read Acts 2:36–41.
Peter proclaimed Jesus as Lord and Christ. His hearers were told to repent and be baptized.
Read Acts 8:26–39.
Philip preached Jesus to the Ethiopian official, who was then baptized.
Read Acts 10:34–48.
Peter proclaimed Jesus to Cornelius and his household. After the Holy Spirit came upon them, Peter commanded them to be baptized.
Read Acts 16:25–34.
Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to the Philippian jailer and his household, and they were baptized.
The accounts differ in their circumstances, but they direct our attention to the gospel of Jesus Christ and the response of those who received it.
They do not describe people joining a denomination that would be established centuries later.
10. WHAT DOES THE NEW TESTAMENT SAY ABOUT BAPTISM AND BELONGING TO CHRIST?
Read Romans 6:3–4.
Paul connects baptism into Christ with participation in His death and resurrection.
Read Galatians 3:26–27.
Paul writes:
“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” — Galatians 3:27, KJV
Read Acts 22:16.
Ananias instructed Saul to arise, be baptized, and wash away his sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
These passages deserve careful study.
Christians disagree about the relationship between faith, repentance, baptism, and salvation.
But we should not resolve those disagreements merely by appealing to a later church tradition.
We should examine what the apostles taught and how people responded to the gospel in the New Testament.
Our concern is not to decide the eternal destiny of every person whose circumstances or understanding differ from ours.
Our responsibility is to teach faithfully what Scripture says.
11. DID THE APOSTLES REQUIRE CHRISTIANS TO JOIN A PARTICULAR DENOMINATION?
No.
The denominations we have studied did not exist in the first century.
The apostles called people to faith in Jesus Christ.
They taught believers to be baptized, to continue in the apostolic teaching, and to live together as members of Christ’s body.
Read Acts 2:41–42.
Read 1 Corinthians 12:12–27.
Read Ephesians 4:1–6.
The New Testament’s emphasis is on belonging to Christ and sharing life with His people.
This does not mean that the teaching and practice of a congregation are unimportant.
It means that a later denominational identity is not the foundation of membership in Christ’s body.
12. DOES THAT MEAN DOCTRINE DOES NOT MATTER?
Certainly not.
Read Acts 2:42.
The first believers continued in the apostles’ doctrine.
Read 1 Timothy 4:16.
Paul instructed Timothy to take heed to himself and to his teaching.
Read Titus 1:9.
An elder was to hold fast the faithful word so that he could encourage others by sound teaching and answer those who opposed it.
Truth matters because Christ matters.
But there is a difference between taking apostolic teaching seriously and assuming that every conclusion reached by our own congregation has the same authority as the words of the apostles.
We must be willing to distinguish the two.
13. DOES EVERY DISAGREEMENT MEAN THAT ONE PERSON IS OUTSIDE CHRIST’S CHURCH?
Read Romans 14.
Paul addresses believers who disagree about food and the observance of days.
He does not tell them to form separate churches.
He tells them to stop despising and judging one another over the matters under discussion.
Read Romans 14:4.
“Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth.” — Romans 14:4, KJV
That does not mean every teaching is optional.
Paul opposed a different gospel in Galatians 1 and confronted serious sin in 1 Corinthians 5.
The New Testament distinguishes between disagreements that believers must bear with patience and matters that threaten the gospel or the congregation’s faithfulness.
We need to make those distinctions carefully rather than treating every disagreement as though it were identical.
14. CAN A PERSON BELONG TO CHRIST WHILE HOLDING A MISTAKEN INTERPRETATION?
The New Testament shows that believers can misunderstand important matters and need correction.
Read Acts 18:24–28.
Apollos was an eloquent teacher who knew the Scriptures and taught accurately what he knew about Jesus, but his understanding was incomplete.
Priscilla and Aquila explained the way of God to him more fully.
Read Galatians 2:11–14.
Paul confronted Peter over conduct that was inconsistent with the truth of the gospel.
Peter’s error was serious, but Paul’s response was to confront and correct him.
These accounts remind us that Christians need teaching, correction, and growth.
We should not confuse our ability to identify an error with the authority to pronounce final judgment upon the person who holds it.
15. WHO KNOWS EVERY PERSON WHO TRULY BELONGS TO CHRIST?
Read 2 Timothy 2:19.
“The Lord knoweth them that are his.” — 2 Timothy 2:19, KJV
That statement should make us careful.
We can examine what a person teaches.
We can compare a congregation’s practices with Scripture.
We can explain why we believe a particular doctrine is mistaken.
But we do not possess God’s complete knowledge of every person’s heart, understanding, opportunities, and response to Him.
That does not remove our responsibility to teach the gospel.
It reminds us that final judgment belongs to God.
16. DOES THE NEW TESTAMENT EXPECT CHRISTIANS TO GATHER WITH OTHER BELIEVERS?
Yes.
Read Acts 2:42–47.
The first Christians shared teaching, fellowship, prayer, and care for one another.
Read Hebrews 10:24–25.
Believers were urged to encourage one another and not abandon their assembling together.
Read 1 Corinthians 12:12–27.
Paul describes Christians as members of one body who need one another.
Christianity is not presented merely as an isolated private belief.
Believers are called into a shared life of worship, teaching, encouragement, service, and love.
But the New Testament does not make ownership of a church building a condition of that fellowship.
17. CAN CHRISTIANS MEET IN A HOME?
Yes.
Read Romans 16:3–5.
Paul refers to the church meeting in the home of Priscilla and Aquila.
Read Colossians 4:15.
He refers to a church meeting in Nymphas’s house.
Read Philemon 1–2.
Paul addresses the church meeting in Philemon’s house.
A congregation does not cease to be a congregation because it meets in a home.
The important questions concern the people, their relationship to Christ, their teaching, and their shared life as believers.
A building may assist the work of a congregation.
It does not give the congregation its identity.
18. WHAT LEADERSHIP DID THE APOSTLES PROVIDE FOR LOCAL CONGREGATIONS?
Read Acts 14:23.
Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in the churches.
Read Acts 20:17–28.
Paul called the elders of the Ephesian church and instructed them to shepherd the congregation.
Read Titus 1:5–9.
Titus was instructed to appoint elders, and Paul described the qualifications required.
Read 1 Peter 5:1–4.
Peter urged elders to shepherd God’s flock willingly and without exercising domineering control.
These passages establish the importance of qualified leadership and responsible care for believers.
But they also direct our attention to the limits of human authority.
Elders are shepherds under Christ.
They do not become owners of His people.
19. DOES THE NEW TESTAMENT PLACE EVERY CONGREGATION UNDER A WORLDWIDE HUMAN HEAD?
The New Testament identifies Christ as head of the church.
Read Ephesians 1:22–23 and Colossians 1:18.
It also describes apostles exercising authority, elders shepherding congregations, and believers cooperating across congregational boundaries.
Christians have reached different conclusions about how those passages relate to later forms of church government.
But no passage explicitly identifies a permanent worldwide human office that replaces Christ as head of His body.
Any claim that a particular modern office or governing organization possesses binding authority over all Christians must be examined from the passages offered in its support.
That standard applies to every tradition.
20. CAN CONGREGATIONS COOPERATE WITHOUT BECOMING ONE CENTRALIZED ORGANIZATION?
The New Testament shows congregations cooperating in the work of the gospel and in caring for believers.
Read 2 Corinthians 8–9.
Several congregations participated in providing assistance to Christians in need.
Read Philippians 4:14–18.
The Philippian believers supported Paul’s work.
Read Acts 15.
The apostles and elders in Jerusalem addressed a dispute affecting Gentile believers.
These passages show that congregations were not required to operate in complete isolation.
But cooperation and centralized control are not the same thing.
When Christians establish arrangements to work together, they should ask whether those arrangements serve the work Christ has given His people or impose authority that Scripture has not established.
21. HOW CAN WE RECOGNIZE A CONGREGATION THAT IS SEEKING TO FOLLOW CHRIST?
We should begin with what the New Testament emphasizes.
Does the congregation proclaim Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, crucified and raised from the dead?
Does it teach people to respond to His gospel?
Does it continue in the apostles’ teaching?
Does it seek to worship God in spirit and truth?
Does it care for its members and for those in need?
Does its leadership serve rather than dominate?
Does it encourage believers to examine Scripture?
Does it correct error while showing patience and love?
These questions do not provide us with a mechanical test by which we can pronounce final judgment upon every congregation.
They help us examine whether a congregation’s teaching and life reflect the instructions Christ gave His people.
22. WHAT PLACE DOES LOVE HAVE IN IDENTIFYING CHRIST’S DISCIPLES?
Read John 13:34–35.
Jesus told His disciples:
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” — John 13:35, KJV
Read 1 Corinthians 13.
Paul explains that impressive gifts and sacrifices are empty without love.
Read Ephesians 4:1–3.
Christians are urged to walk with humility, patience, and love while preserving the unity of the Spirit.
Love does not make truth unimportant.
Neither does a claim to possess truth excuse harshness, pride, or contempt.
A congregation that claims to follow the apostolic pattern should examine not only its organization and worship but also the way its members treat one another.
23. CAN A CONGREGATION CLAIM TO FOLLOW THE NEW TESTAMENT AND STILL DEVELOP HUMAN TRADITIONS?
Yes.
A congregation may begin with a sincere desire to follow Scripture and gradually develop familiar ways of doing things.
Some customs may be useful.
Others may become so established that members begin treating them as though they were commands from God.
Read Mark 7:6–13.
Jesus condemned the practice of placing human tradition above God’s command.
But read 2 Thessalonians 2:15.
Paul instructed believers to hold to the apostolic teaching they had received.
The problem is not that Christians have customs.
The problem arises when a human custom is given the authority of divine instruction.
We should be willing to examine the traditions of our own congregations just as carefully as we examine those of other churches.
24. WHAT IF WE DISCOVER THAT OUR CONGREGATION IS WRONG ABOUT SOMETHING?
Then we should return to Scripture and examine the matter carefully.
Read Acts 18:24–28.
Apollos received fuller instruction.
Read Galatians 2:11–14.
Peter was corrected when his conduct was inconsistent with the gospel.
Read 2 Timothy 2:24–26.
Paul instructed the Lord’s servant to teach with patience and gentleness.
Correction should not begin with the assumption that everyone who disagrees with us is dishonest or rebellious.
We should explain the passage, show our reasoning, listen to objections, and remain willing to examine our own conclusions.
If we discover that we have been wrong, faithfulness requires us to change.
25. DOES BELONGING TO CHRIST REQUIRE US TO KNOW THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH?
No.
A person does not need to understand every council, creed, division, or nineteenth-century religious movement before responding to the gospel.
The people who heard Peter on Pentecost did not need two thousand years of church history.
They needed to hear the message about Jesus and respond to Him.
So why have we spent so much time studying history?
Because history helps us understand how later teachings, practices, and institutions developed.
It can help us identify questions that deserve closer biblical examination.
But history does not replace the gospel.
Our study of the past should lead us back to Christ, not away from Him.
26. WHAT SHOULD WE DO WHEN WE ENCOUNTER A CHURCH THAT TEACHES SOMETHING DIFFERENTLY?
Begin by understanding what it actually teaches.
Do not assume that every member understands every doctrine in the same way.
Do not rely on a hostile description supplied by an opposing group.
Ask what passages the congregation uses and how it understands them.
Then examine those passages in context.
Distinguish what Scripture explicitly says from what the congregation infers.
Apply the same standard to your own interpretation.
You may still conclude that a teaching is mistaken.
But your conclusion should rest upon the text, not upon a denominational label or an inherited prejudice.
27. WHAT IF SOMEONE ASKS, “WHICH CHURCH SHOULD I JOIN?”
The New Testament directs us first to Christ.
Read Acts 2:36–42.
The people who received the gospel responded to it and became part of the community of believers.
If someone is seeking a congregation today, the important questions concern its teaching and life.
Does it proclaim the apostolic gospel?
Does it encourage people to follow Christ?
Does it teach and practice what Scripture requires?
Does it help believers grow in faith, love, holiness, and service?
Does it allow its own teachings and practices to be examined by Scripture?
Those questions are more useful than assuming that a particular name, building, historical succession, or organizational affiliation settles the matter.
28. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BELONG TO CHRIST’S CHURCH TODAY?
It means belonging to Christ.
That is where the New Testament places the emphasis.
Read Galatians 3:26–29.
Paul describes believers as children of God through faith in Christ Jesus and speaks of those baptized into Christ as having put on Christ.
Read 1 Corinthians 12:12–13.
Paul describes believers as members of one body.
Read Ephesians 4:4–6.
There is one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.
Christ’s church is not made into His church by the decisions of a later religious leader.
It is His body.
Our responsibility is to respond to His gospel, continue in His teaching, share life with His people, and follow Him faithfully.
29. WHERE SHOULD THIS ENTIRE SERIES LEAVE US?
We have traveled a long way.
We began with the church described in the New Testament.
We examined the development of bishops and claims of authority.
We followed the division between East and West.
We studied the Reformation and the many movements that followed.
We examined groups that called Christians back to the apostolic text and others that claimed lost truth or authority had been restored through later revelation or interpretation.
We have seen how sincere people can disagree.
We have also seen how easily a religious movement can develop traditions and structures that its founders never intended.
But the purpose of this series has never been to give readers another human authority to follow without question.
It has been to encourage us to examine every claim by returning to Scripture.
That includes claims made by our own congregations.
It includes conclusions reached in these studies.
And it includes our understanding of what it means to belong to Christ’s church.
Jesus said:
“I will build my church...” — Matthew 16:18, KJV
Paul said:
“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” — 1 Corinthians 3:11, KJV
Those statements bring us back to the beginning.
The church belongs to Christ.
He is its foundation and its head.
Our task is not to build a religious identity around the claim that we have finally answered every question correctly.
Our task is to hear His word, respond to His gospel, love His people, and remain faithful to Him.
TEXT B4 TRADITION
Read First. Conclude Later.
RETURN TO MAIN SERIES: ONE CHURCH, SO MANY DIVISIONS—WHAT HAPPENED?