There is one other thing that concerns
our salvation I would like for us to look at in the Bible. In response
to Peter’s confession to Jesus in Matthew 16:16 that, "You
are the Christ, the Son of the living God". Jesus then says in Matthew
16:18, "On this rock I will build My church."
To whom was this church to belong? "My" is possessive, which
shows the church belongs to Jesus. How many churches did Jesus say
He was going to build? He said He was going to build "My church",
which is singular not plural. There is only one true church because
the Lord only promised to build His one church. In the Bible the
word "church" never refers to a material building, but to the people.
In Ephesians 4:4-6 there are
seven ones listed: "There is one body,
and one Spirit, even as you were called in
one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one
baptism, one God and Father of all who is above all, and through
all, and in you all." Just as there is only one God and only
one Lord we also see there is only one body.
The Bible says there is only one body; so what is this one
body? In Ephesians 1:21-22 we find out what this one body
is, "And He put all things under His feet, and
gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His
body." Here we see the Bible says the church is the
body. So if there is only one body and the one
body is the church, then there can only be one
church that belongs to the Lord. There is only one church
in God's plan for saving man. One might as well believe in more than
one God as to believe the Lord has more than one church. The one
body, the one church, is not composed of any of the many differing denominations
of our day.
In Colossians 1:18 in speaking
of Christ, we read, "And He is the head of the
body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;
that in all things He may have the preeminence." Here
again we see the body (singular) is the church (singular). Again
the Bible tells us the Lord has only one church. We also see that
in all things Christ is to have the preeminence. For Christ
to have the preeminence in all things, we must follow Christ in all things
and not follow man. If we follow men in some things then Christ does
not have the preeminence in all things.
Since Christ only built His one
church, we need to ask from where did all these other churches come?
The only answer is they were built by men, so men could "attend the church
of their choice", and not God’s choice. We read in Ephesians 5:23,
"Christ is the head of the church, and he
is the savior of the body." Christ is only the saviour
of His one body, His one church. He is going to only save His one
church, the only one for which He died. One cannot be saved outside
of the Lord's one church. If one is not in the Lord's one true church,
he is lost.
We have seen in the Bible that
the one body is the one church, which the Lord built. We have also
seen that Christ has only promised to save His one body, His one church.
What then is going to happen to the hundreds of different kinds of denominational
churches we see in existence today? Again let us let God answer this
question. In Matthew 15:13 Jesus said, "Every
plant, which my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted."
What will happen to all those churches God did not plant? They will
be rooted up. This is what God has said He will do. This is
frightening. I want to make sure I am in the Lord’s church, the only
one He is going to save.
In Psalms 127:1 we read, "Except
the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it."
No one has the right to start a church or religious organization that is
different from the one Jesus built. But we see hundreds of different
kinds of churches men have built, each with a different creed. Man
did not build the Lord's church. We must recognize the difference
between the church the Lord built and the many counterfeit churches men
have built. What will happen to the people who are in the many different
denominational churches? They will all be lost. If you are
a member of a denomination then you are not in the saving body of Christ,
and you will be lost. Why not be a member of the church that Jesus
built, the church of Christ so you can go to heaven? This is a sad
but serious situation; one that concerns me greatly and causes me much
grief and sorrow to see honest people, who are honestly mistaken, laboring
in vain. This is a supreme tragedy.
Questions Lesson 22
The Lord's Church
(Part A)
(click on the button of the
answer of your choice)
1) (Matthew 16:18) How many different churches did
the Lord say he was going to build?
Many
so we could attend the church of our choice.
More
than 500.
My
(possessive) Church (singular), in other words one.
2) Christ
built only His church.
3) (Ephesians 4:4-6) There are how many bodies?
One.
One
hundred.
One
thousand
4) The
Lord has many bodies.
5) (Ephesians 1:21-22) What is this one body?
There
is not one body but many bodies.
All
the different kinds of churches.
The
(Lord's) Church.
6) The
Lord only has His one body, the church.
7) (Colossians 1:18) Christ is the head of
The
body, the church.
Many
different kinds of churches.
No
church.
8) Christ
is the head of all different kinds of churches.
9) (Ephesians 5:23) Christ is going to save
His
body which is His Church.
All
the different religious bodies (churches).
No
church.
10) Christ
is the Saviour of the church He established.
11) (Matthew 15:13) Those plants (churches) which
God has not planted
God
will accept.
God
will water and cultivate.
Shall
be rooted up.
12) Those
who are in churches which God has not planted shall be lost.
13) (Psalms 127:1) If the Lord has not built the
house
They
labor in vain who build it.
It
doesn't matter if the Lord has not built it.
Those
who labor in it are accepted.
14) People
labor in vain if they are in a house the Lord did not build.