Lesson 22

     The Lord is to be glorified by the worship He receives in His church.  In Ephesians 3:21 we read, "To Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus."  But how many churches does the Lord have?  Jesus says in Matthew 16:18, "Upon this rock I will build My church."  The word "My" shows possession and that the church belongs to Jesus.  How many churches did He say He was going to build?  He said, "I will build My church".  The word church is singular not plural.  There is only one true church because the Lord only promised to build His one church.

     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 that 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.  One might as well believe in more than one God as to believe that the Lord has more than one church.

     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 that the body (singular) is the church (singular).  Again the Bible tells us that 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 where did all these other churches come from?  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.  Christ as head over His body, His church, does not have many bodies; if He did He would be a freak.  In the Lord’s scheme of redemption, He has only planned to have one church.  He is going to only save His one church.  Are you in the one church in which Christ is going to save?

     Since we have seen in the Bible that the one body is the one church which the Lord built, and that Christ has only promised to save His one body, His one church, then what is going to happen to the hundreds of different kinds of other 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 that 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."  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 tragedy.

     The one church that Christ purchased with His own blood belongs to Him and the name it wears must honor Him.  We read in Romans 16:16, "The churches of Christ greet you."  This name glorifies and honors Christ, the one who built it.  Other names honor and glorify Martin Luther, the day of Pentecost, the apostles, Rome, Antioch, Nazareth, the Greeks, the Russians, the methodical way of doing things, Christians, the free will, being primitive, southern, missionary, general, the seventh day, science, catholic which means universal, the advent, and the list goes on and on.  Even by their names they do not claim to be Christ’s one church.  Why can’t we give the glory and honor to God and Christ where the honor belongs?

     Obeying such doctrines as the Mormon doctrine, Baptist doctrine, Methodist doctrine, Nazarene doctrine, Lutheran doctrine, Episcopal doctrine, Presbyterian doctrine, Roman Catholic doctrine, Greek Orthodox doctrine, etc. will only make one a member of that particular denomination.  It will not make one a Christian and a member of the Lord’s one true church.  Confronted by so many conflicting doctrines, people are so confused and don’t know what to believe.    

     Today we hear the sincere but mistaken plea to "attend the church of your choice."  Why not attend the church of God’s choice, the only one that Jesus "purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28)?  The church of Christ is the only one the Lord is going to save.  Christ did not shed His blood to purchase any denomination.  Denominations are counterfeits of Christianity.  They may appear to be genuine, but they are not.  One cannot be saved by being a member of a denomination.  If you are not in the Lord's church, the church of Christ, you are lost.  Satan has blinded millions into accepting denominationalism as God's plan.  Instead of accepting the truth regarding the Lord's one true church, man stands in rebellion to God.  God will not accept those as his children who have altered His plan of salvation in any fashion.

     Any church claiming to be the only church Jesus bought with His own blood should be able to prove from the Bible they are that church of the Bible.  Can the church which you are a member prove that it is the one and only church the Lord built?  If you can’t then you will be laboring in vain if you stay in it.  This may sound harsh.  I say this with sincerity and sadness, but it will really be harsh if you are lost in eternity.  We must wake up because this concerns the welfare of our souls and where we will spend eternity.  People too long have ignored what the Lord has said in the Bible.

  Many.

  One, His (possessive) church (singular).

  Four hundred.

3)  (Ephesians 4:4-6) How many bodies are there?

  Many.

  Few.

  One.

5)  (Ephesians 1:21-22) The one body is

  The Lord’s one church.

  All of the different kinds of churches.

  Some of the different kinds of churches.

7)  (Colossians 1:18) Besides Christ being the head of the church

  People are to have the preeminence in the church in all things.

  Christ is to have the preeminence in only some things.

  Christ is to have the preeminence in all things.

9)  (Ephesians 5:23) Besides being the head of His body, His church

  Christ is the saviour of His body, His church.

  Christ is the saviour of many different bodies, many kinds of churches.

  Christ is not the saviour of His church.

11)  (Matthew 15:13) What will happen to the plants (religious organizations) that God did not plant?

  God will continue to water them.

  They will be rooted up.

  They will all be saved.

13)  (Psalms 127:1) If the Lord did not build the house (church)

  They labor in vain that build it.

  They do not labor in vain that build it.

  God will still accept them also.

15)  (Romans 16:16) The name the church is referred to should glorify

  The Jewish day of Pentecost.

  Martin Luther.

  Christ.

16)    Even by the different names the vast majority of denominations wear, they do not even claim to be Christ’s one church.

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