There is one other thing that concerns our salvation
that I would like for us to look at in the Bible. In response to Peterís
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. The Lord only promised to build His
one church.
In Ephesians 4:4-6
there are seven ones listed: "There is onebody,
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.
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
Godís 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.
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 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." 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 that men have built, each with a
different creed. We must recognize the difference between the church
the Lord built and the many counterfeit churches men have built. 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)
There is only one body. 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 which God has not planted God will accept. God will water and cultivate. Shall be rooted
up.
12)
Those plants which God planted shall be saved. 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.