Teaching Guidelines:
- You may choose to complete this topic in one session.
- The goal of this class is to help truth seekers understand the significance and qualifications of the one true church as well as its importance to our salvation
Presentation slides:
▶️ Slides on Church for use in class
Why Is Church Important?
Meaning of “Church” in the Bible
When we hear the word “church,” images of chapels with steeples or beautiful cathedrals may come to mind. That is because we often associate the word with buildings where people gather to worship. But when the Bible speaks about the church, it hardly ever mentions any physical building. Instead, when we come across the word “church” in the Bible, it is about the people who belong to Jesus Christ.
So when Paul writes to the church in Corinth, his opening words read,
To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: (1 Corinthians 1:2)
As we can see, the church is not a building, but those who have been made holy in the Lord Jesus Christ and who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the Bible, the word for “church” means “assembly.” So a church is an assembly of believers of Christ who have been made holy in Jesus Christ. A church can be local, referring to a congregation of believers in a certain locale. But it can also be a term for believers of all times and places. In short, the church is the collective body of all the believers of Jesus Christ.
The Body of Christ
According to the Bible, the church is more than the gathering of believers. The church is closely connected to the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul tells his Christian readers in his letter:
Now you are the body of Christ, and individually members of it. (1 Corinthians 12:27)
Believers are the body of Christ. Every individual believer is a member of this body of Christ. The collective body of all the believers is joined to our Lord Jesus. Moreover, Christ is the head of the body, the church.
And he is the head of the body, the church. (Colossians 1:18a)
The church is a spiritually living body that is inseparable from the Lord Jesus. Just as the body is connected to the head, and the head directs the entire body, the church is connected to the Lord Jesus and He is the Lord of the entire church.
In light of this biblical teaching, we know that once we become a believer of the Lord Jesus and are baptized into Christ, we become members of the body of Christ. Any individual member of the body cannot be separated from the body and belong only to the head.
[S]o we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. (Romans 12:5)
Just as we are joined to Christ, believers are also joined to one another. We cannot say I belong to the Lord Jesus only and have nothing to do with the church. To belong to Christ is to also belong to His body, the church.
The Church and Salvation
Before the Lord Jesus returned to heaven, He gave His disciples the commission to bring the good news of salvation to the whole world. He told them,
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28:19)
Jesus commanded His disciples to make disciples by baptizing them. This is exactly what the disciples did. After they had received the Holy Spirit, the disciples baptized converts in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins. Those who were baptized were saved and added to the church. So the church is the means by which our Lord Jesus Christ imparts His salvation to us.
For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. (Ephesians 5:23)
Christ is the head of the church. The church is His body, and Christ is the Savior of the church. If Christ is the Savior of the church, all the believers together receive salvation from Christ, not only as individuals, but also as a collective body.
For this reason, the Bible also teaches that Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that he might sanctify the church, having cleansed the church by the washing of water with the word (Ephesians 5:25-26). Likewise, the Bible also tells us that God obtained the church with His own blood.
In all these biblical teachings, we see that the salvation the Lord Jesus gives us is inseparable from His church. We who are saved by the Lord are already brought into His church and joined together as His body.
There Is One Body
Today, there are tens of thousands of Christian denominations in the world. By denomination we mean distinct religious bodies. Even though Christians in general all confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, people are divided into separate bodies because of doctrinal differences. This reality is quite different from the Bible’s understanding of the one body of Christ.
One Body in the Bible
When the Bible uses the plural term, “churches,” it does not mean separate Christian denominations but Christians who lived in different physical locations. The concept of many Christian groups that divide along doctrinal lines is foreign to the Bible. When speaking of the entire assembly of believers regardless of location, the Bible uses the singular term “church.”
For example, we read in Ephesians,
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, (Ephesians 5:25)
The relationship between Christ and the church is like that of a husband and a wife. Just as a husband has only one wife, Christ has only one church. In fact, the church is so intimately joined to Christ that the Bible calls the church the body of Christ. When describing the church as “the body of Christ,” the Bible consistently uses the singular, “body of Christ,” never the plural form “bodies of Christ.” Just as the head has only one body, Christ also has only one body.
So the Bible repeatedly talks about the church as one body.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:15)
Believers are called in one body, not different denominations or religious bodies. To be joined to our Lord Jesus Christ, we need to be members of the one body of Christ
Members of One Body
Is it possible that the many denominations we see today are all part of the one body of Christ? Shouldn’t all the denominations accept each other and work together as different members of one body? But this is not what the Bible means when it talks about members of the body of Christ.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. (1 Corinthians 12:27)
Members of the body of Christ, according to the Bible, are individuals, not denominations. The reason that there are so many denominations is that they are not able to agree on their fundamental beliefs. One group may believe that baptism is necessary for salvation, whereas another group may view baptism as simply a rite without any saving effects. Such opposing views are incompatible with one another. When we look at the body of Christ in the Bible, members of the church did not hold such diverging basic beliefs. Instead, they all held a common faith regarding salvation.
Jesus Builds One Church
The Lord Jesus told Peter,
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18)
The Lord Jesus promised that He would build one church, not many churches.
In His departing prayer, the Lord also asked the Father to make all the believers one.
Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. (John 17:11b)
Through the cross, our Lord Jesus Christ created one body. He founded one church with His precious blood.
[A]nd might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. (Ephesians 2:16)
God’s plan of salvation was to establish one body of believers, not many separate bodies. We can see from the history of the church in the Bible that this was how the church was built and grew.
Expansion of One Church
After Jesus had resurrected and ascended to heaven, He poured out His Holy Spirit and established one church. The disciples, in obedience to Jesus’s command, went out and preached the good news to others. Those who believed and were baptized were added to the church. The disciples would also go and pray for converts that they would receive the Holy Spirit.
Throughout the Bible, the church remained as one body even as it expanded across continents. All the Christians originated from the same group of believers, and all the believers were joined together. We do not see new groups of Christians beginning their own denominations.
In the eyes of God, there can only be one church, the one body of Christ. In the next segment, we will find out how we can find this one church today and become members of this one body of Christ.
Where Is the One True Church Today?
If there is one church and one body of Christ, out of all the Christian groups today, which church is that one church and one body?
A key concept to bear in mind is that the church is not established by man. In the world, like-minded people can get together and start an organization. But that is not how the church in the Bible is established. According to the Bible, it is God who establishes His church. Just as God built His church in the New Testament era, He also builds His church today in the same way. If we want to find the one body of Christ today, we need to find the church that He Himself builds.
This is not a question about whether one church is better than another church. The body of Christ does not belong to individuals, but belongs to Christ alone. All of us need to know where Christ’s body is and be joined to this body.
Pouring out of the Holy Spirit
How did the church in the New Testament begin? After the Lord Jesus ascended to heaven, He poured out the Holy Spirit on His followers, and they all began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. On that very same day, the apostles began to preach baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. Those who were baptized were given the promise of the Holy Spirit.
As the church began to spread to other regions, God also poured out the Holy Spirit on those who believed. For example, when the good news of Jesus Christ reached the city of Samaria, no one received the Holy Spirit. So the church in Jerusalem sent apostles to Samaria to pray for and lay hands on those who had been baptized. Then the Holy Spirit was poured out on them as well.
When the gospel first reached the Gentiles, the Holy Spirit was also poured out on the Gentiles. Peter recalls this event:
“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning.” (Acts 11:15)
The Holy Spirit fell on the Gentiles just as He had fallen on the followers of Jesus on the day of Pentecost. As a result, the Gentile believers were baptized, and they joined the one body of Christ.
The pouring out of the Holy Spirit is essential to the establishment and expansion of the church. Wherever the gospel was preached, believers received the Holy Spirit in the same way as when the Holy Spirit was first poured out.
One Spirit
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— (Ephesians 4:4)
The Bible lays out for us the characteristics of the one body of Christ. The very first characteristic is that the one body has one Spirit. The mark of the body of Christ is the presence of the Holy Spirit.
In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:22)
The body of Christ is the dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Wherever the church that God establishes may be, there should be the presence of God’s Spirit through the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. This is the precedence we read in the Bible.
Today, we see the exact same phenomenon in the establishment and growth of the True Jesus Church. Wherever the True Jesus Church expands to in the world, we witness how God pours out the Holy Spirit as He did on the day of Pentecost, with people speaking in other tongues as the Spirit enables them. This is not man’s doing. It is the work of God. It is a clear sign that the True Jesus Church constitutes the body of Christ today. By accepting the gospel preached by the True Jesus Church and being baptized into Christ in the True Jesus Church, we can become members of the body of Christ.
One Faith
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, (Ephesians 4:4–5)
Not only does the body of Christ have one Spirit, the Bible also shows us that she has one faith. “One faith” refers to a set of foundational beliefs that is shared by all the members of the body of Christ.
Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. (Jude 3)
Jude writes about the faith that is once for all delivered to the saints. This is the core set of beliefs entrusted to the church. He urges the believers to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints, meaning that there is no room for compromise when it comes to the basic beliefs of the church, and these beliefs must not be changed over time. Jude mentions “our common salvation.” The faith that he speaks of is with respect to beliefs that are essential to our salvation. No matter where the gospel is preached, we are to adhere to and stand in these beliefs to be saved.
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:1–2)
Paul likewise exhorts the believers to hold fast to the word of the gospel that they have received. It is by this gospel message that we are saved.
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8)
Because the gospel is essential to salvation, it is not to be changed. A popular notion today is that all churches are the same because they all preach Jesus Christ. But Paul warned the believers about those who preached a different gospel. Apparently, these people also preached Jesus Christ, but their gospel contradicted the true gospel of salvation. Such gospels cannot save, and they lead people away from salvation. So while we should embrace all people, we must also recognize that there can be only one gospel of salvation.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. The church that is the dwelling place of God in the Spirit would preach and uphold the same truth of salvation that the apostles preached and upheld. Christian groups that have fundamentally different and contradictory beliefs about salvation cannot all be part of the body of Christ. On the other hand, the True Jesus Church is the church God has established through His Spirit in this end time. Because of that, she has also received from the Lord the truth of salvation. This one faith unites all believers across the world and across all time.
One Baptism
[O]ne Lord, one faith, one baptism, (Ephesians 4:5)
Besides sharing the same faith, the body of Christ practices one baptism. This means that all the believers in the body of Christ are baptized into Christ in the same way. Unlike the diverse modes of baptism we witness in Christendom, the True Jesus Church faithfully adheres to one manner of baptism as exemplified by the Lord Jesus and the apostles.
Baptism is closely related to the body of Christ because baptism is the means by which we are added to the body of Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)
The way by which we are incorporated into the body of Christ is through baptism. Paul explains to the believers of his day, “in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” Regardless of our ethnicity or status, when we are baptized into Christ, we become part of the one body, and in the body of Christ there is no distinction based on our background.
Another thing to note in this passage is that it is in one Spirit that we are baptized. In other words, when we are baptized, the Holy Spirit is present to bring about the saving effect of baptism.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” (John 20:21–23)
In His commission to the disciples, the Lord Jesus promised them the Holy Spirit and through the Holy Spirit grants them the authority to forgive sins. As we can see, the presence of the Holy Spirit is crucial to the remission of sins in baptism. When the church that is established by the Holy Spirit administers baptism, the blood of Jesus washes away the sins of the sinner during baptism. This is why the followers of Jesus must wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit before they baptize converts for the remission of their sins. It is the Holy Spirit who acts to effect the remission of sins in baptism.
Today, only the church established by God through His Holy Spirit is given the commission to baptize people for the remission of their sins. Through this one baptism, we are brought into the body of Christ.
Are you looking for the church that is the body of Christ today? The True Jesus Church was established by the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, and she is the dwelling place of God through His Spirit. The True Jesus Church has received the same faith as the church in the Bible, and she preaches the gospel of salvation that is identical to the gospel preached by the apostles. Through the authority granted by the Holy Spirit, she baptizes for the remission of sins and brings believers into the body of Christ.
FAQ
- Why is your church called the “True” Jesus Church? Are you telling me that all other churches are false?
- Is church necessary for salvation?
- Is there only one true church?
- Will all the other Christians not be saved?