There is one other thing that concerns our salvation that 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. 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.
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. 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)
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.
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2) Christ built only His church.
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3) (Ephesians 4:4-6) There are how many bodies? One. One
hundred. One
thousand
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4) There is only one body.
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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.
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6) The Lord only has His one body, the church.
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7) (Colossians 1:18) Christ is the head of The body, the church. Many
different kinds of churches. No
church.
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8) Christ is the head of all different kinds of churches.
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9) (Ephesians 5:23) Christ is going to save His body which is His
Church. All
the different religious bodies (churches). No
church.
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10) Christ is the Saviour of the church He established.
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11) (Matthew 15:13) Those plants which God has not planted God
will accept. God
will water and cultivate. Shall be rooted up.
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12) Those plants which God planted shall be saved.
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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.
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14) People labor in vain if they are in a house the Lord did not build.