I Will Build My Church

Introduction

In Matthew 16:16-18 the idea of the church is first revealed, Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Jesus said, ‘I will build my church.’ Church is singular meaning one and only one.

In the religious world so many denominations claim that they are the church that Jesus talked about. But how can we tell for sure which is ‘The Church’? We go to the scriptures and search for it just like we would search for a friend.

What’s in a Name?

Many people say that the name of the church is unimportant because we are all worshipping God and that’s more important. Really? So if we were to call it the Church of Dan, God wouldn’t have a problem with it? How are people to know that the church of Dan is the same as in the bible?

The name is very important! If I were looking for my friend Joe Smith then anyone with the name of Jones, Smythe, or even Jose would be eliminated. Sure, Joe Smythe is close enough but he’s not my friend.

We use the same idea for the church. In Romans 16:16 the apostle Paul writes, Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you. Since Jesus said he would build his church (Mt. 16:18), we can draw the conclusion that this would be the name; church of Christ.

Some might point out that the phrase “church of God” is used multiple times in the letters to the Corinthian letters. This is very true and is also an acceptable name. However, the name has been transformed into more of a denomination with Pentecostal leanings and so we can eliminate it as well.

Where in the World is…

Now that we’ve established that my friend’s name is Joe Smith, we find out that there are 10 with that name. The next thing we look at is the city my friend is from. Joe Smith is from Glendale, Arizona. That then eliminates the one from Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, and the one from Glendale, California.

We apply that same method with the church. Where did it begin? Before Jesus ascended into Heaven, he assured the disciples that they would “…receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) The first city mentioned is Jerusalem and you will notice that the disciples remained in Jerusalem where they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-5). This shows that The Church began in Jerusalem. To further confirm this, it was first prophesized in Isaiah 2:2-3, Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD'S house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.  

With this knowledge with can eliminate any church that began elsewhere; Germany (Lutherans), Rome (Catholics), England (Methodists), etc. Like anything you buy in a store, if you want to know where it is made, you turn it over to read the ‘Made in…’ label. If we could turn the church over, it would say ‘Made in Jerusalem’.

Is it really Just a Number?

We now know that my friend’s name is Joe Smith and he lives in Glendale, Arizona. When we look up his name in the phone book, we notice that there are two Joe Smiths in Glendale. So, what do we look for next? His age! My friend Joe Smith is 40 years old, the other one is 25 so that eliminates him.

Again, we can do this with the church. We are unsure of the official year as calendars weren’t really a thing at that time. However, we know that the church (listed in the bible) was established in the first century; approximately 33 A.D. This would eliminate all churches that were established after that. All denominations are established well after the 1^st century so they are not the true church.

Conclusion

It’s not difficult to know what the real church is and where it might be found today in the 21^st Century. All you have to do is read the scriptures to know what the church was in the 1^st century, write down the attributes, and then compare it with those of today. If you’re serious about finding the church of scripture, you can easily eliminate all denominations and their branch congregations. From there, it’s just a matter of knowing the worship service.