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Lesson 22
The Lord’s Church (Part A)
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 the Bible the word "church" never refers to
a material building, but to the people.
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. There is only one church in God's plan for man. The one
body, the one church, is not composed of any of the many differing
denominations of our day.
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, the only one for which He
died. One cannot be saved outside of the Lord's 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.
Man did not build the Lord's church. We must recognize the
difference between the church the Lord built and the many counterfeit
churches men have built. What will happen to the people who are in
the many different denominational churches? They will be lost.
If you are a member of a denomination then you are not in the saving body
of Christ, and you will be lost. 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)
The Lord has many bodies.
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 (churches) which God has not
planted
God will accept.
God will water and cultivate.
Shall be rooted up.
12)
Those who are in churches which God has not planted shall be lost.
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.
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