There is only One True Church established by Christ

THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUE CHURCH ESTABLISHED BY CHRIST

IT IS VERY clear in the Bible that the Lord Jesus Christ established only one Church. This is what the Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew 16:18:

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (NIV)

The Lord Jesus Christ said, “I will build my CHURCH.” He did not said “I will build my CHURCHES.” These words of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself clearly proves that He established only one Church. How did the apostles prove that there is only one true Church established by Christ? In Ephesians 4:4, Apostle Paul says:

“There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called.” (NIV)

Apostle Paul explicitly said, “there is only one body.” He himself explained this in Ephesians 5:23:

“For a husband has authority over his wife just as Christ has authority over the church; and Christ is himself the Savior of the church, his body.” (Ephesians 5:23 TEV)

Christ is the head of the Church, His body. Because Christ has only one body, thus, there is only one true Church. This Church, the  one body of Christ, is called “Church of Christ”:

“For just as the human body is one and yet has many parts, and all its parts, many as they are, constitute but one body, so it is with the Church of Christ.” (I Corinthians 12:12 NTME)

The “Church of Christ” mentioned in the Bible cannot be a conglomeration of churches, because the one body of Christ, His Church, is composed of not churches but members:

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (Romans 12:4-5 NIV)

Apostle Paul not only mentioned that the Church is one body with many members, but he also taught the one body of Christ has one faith and one baptism:

“There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called- one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” (Ephesians 4:4-5 NIV)

Thus, it is indeed wrong to conclude that the church of Christ is a conglomeration of churches. The Church of Christ is the body of Christ with one hope, one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. This proves that the church of Christ is one organized church.

What also makes us more certain that the one true church established by Christ is one organized Church is what Apostle Paul teaches in I Corinthians 12:12-14 and 27-28:

“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body; whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many...

“Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.” (I Corinthians 12:12-14,27-28 NKJV)

Apostle Paul said, “God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then gifts of the healings, helps, administrations...” These offices mentioned by Apostle Paul were appointed in the CHURCH. He did not said “in the CHURCHES.” Thus, the Church of Christ is one organized Church.

CONCLUSION

The Lord Jesus Christ established only one Church, one organized church called Church of Christ.

THE IGLESIA NI CRISTO

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