Author : Keith Sharp
There are four common ways of thinking of the church of the Lord, and each has a profound effect on the practices of those who hold the view.
Catholic
Our Catholic friends use the word “Church” to denote the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.
The one Church of Christ, as a society constituted and organized in the world, subsists in (subsistit in) the Catholic Church, governed by the Successor of Peter and the bishops in communion with him. Only through this Church can one obtain the fullness of the means of salvation since the Lord has entrusted all the blessing of the New Covenant to the apostolic college alone whose head is Peter (Compendium 162).
As the result of this totally unscriptural viewpoint, they trust the Catholic leaders (Pope, Arch Bishops, Bishops, Priests) to give them the correct, even infallible, answer to every question pertaining to salvation. “The Church has authority from God to teach regarding faith and morals, and in her teaching she is preserved from error by the special guidance of the Holy Ghost. (Gibbons. 54). They erect a world wide, earthly organization, of vast wealth and power, headed by the Pope in the Vatican.
Christ condemned the idea of a clergy separate and above the laity.
But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the christ and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father, for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant (Matthew 23:8-11)
Protestant Denominations
The Protestant denominations employ the term “church” to mean a mystical, invisible body comprised of the various denominations. Billy Graham stated:
God has His people in many churches and denominations, and I cannot agree with those who condemn all churches but their own. All true believers affirm the basic truths of the Gospel, regardless of their denomination.
Protestants think of the one church as a “mystical body” of which the various denominations are parts.
Sometimes sectarians appeal to the first clause of John 10:16 as “proof” that Jesus approves denominationalism. The Master stated, “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold.” Is the Lord stating that He has sheep in various denominations? The remainder of the verse explains, “them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.” If the flock of the verse represents the church, and it does, then the passage plainly teaches Jesus has only one church. And that is exactly the point. We have but one Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ, and He has but one flock, His church. Jesus’ sheep are those who hear His voice, i.e., who believe and obey His word. He had sheep from among the Jews at that time, since He went only to Israel during His personal ministry (Matthew 15:34). but later His gospel would go to Gentiles also, and many of them would receive it (Acts 13:45-48). Now all, both Jew and Gentile, are one in christ (Ephesians 2:14-18). Rather than authorizing sectarianism, the passage declares the unity of the Lord’s church.
Another passage perverted to approve denominationalism is John 15:1-8, the parable of The Vine and the Branches. Sectarians contend denominations are the branches of the passage. If so, the vine had no branches for six hundred years, for the first denominations, the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church, did not arise until six centuries after the death of christ. Please read John 15:1-8. See how many times the Master employs the personal pronoun “you,” and “he” in reference to the branches. When Jesus applies the lesson of the branches, He refers to them as “anyone” (verse 6) and “disciples” (verse 8). The branches of the parable obviously represent individual disciples of Christ, not denominations. and they are all the same king of branch. The Lord is not a freak with three thousand different species of branches growing from Him.
God wants believers in His Son to be one. Jesus prayed for the unity of those who believe in Him (John 17:20-21). Paul revealed to us a practical plan whereby we may “keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-6) In spite of these plain passages, denominational preachers tell us that the existence of some three thousand or so separate religious bodies in America, most of them claiming to be part of the body of Christ, is according to God’s will. They continue to thank God for their sinful divisions and to exhort trusting, misguided souls to help foster sectarianism.
Furthermore, the doctrine of Christ scathingly condemns sectarianism as a damnable sin. Among the “works of the flesh,” of which the apostle Paul warns, “those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God,” are “dissensions” and “heresies” (Galatians 5:19-21). “Dissensions” are “a standing apart … indicating division” (Vine. 1:329), whereas “heresies” denotes:
an opinion, especially a self-willed opinion, which is substituted for submission to the power of truth, and leads to division and the formation of sects…. (Ibid. 2:217)
Sectarianism is a sin which will cost one his soul. How then can denominationalism, the fruit of sectarianism, be considered acceptable to God?
The church Jesus built is not composed of denominations, nor is it sectarian in any way. We must turn away from all religious denominations, sects, and parties and have an undivided loyalty to Christ. My friend, don’t let loyalty to a denomination stand between you and salvation in Christ.
The Institutional View
It has become standard parlance among institutional brethren (those who advocate church support of human organizations) to refer to the body of Christ as “The Churches of Christ.” For example, the “Christian Chronicle” newspaper states concerning itself, “All trustees, editors and staff are active members of the Churches of Christ.” This sounds good, because, except for capitalization (Which was added by uninspired men), “Churches of Christ” is a direct quote of Romans 16:16 – “Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you.” The problem is, it’s a misuse of a biblical phrase reflecting a misunderstanding of the nature of the church. It’s like a Catholic finding “bishop” in 1 Timothy 3:1-2 and concluding this means there are “successors to the apostles” who each govern a number of local churches (a Catholic diocese). The word is there, but the concept is not. As Moses E. Lard correctly remarked in 1914 concerning the phrase “churches of Christ” in Romans 16:16, “That is, all those in this region of country” (460). Surely we understand that not every local church of Christ in the whole world joined with Paul in sending greetings to the church in Rome.
The use of this phrase to denote the universal church implies the one body of Christ, the universal church, is composed of local churches. What else could it mean without endorsing the existence of numerous denominations?
This leads to the idea these congregations may act together in concert in some way, whether through denominational organization, a human organization, or a sponsoring church. Institutional brethren use the word “cooperate” to denote this, local churches being tied together in some super organization. By the way, I believe in cooperation between congregations but not of the institutional variety.
This is a false concept of the church of God which leads to unscriptural, even denominational, organization.
The Truth
As a body the church is figuratively the kingdom of Christ (Matthew 16:18-19; Hebrews 12:22-29), and the units which make it up are citizens (Ephesians 2:19). The church is a fold composed of sheep (John 10:16), a body made up of members (1 Corinthians 12:27), a temple built of stones (Ephesians 2:21; 1 Peter 2:5), and a family with children (Ephesians 3:14-15; Galatians 3:26). Christ is the vine, and disciples, not congregations or denominations, are the branches (John 15:5-6).
How are all Christians tied together? Only by spiritual ties of fellowship with the Father, the Son, the apostles, and each other, as we each walk in the light of Christ (1 John 1:3,7). Our only universal Head is the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:18), and we all must obey Him alone (Colossians 3:17). As each of us does so, we share in the work our Head directs us to do and share in the spiritual blessings that come from the Father through Him.
I am often thrilled to learn of Christians in distant parts of the world whom I did not previously know about. Undoubtedly there are uncounted and uncountable numbers of people throughout the world who have by faith been baptized into Christ and are following His Word. No earthly organization ties us together, and we may never contribute money to a common treasury. We may never even know of each other’s existence in this life.
Have you met my dear brother Sunday Ayandare in Ibadan, Nigeria? Now you know he exists. If you and he are walking in the light, you are in fellowship in Christ. As each of us lives for the Master, we are joined in bonds of fellowship in Christ with the common hope of an eternal home in heaven with all the redeemed of the ages.
Conclusion
The church is not the Roman Catholic hierarchy, nor a mystical, invisible body composed of denominations, nor is it composed of congregations which can be tied together in a super organization. It is simply individual disciples of Christ serving the Lord and tied together in bonds of spiritual fellowship.
(The idea for this article came from excellent lessons delivered by Sunday Ayandare and Emmanuel Ebong, Jr. In Nigeria.)
Works Cited
Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Gibbons, James Cardinal, The Faith of Our Fathers.
http://www.billygraham.org/MyAnswer_Article.asp?ArticleID=2463.
http://www.christianchronicle.org/about.php.
Lard, Moses E., Commentary on Paul’s Letter to Romans.
Vine, W.E., An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words.
