THE WHEN AND WHERE OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST

Victor M. Eskew

 

          There are some who would try to convince us that the churches of Christ began in the days of Thomas and Alexander Campbell.  There was a time when those in the denominations would call members of the church of Christ “Campbellites.”  Those who make such accusations have not studied the Scriptures.  Too, they fail to understand the Restoration Movement.  In this article, let’s take a serious look at “The When and Where of the church of Christ.”

          Let’s begin this study with several verses that establish some basic information about the church of Christ.  Jesus is the first to mention the church as one reads the New Testament.  He did so while speaking to His disciples about His identity.  “When Jesus came into the coasts of Cesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am?  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou Simon Barjona:  for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:13-18).  Here, Jesus promises to build His church.  “Upon this rock I will build MY CHURCH” (emp. mine, vme).  Whose church did Jesus promise to build?  His church, the church of Christ.  In Acts 2:47, some three thousand souls were added by the Lord to the church.  To which church were they added?  Could it have been the one Jesus promised to build?

          In Romans 16:16, Paul makes an interesting statement about the church.  He writes:  “…The churches of Christ salute you.”  Which churches did Paul tell the Romans saluted them?  The answer is clear.  It was “the churches of Christ.”  But, I thought the churches of Christ did not exist until Thomas and Alexander Campbell in the 1800s.  That, dear readers, is a fallacy.  The churches of Christ have been around since the first century.  How could Paul write about the churches of Christ if they did not exist?

          Let’s now turn our attention to the date of the establishment and the place of the establishment of the church.  Isaiah the prophet reveals the specific place wherein the church would be established in Isaiah 2:2-3.  He writes:  “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.  And many people will come and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths:  for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”  This prophecy involves “the Lord’s house.”  In 1 Timothy 3:15, we learn what the Lord’s house is.  “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”  Paul plainly teaches us that the house of God is the church of the living God.  Isaiah proclaims that this house, the church of the living God, would be established in the city of Jerusalem.  “…for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” 

          When we turn to the New Testament, we can find the day upon which this transpired.  Prior to Jesus’ ascension to the Father, He commanded His apostles to tarry in the city of Jerusalem and wait there for the promise of the Father (Acts 1:4).  After witnessing Jesus’ departure, the disciples obeyed Jesus’ command.  “Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet…” (Acts 1:12).  On the day of Pentecost, these twelve men were baptized by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4).  It was on that day in the city of Jerusalem that the Word of God began to go forth.  “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4).  “But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them…” (Acts 2:14).  “And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying…” (Acts 2:41).  On the day of Pentecost following the Lord’s ascension to heaven in the city of Jerusalem, the church of Christ had its beginning.  Acts 2:47 confirms that the church was part of that day.  “Praising God, and having favour with all the people.  And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” 

          Dear readers, can the church of which you are a member say that it was established on the day of Pentecost in the city of Jerusalem in A.D. 33?  If it cannot give this answer, it is not the church of the New Testament.  It is not the church foretold by the prophet Isaiah.  It is not the church about which we read in Acts 2.  Those in the churches of Christ will boldly make this affirmation.  We will not hesitate to say the churches of Christ were established in A.D. 33 in the city of Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.  Pentecost was the “when,” and Jerusalem was the “where.”