IS THE CHURCH OF CHRIST A DENOMINATION?
Victor M. Eskew

 

          All of us have grown up in a religious world that did not exist in the first century.  We have grown up in a world wherein thousands of denominations exist.  All of these religious groups affirm that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  Almost all of them will proclaim that the Bible is the inspired Word of God.  However, they are not called by the same name.  They do not preach the same doctrines.  They do not involve themselves in the same types of worship.  And, they do not all engage in the same religious practices.  Yet, almost everyone believes that those in these denominations are saved and are going to heaven.

          Is the church of Christ just one of the many denominations that exist?  The answer to that question is:  “No.”  We are not a denomination.  We are the one true church about which one reads in the pages of the New Testament.  We do not wear a man-made name.  We do not preach the creeds of men.  We do not engage in perverted forms of worship.  We do not practice things that are not authorized in the New Covenant of Jesus Christ.  In Ephesians 4:4, Paul began his list of the seven ones with these words:  “There is one body.”  In the first chapter of that same epistle, Paul reveals what the body is.  “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all” (Eph. 1:22-23).  The apostle teaches us that the church is the body.  If there is one body, and if the body is the church, then there is only one church.  If not, why not?

          There are two questions that members of the church of Christ must answer.  First, is the church of the first century still in existence today?  In Matthew 16:18, Jesus told Peter that His church would be built upon Peter’s confession that He is the Son of God.  He, then, continued, saying:  “…and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”  Jesus built His church in the first century.  Even the gates of hell could not overpower or overcome it.  If the gates of hell could not, there is certainly no power on earth that was strong enough to destroy it. Just this promise of our Lord makes us aware that the church is still in existence today. 

          We also know that the church is here because the Word of God is here.  Jesus said the seed is the Word of God (Luke 8:11).  In Matthew 13:19, Jesus refers to this seed as “the word of the kingdom.”  If the Word of God is planted into hearts that are honest and good, the product that will spring forth will be the kingdom of God.  Jesus reveals that the church and the kingdom are synonymous in Matthew 16:18-19.  Dear readers, as long as the seed of the kingdom is on the earth, the kingdom will be present.  Peter’s promise is most applicable here.  “But the word of the Lord endureth for ever…” (1 Pet.1:25).

          If the church of the first century is still on the earth, the next question that must be answered is:  “How do we know which church of all the churches on the earth is that church?”  The answer is simple.  We look for the church that meets the identification marks of the first century church.  Here is a list of a few of those identification marks.

 

1.    It wears a name the church wore that found in the New Testament.

2.    It was established in A.D. 33.

3.    It was established in the city of Jerusalem.

4.    Its only “creed” is the Word of God.

5.    It engages only in the five avenues of worship found in the New Testament:  singing, prayer, teaching, the Lord’s Supper, and giving.

6.    Its organization involves the autonomy of each local congregation, and when they are completely organized they have a plurality of elders who oversee the local church and deacons who serve the congregation.  Too, they may have preachers and teachers assisting in the education of the church members.

7.    It affirms the steps of salvation found in New Testament for initial conversion:  hear the Word, believe in the Christ as the Son of God, repent of sins, confess the name of Jesus Christ before men, and baptism for the remission of sins.

8.    The only head of the church is Jesus Christ.

9.    Jesus is the sole foundation of the church.

10. Jesus alone is the builder of the church.

11. The church is not a temporary expedient in God’s plan.  The church is the eternal plan of God.

12. The church belongs to Jesus Christ because He purchased it with His blood.

 

An individual can take these identification marks and go from group to group seeking the one that meets each and every mark.  If a person begins with the church of Christ, he will not have to take much time finding the church of the New Testament. 

          Let’s look at one other factor.  The concept of denominationalism does not uphold God’s will.  It stands in violation of it.  It promotes division among those who call themselves God’s people.  Each denomination is said to be part of the whole.  We are told that this division is healthy.  We are told that each person should attend the church of one’s choice.  We are told that every church is acceptable to our Lord.  But, it was our Lord who called for oneness among His disciples.  These are His words from His prayer recorded in John 17. 

 

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall

believe on me through their word; that all may be one; as thou,

Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one is us: 

that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.  And the

glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be

one, even as we are one:  I in them, and thou in me, that they may

be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou

hast sent, me, and has loved them, as thou has love me” (John

17:20-23). 

 

Four times Jesus prayed for His followers to be one.  He also set the standard for this oneness.  It is to be like the oneness that exists between the Father and Son.  Dear readers, denominationalism does not come close to the Lord’s prayer.  In fact, it stands in bold opposition to it.  The churches of Christ condemn this division.  Any church seeking to be like the church of the first century should stand in opposition to it.

          Go back to the first line of this article.  “All of us have grown up in a religious world that did not exist in the first century.”  Why do we say this?  It is because not one denomination existed in the first century.  Not one apostle was a member of a denomination.  Not one of the inspired writers of the New Testament authorized denominations to exist.  From whence then did they originate?  They originated in the minds of men.  Every one of them have men as their founders.  With this in mind, let’s close with Psalm 118:8.  “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.”