What Does the Bible Say About Why Am I A Member of the Church of Christ?

We begin this episode by noting that Peter says that we as Christians should be able, willing and ready to give answers to those who ask us about our belief and faith. So, we begin here. We discuss the use of blueprints and patterns that are used to build buildings and make clothes. If the blueprint or pattern isn't followed, that which is built or made is different from what the blueprint or pattern showed. By the same principle, Jesus provided a pattern in the New Testament for His church. If we vary from His New Testament pattern, we get a church that is different from what He planned. We talk about a specific Bible passage that warns about adding to God's word or taking away from it. We note the estimated number of denominations that claim to be following God, but in fact are not following the Lord's pattern in their name or doctrine. We look at the word church, what it means in the Bible and how it is used, both properly and improperly and why that is important. We look at where Jesus discussed building His church with the apostles, what He said and what they said. We then note a number of passages that describe the Lord's church in a number of different and very important ways. We also look at a number of descriptive terms we find in the New Testament that refer to the Lord's church. We close this episode by noting some of the names that various churches wear today. We will begin next week's episode by looking at the warning Paul gave to the elders from the local church at Ephesus. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

Transcript

Fred Gosnell: 0:00

This is a presentation of the Woodland church of Christ, meeting at 3370 Broad Street in Sumter, South Carolina. We meet for worship on Sunday at ten thirty am and five thirty pm. We meet for bible study at nine thirty am on Sunday and seven pm on Wednesday. If you have questions or comments on this lesson, you may email them to Arnie Granke at a, g, r, a, n, k, e, 440718@twc.com or to Glenn Landrum at s, c, b, a, m, a, b, o, y, 2 003@yahoo.com or to Eric McClam at e, r, i, c, m, c, c, l, a m, 50@outlook.com or to Fred Gosnell at f, g, o, s, n, e, l, l, @ftc-i.net,

Arnie: 0:55

Good afternoon. This is Arnie Granke with the church of Christ at Woodland in Sumter, South Carolina. With me is Fred Gosnell, and and Glenn is here, and Eric is here. And we want to talk to you about biblical things. This is what does the Bible say? And and we'll be we'll be talking about things that that have to do with with the Church of Christ. Why? Why am I, and why are we members of the Church of Christ, and so I'll pass that along to to Fred, to Glenn, okay.

Glenn: 1:40

Well, I'd like to open up with with with a scripture to to get us started, and that's in first Peter three, verse 15, says, But sanctify the Lord your God in your hearts and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks your reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. Yes, we, we as Christians, should be able, willing and ready to give answers to those who ask us questions about our belief and faith. Our belief is different from many others who claim to be Christians. Therefore, we should be able to let people know why our belief is different. We would tell you that our beliefs are different from others because we simply speak as the Bible speaks. First Peter four, verse 11 says, If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies that in all things, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Fred Gosnell: 2:54

So as followers of Jesus Christ, of course, we should read, we should study, come to understand His Word so that we can truly follow Him. Of course, anytime someone gives instructions, the ones following must know what those instructions are and put them in action .So this is very important. Like an architect, you have a lot of architects. People put together blueprints, plans for a building, put them in that blueprint. Of course, the blueprint becomes the guide. It's not just a guide, but the absolute instructions, the pattern for the building, if you will. So if those who are building the building build something different from than what's on the blueprint. Of course, then it's not the building that the architect planned and drew up. So there's probably a number of women in our audience, and there's a number of women that have made quilts or clothes by sewing. Of course, they have a pattern to go by. So if you make the clothes that you have the pattern to go by, you don't follow the pattern. So you get something different from what the pattern shows you. Of course, in both these, these examples, you may come up with a finished product. You you will have built something or made something, but it's not going to be the result of what was planned or directed. Of course, the same principle applies to the church, the church that Jesus planned and built. He said, I will build my church. So if and we find a number of passages in in the New Testament that discuss a pattern, so if we vary from the pattern given in the Bible, we get a church, but it's different from what hasn't been planned by Jesus and what he built. So. So when we answer the question, Why am I a member of the Church of Christ, we have to go into detail about what Jesus Christ expected of the church, how it is built, its foundation, its structure, what goes on inside the church, what is it called? Who? Who's in charge or leading? How does one get into the group? And a number of other questions, and I think Eric's going to continue on on

Eric: 5:24

And continue with that. All of these can be answered by that, reading and studying the Bible. That is what we will be leading you, leading you through what does the Bible says about all these things. The passages that were cited above lets us know that God's word is important and we have an obligation to follow that word completely. In Revelations, chapter 22 verses 18 and 19, it says, For I testify to everyone who hear the word of this prophecy of this book. If anyone add to these things, God will add him to the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the word of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the book of life, from the holy city and from the things which are written in this book. Also, if we look in the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy, chapter chapter four, verse two, it says, Now Israel, listen to the statues and the judgments which I teach you To observe that you may live and go in and possess the land which the Lord, God of your fathers has given you. You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take it, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you, God has always said that His word is absolute. It does not change. What we do not have the right or the authority to change it. If we go back to the architect, as Fred was illustrating a few minutes ago, if we go back to the architect in a pattern, make an illustration. We will understand that in order to change that pattern, and it will still be the one created by that person, we have to get approval from the maker or the designer of the blueprint or pattern. To change God's plan for the church, we will have to get approval from God. Approval from God to change His pattern for the church will require changing the documents that illustrates how to build his church. Think about it. There are over 2000 denominations that claim to be Christians today. Therefore, it would be it would have required over 2000 approvals from God to change His pattern the Bible. Yet we don't have enough even one change to the Bible that authorized the church different from the one described in the New Testament. We can say that with absolute accuracy, because every one of those denominations teaches something different than others. There is an accurate plan or pattern given to us. It is our responsibility to read and understand what the pattern is. This is what we will be discussing in the next series of lessons. Why am I a member of the Church of Christ?

Arnie: 8:47

Well, let's spend a little while here defining the word church, because today we use the word church so casually that I think we've lost the real understanding of meaning of the word. When we use the word church today, most people think of a building that is called a church, or a church building like we would like, we would call where we like, where we work, the office or the plant, you know, home or office, or wherever we we say we're going to work. Well, people talk about going to church in in about the same kind of a kind of a way. We speak in terms I'm going to church, or how long does your church last? Or how big is is your church? How many members are there in in your church? From a biblical standpoint, all of these are incorrect uses of the term. The word church in the Bible is, is the word, is translated from the Greek word, which is a noun, ecclesia, which is a body or congregation of local Christians or believers. It doesn't have to do with a structure per se there, but it's talking about the members of that of that body of people. The word in the New Testament is never used to indicate a building. Now, the English word church, derived from the Greek word Kyriakos, is a word that indicates a Christian place of worship. In holding to the pattern we spoke about earlier, we have to use the word ecclesia, which refers to the body of Christians. Therefore, when we're biblically speaking of the church, we're speaking of a group of people. Those people are believers, who comprise the members of the Church. They're not the building. The church is not a building. It's, it's, it's a membership of people. We can in in our language, use the term church to represent the building in which we hold services, although it's important for us to understand and know the difference between the two. One of those Ecclesia is the scriptural term that applies to the body of believers, of Christians, those who have been called out of of the world. The Bible refers to them in in that respect, who collectively worship and fellowship together. In the English language, there are terms for a church building that come from the Greek adjective Kyriakos, as used in the phrases kyriaka duma and kiriaka oika oikia, which mean the Lord's house, or a place of worship for Christians. Keep in mind that this is the scriptural term ecclesia, a body or group of believers that we are concerned with. When speaking in scriptural terms, we cannot use meanings that have been adopted and and adapted by society, that's changing the meaning of God's words. Remember the passage about adding to or taking away from, we cannot do that. The scriptural term has nothing to do with the building. We'll see as we work on that this evening and this afternoon and in in some future lessons, we'll see how the meanings of some of these words in the Bible have been changed by scholars or by society itself or by religious bodies to fit what they want them to be, rather than what the Lord says that they are and what they really are.

Glenn: 13:20

Well, we're concerned with the church that is spoken of in the Bible, particularly the New Testament. How did the church we read about in the New Testament get started? This is a very important question that resonates throughout the study of the New Testament Church. It is the basis of just about everything else we learn and know about the Church. It is also something that is not well understood throughout the world of those who claim to believe in and follow Christ. We're going to look at Matthew 16, 13, through 18, it says, When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea, Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say that I the Son of man am? So they said. Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He said to them, But who do you say that I am? Simon. Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed are you Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father, who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it, and I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. And whatever you bind on earth will be bound in will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. I.

Fred Gosnell: 15:09

So there are some very important parts of this passage. First, when Jesus asked who people said he was, the apostle gave him the answer directly to his question. And who do men say that I am? Of course, they responded what they knew that people were saying. Some said he was John the Baptist. Some said he was Elijah or one of the prophets. So then he asked, who they the apostles believed him to be. And Peter answered. Course. He answered correctly. He said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And of course, Jesus said, Blessed Peter for receiving that answer from God. He said, Well, you got that from God. Of course, Peter was inspired. So the next part is one that is misunderstood by many today. First, Jesus said that He would build His church, that he would build it upon this rock. And of course, we need to understand that he's, as Arnie talked about, the Lord's church is not a physical building. It is something that's built. It's a spiritual building. It is a building, but it's a spiritual building, and it's built of the people that obey the Lord and we'll see that he adds people to it. So he said He would build His Church and that he would build it upon this rock. Of course, many believe that Jesus' Church was built upon Peter and as the foundation. But of course, that's not true. When you research Peter's name. Peter's name, at some times translated rock. If you take a look at John 1, 42 you you'd see there that Jesus made a statement there, he said he brought him to Jesus, that's Peter. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon, the son of Jonah. Thou shalt be called Cephas, which is, by interpretation, a stone. So the rock that Peter is referred to, he's a actually a piece of of rock. So then it goes on the rock that Jesus and, by the way, the word for Peter there is a masculine as well. So the rock that Jesus said he would build a church on is Petros. And that's a feminine word. That's not Peter's name. That's Petros. Of course, the first one was what, what Jesus said of of Peter, and the second was Peter, what Peter said of Christ. Of course. now it is a statement of Christ, that that Christ is the rock or foundation of the church that is going it's going to be built upon. So so we just need to understand, and of course, there are other passages. There are three passages in particular that confirm this to be the case. And we'll, I'll do the three passages, and then we'll pass it on to Eric. So Isaiah, 28, 16 says, Therefore, Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. Whoever believes will not act hastily. So Isaiah specifies that that this is a a stone that's large enough to be the cornerstone. Of course, every building has a cornerstone, and that's where the rest of the building is built upon it. It's it. It's leveled from from there, and it's a sure foundation. So then, in First Corinthians, 3, 11, No other foundation can anyone lay than which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. So now we are specified that Jesus is the foundation. I'll just go ahead and pass this next one on to Eric. My voice is about to quit, I think.

Eric: 18:53

In First Peter, chapter two, verses six through 10, it says, Therefore it is also contained in the scriptures. Behold, I lay in Zion the chief cornerstone elect precious, and he who believes in Him will will by no means be put to shame. Therefore, to you who believe, he is precious, but to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone and the stone of stumbling and the rock of offense. These stumble. They stumble being disobedient to the word to which they also were appointed. But you are a chosen generation or royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people, that you may proclaim the praise of him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light, who once were not a people, but are now the people of God, who has not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. These passages make it clear that Jesus Christ is the foundation of the church. He said that He would build His Church and that he would be the foundation of it. This makes the church belonging to Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are referring to the Church. We are referring to the Church that Jesus built that belongs to him. This is the basis for the term Church of Christ. The little word of meaning belongs to therefore, when we use the term Church of Christ, we are saying that is, that is the Church belonged to Christ, the one he built, and the one he is the foundation of. In the first century, they would not have been as big of a deal as it is today. In the first century, the Church of Christ was most often referred to as the Church. A title was not attached to it. Terms for the church are used at least 46 times in the New Testament. Most of those times the term the church is simply used implying that there is only one. In fact, Ephesians four, four says, There is one body, one Spirit, just as we're called, just as we're called, into one hope of your calling. The word body in that passage is the church. All of the other times the terms of ownership is used, or location where the church exists. Examples of the term of ownership are of God, of the living God, of Christ, of the firstborn. The church is called the flock in Acts 20, verse 38 as well as the church of God. In Ephesians, chapter one, verses 22 equates the church to Jesus body.

Arnie: 22:06

I have some passages here that that will support what you were just reading there, Eric. And and in Acts, chapter 20. And beginning in I think I want to begin in verse 28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves and all the flock in the which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops or overseers to feed the church of the Lord which He purchased with His own blood. So we have the church disgy, described there. And of course, that's obviously not talking about some kind of a some kind of a structure, earthly structure here, that that's been built by by men. And and then you also mentioned Ephesians, chapter, chapter one and and in verse 23 of of that passage, I'm going to start at verse 22 here, actually it says He put all things in subjection under His feet and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all. So again, we find that that that the word church isn't referring to a physical structure, it's it's talking about what they what the Lord had had established. And and then I've also looking at at Colossians chapter, chapter one. I'm going to start in verse, verse 12, here, Giving thanks unto the Father who made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who delivered us out of the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his dear, the Son of His love, In whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in Him were all things created in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible, things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things have been created through him and unto Him. And He is before all things, and in him all things consist. And then verse 18 says, and he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead that in all things, he might have preeminence.

Glenn: 25:04

So the passage we just read in Colossians, I think, is why a very important passage, and one of the main reasons, I would say that, is that in this passage, verses 13 through 18, you find that the church is called the kingdom of His Son. It's also called the body and it's called the church. So we find that the Church is the Body of Christ, and it is the kingdom of Christ. So the Church of Christ is the Church of God and is the body of Christ. It is the kingdom of Christ. The last statement, as I mentioned, is very important. When considering a number of people in denominations say that the kingdom is something that will come in the future. That's not so. The kingdom is here presently, and it is the church, the Body of Christ. In fact, further evidence of that would be found in Acts 2, 32, to 36, Ephesians 1, 22, and 23 which we just read. And Ephesians 4, 15, and Colossians, 1, 13 we just read Colossians, 1, 13 as well. Christ is ruling as king in his kingdom, the church. So today we refer to the church. We should be speaking of the church that belongs to Jesus Christ. It is the one he is ruling over, is the head of and is the savior of. You should be able to see that the church belongs to Jesus Christ, therefore it should wear his name. Today there are over 2000 groups or denominations that call themselves Christian, but most of them wear names that do not indicate that Christ is the owner of the church. You know, many of the different names that churches today wear. These names are are of different men, such as Baptist, Wesleyan, Lutheran, Saint James, Saint John, etc. Also of different doctrines, such as Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Mormon, Holiness and so on. And many others that do not reflect Christ as being the owner. In Acts 20, 28, through 31 which Arnie just wrote, read a few moments ago, we find that Paul was warning the elders in Ephesus, the church in Ephesus, that there would be people that come in among them, the elders that would try to lead the church astray.

Arnie: 27:55

Can I butt in? You mentioned Ephesians chapter chapter one. And I think

Glenn: 27:57

Oh yeah. I have the passage that you were, that you were looking for beginning in or that you mentioned beginning in verse 22 there says that, He, he put all things in subjection under His feet, gave him the be the head over all things, to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all. And then in Ephesians, chapter four, you also had made a reference to that. These are good references, by the way. Chapter chapter four, and beginning in in verse 15, But speaking the truth, and I lost my place there as I was reading it, speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things unto Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom all the body fitly framed and fit together, through that which every joint supply according to the working in due measure of each several part, making increase of the body into the building up of itself in in love. So, so Christ is, is, of course, the founder of that. And then one of the passage that I, that I found here, is in the Colossian letter. In Colossians chapter, chapter one, and beginning in verse, verse 22, Yet now hath He reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and without blemish and unreprovable before him, if so be that you continue in the faith, grounded and and steadfast and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you have heard, which was preached, preached in the create, in all creation under heaven, whereof I Paul was, was made a minister. Uh, Fred, you have a you have a thought that you want to share with us before we conclude?

Fred Gosnell: 30:24

Well, we're about out of time, so we'll have to read about what the Paul told the elders next week. But, but what we need to do is, so I'm a member of the Church of Christ, and because it is the church that we read about the Bible, it is the church that Jesus built. It is the church built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, and it is the church that wears his name as its owner. So you can become a member of that church and be saved by doing a number of things that the Bible says: you must hear God's word. Romans 10, verse 17 tells us that; you got to believe that Jesus is Christ, the I Am who died for you. John 316, and eight through 18; you've got to confess your sins. And as Jesus said in Matthew 10, verse 32; you've got to repent of those sins and turn to God, Luke 13, three and five; so being baptized for the remission of your sins. Acts two, verse 38 that Peter told the Jews that asked him what they should do. Of course, then, based on that in Acts two, verse 47 it says The Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. So Jesus will add you to His church when you obey what He says. You can't join it, he will add you to it. So we're out of time. We're grateful for listening to us, and we pray that you'll be with us next Sunday afternoon.