What is the Church of Christ?
The church of Christ is not a title given to an organization or social group. The church of Christ rather, is God’s fulfillment of the redemptive plan outlined in the Old Testament.
In fact, 750 years before Christ came to Earth, Isaiah announced the eventual establishment of the “Lord’s house” in the “last days” in Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:1-4). At about the same time, Micah relayed the same facts about this coming institution (Micah 4:1-3). Likewise Daniel declared to a pagan king 500 years before Christ that, during the days of the Roman kings, the God of heaven would set up a kingdom that would never be destroyed (Daniel 2:44).
In the lifetime of Jesus, before He began His ministry, John the Baptist exclaimed: “[T]he kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). Jesus echoed this testimony with precisely the same point: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). As John made preparations for the Lord (Matthew 3:3; 11:10; Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1), so the Lord made preparations for the kingdom. Christ announced His intention personally to establish His church (Matthew 16:18) and declared that it would occur during the lifetime of His earthly contemporaries (Mark 9:1).
By the time of His crucifixion on the cross, Christ had made “in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body” (Ephesians 2:15-16). This “one body” is totally unique, and is unlike any other entity on the face of the Earth. She is distinguished by several unique and exclusive characteristics, three of which are listed below:
First, she wears the name of her Head, Owner, and Savior—Christ (Daniel 7:14; Matthew 16:18; Romans 16:16; Ephesians 1:23; 4:12; Revelation 11:15).
Second, her members wear the divinely bestowed name of “Christian” (Isaiah 62:1-2; Acts 11:26; 1 Peter 4:16).
Third, her organization was arranged by God to consist of Jesus as head, elders/pastors/bishops as the earthly overseers or managers, deacons as the designated workers/ministers, evangelists as the proclaimers of the good news, teachers as instructors in the faith, and all the other members, who are active in serving the Lord (Acts 6:1-3; 14:23; 20:17,28; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:1-4).
Therefore, the title “church of Christ” is not something which was contrived by men, but rather it is an attempt to reflect the nature of the church. Namely, that it belongs to Christ and should therefore bear no other name but His; to recognize the fact that it truly is Christ’s church.
What denomination is the Church of Christ?
The church of Christ is neither Catholic nor Protestant, but simply "Christ's church" without any other descriptors - a nondenominational church. When the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, he wrote: "all the churches of Christ send greetings. (Rom 16:16)" Today each of our congregations is trying to simply be the church of Christ like the original congregations.
How is the Church of Christ different from other congregations?
We believe in the importance of going back to the original teachings in the New Testament and restoring the church and Christian living as it first was when Jesus' apostles established it. God did not have the apostles start a primitive version of the church and then leave it up to future generations to update and develop the church into whatever they wanted.
The pattern for the original church and Christian living that was designed by Jesus and put in place by his inspired apostles was complete and pleasing to God, and was established for future generations to follow. Therefore, we strive to exemplify the pattern of the New Testament, not the pattern of many modern denominations today.
Is the Church of Christ a new church?
The church of Christ is not a new church with new teachings. The church of Christ has over 2,500,000 members world wide, with congregations existing all over the world and dating back thousands of years. The church holds many commonly held beliefs. For example:
We believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, and that God gave it for all people to read, understand and follow.
We believe in the godhead: God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
We believe in God's power, holiness, and judgment of evil, and also in His love, mercy, and desire to forgive.
We believe that because Jesus Christ died on the cross for the sins of all mankind, forgiveness and eternal life are only available through Him.
We believe in the importance of developing a personal relationship with God, learning about and loving Him; putting His teachings into practice in our everyday lives.
Why call it the "Church of Christ"?
The word “church” was, in the first century, not recognized as a strictly religious title. In fact, the word used in the Greek (the language in which Jesus’ followers wrote) had a much broader meaning. To the first century reader, this word “church” would simply mean “assembly” – or a gathering of people. Therefore, it was necessary to give a specific designation to such an assembly so that it could be distinguished from other groups of people.
The question arises then, what name correctly identifies the church of the New Testament? Consider the following:
Jesus said the Church was “His” (Matthew 16:18).
Jesus paid for the Church with His own blood (Acts 20:28).
Jesus saved the Church from eternal destruction (John 3:16; Acts 4:12; Ephesians 5:23)
Jesus is “the head of the body, the church” (Colossians 1:18,24; Ephesians 5:22-23).
Jesus is the bridegroom and the Church is His bride (Ephesians 5:22-32; Revelation 21:9; Matthew 25:1-13).
Jesus is returning to take His faithful Church to a new home (John 14:1-3; Matthew 25:1-13; 1 Corinthians 15:24; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
We can know that Christ intended that His church, which He died for, bear His name by the teachings of those who followed Him. One such example is of the account of the Jewish Sanhedrin questioning Peter and John (both close followers of Jesus). Soon after the church had been established, the Sanhedrin inquired of them (Peter and John) “by what name” they had been teaching, Peter exclaimed:
“By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:8,10-12, emp. added).
Although the Bible may not explicitly offer any official title for the Church, the Scriptures do demand that Christians put off party names and simply call themselves after the One Who saved them. Knowing that Jesus will come back to receive His bride and take her home, we had better be sure that church is wearing His name and no one else's.
Who thought of restoring the original New Testament church?
At different times in history and in different places in the world, people have decided to leave behind traditions and creeds that have been created by man and return to the simple pattern for the church and Christian living that can be found in the Bible.
History records people in Spain in the early 1600's working to restore original Christianity. There are many examples from India, Poland, Russia, Ethiopia and other countries where people studied the Bible on their own, found the original design for the church and Christian life, and began following it.
One example involved a man named Thomas Campbell, a Presbyterian minister that immigrated to the United States from Ireland in 1807. He was deeply troubled by the rivalries he saw between the religious denominations in America, so he left his denomination and pledged to be "just a Christian" and to help congregations to be established that were churches of Christ according to the model for the church found in the Bible.
A more recent example occurred in the 1990's. A missionary visiting a remote village in Nicaragua was surprised to discover that the village already had a congregation. He learned that although decades earlier a missionary had brought Bibles to the village, when war broke out the earlier missionary left before doing any teaching. So where had the church come from? The people of the village had simply read the New Testament and put into practice what they read. They, like others, had restored a church of Christ.
Is the original pattern for the church still valid?
It was always in Jesus' plans to build His church. In the gospel of Matthew 16:18 it is recorded that Jesus said "I will build my church," However, Jesus did not personally establish congregations while He was here on earth. Rather, Jesus intended for this work to be done by the apostles after He had returned to heaven. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit from heaven into the apostles to guide them in this important work.
In the gospel of John we read that on the very night that he was going to be arrested Jesus told his apostles, "The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you (John 14:26)". The apostles established the first Christian congregation in Jerusalem approximately ten days after Jesus ascended back to heaven. This is recorded in Acts 2.
Later in the book of Acts, you can read how the apostles and first Christians established more congregations in other cities and towns. The rest of the New Testament describes how these first congregations were organized, how they worshiped, what they taught and how the first Christians put their faith into practice in their daily lives.
The apostle Paul wrote to the church in the city of Philippi, “join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you (Philippians 3:17)". Paul also wrote that, "what you have heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you (2 Timothy1:13-14)".
And not only this, but Paul also said that, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17)". This means the Bible contains a complete message for us concerning what the church should be like and how we should live as Christians.
If we follow these teachings in our personal lives, and organize our congregations in the same way that the first Christians did, we will be pleasing to God today, just like the first church was.
What should we restore?
Some of the elements that existed in the church in New Testament times were specific to the first- century and are not important to restore. For example, we do not need to dress in first-century clothing and use oil lamps. However, there are teachings and practices of the original church that were put in place by Jesus' inspired apostles that were meant to be permanent teachings and practices in Christ's church. For example:
How did people become Christians in the original church? We need to teach people to become Christians in the same way today.
What did the original church do in its Sunday worship services? We need to include the same things in our worship services today.
What kind of organization existed in the original church? We need to have the same leadership and structure in the church today.
What motivated the first Christians to live to please God? We need to develop the same motivation in our daily lives to please God.
Conclusion
Since the Bible writers were inspired by God, and since the Bible contains God's complete message for mankind, it is the only basis we need for our faith. If we will follow the pattern for the church and for our personal daily Christian life as described in the New Testament we can be pleasing to God today just as the first Christians were. This is what the church of Christ is. We are not a church that has developed its rituals and traditions over the centuries into a complicated hierarchy. Nor are we a newly created church that is designing itself to be suitable to everyone's tastes and feelings.
We are an independent congregation that looks to the example of the first Christians, as recorded in the Bible, to know what our personal lives and our congregation should be like. We are committed to both the spirit and pattern of original, New Testament Christianity.
Perhaps you now have more specific questions about the church of Christ. If you do, we invite you to visit our congregation or contact us to get more answers to your questions and to see what our efforts to restore simple New Testament Christianity look like. May God bless your efforts to honor and please Him with your life.