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:
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.
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.