The Simple Answer:
First, it is a description. It is not a title.
The Greek word (ekklesia) translated “church” in the English just means a gathering of people, an assembly. It has no religious meaning in and of itself. Matter of fact, in Acts 19:32 the word “ekklesia” is referring to a riotous gathering of pagans in Ephesus.
Therefore, we describe ourselves as a “church of Christ” to show that we are a gathering of people that belong to Jesus Christ. We are identified by Him because He is the head of the church and we have placed our identity in Him.
Baldwin is simply a location. Baldwin is a small community on the perimeter of the city of Cullman.
So putting it all together, Baldwin church of Christ is a description for the people that gather together regularly at the address listed on our website to worship God, stimulate one another to love and good deeds, and encourage one another as we know the day is drawing all the more near (Hebrews 10:23-25).
For further understanding continue to read the following lesson:
The Church that Belongs to Jesus
Learning Objective:
We will obtain an understanding of the church that we read about in the Bible and what God expects from a member of His church (the body of Christ).
Lesson:
Is there a relationship between salvation and church membership?
Jesus told Peter He would build His church (Matthew 16:18).
Acts 2:38 says: Peter said to them, Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Verse 41 says: So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.
Not everybody received what Peter said.
How many received his word?
With approximately 1 million Jews present that day in Jerusalem on Pentecost ________ received what Peter said.
Acts 2:36 says: Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.
Peter proclaimed Jesus Christ to the entire house of Israel, but only about 3000 souls gladly received Peter’s words.
Then what did those that gladly received Peter’s words do?
After having been baptized, verse 41 says: there were added unto them.
Who added them?
Verse 47 says: Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
It is God that adds to the church.
Who did God add to the church?
The people that gladly received Peter’s words as he proclaimed Jesus Christ.
What did those people do to receive his words?
They repented and were baptized.
And what were they called?
Verse 47 says: those who were being saved
God added the saved to the church.
So, the church is made up of the saved and the saved make up the church.
The church was called many things (The body, the bride, the kingdom, the household of faith, the pillar and ground of truth and a spiritual house).
Colossians 1:18 says: He (Jesus Christ) is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
Paul said that Christ is the head of the body, the church. The body and church are one in the same.
So God added the saved to the church and the church is the same thing as Christ’s body.
Ephesians 4:4 says: There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling.
Now, if the church is the body and Paul said there’s only one body, how many churches are there?
There is only one church. That church is made up of the saved and it is God alone that adds the saved to that one church.
Furthermore, Ephesians 5:23-25 says: For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.
And if Christ is the Savior of the body, the church, then it is impossible to be saved outside of the church because that’s the very thing He is going to save.
So when people say, “join the church of your choice” is that good advice?
It’s a common phrase that comes from good intentions, but it’s rooted in ignorance of God’s Word.
The Bible has shown us that when people obey God’s instructions to be saved, they don’t choose the church of their choice. God adds them to the one church that belongs to His Son.
As shown earlier, the one church is described by several different descriptions in the Bible (the body, the bride, the kingdom, the household of faith, the pillar and ground of truth and a spiritual house).
The description church of Christ is just one of those descriptions used in the Bible to describe the one church.
Romans 16:16 says: Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.
A lower-cased ‘c’ is used in the word church because the church of Christ is not a proper name. It’s simply a description of Christ’s body, His blood-bought church. It’s a descriptive term of Jesus Christ’s church.
You cannot find the Catholics, the Baptists, the Methodists, the Presbyterians or the other denominations in the Bible. They cannot be found in the Bible by name or by practice. That is because they did not exist in the first century.
But, you find the church of Christ in both name and practice.
The description could be any of a number of descriptions we read of in the Bible describing the one church that belongs to Jesus, but identifying it by practice is of great importance. We will approach that later in our study.
The church that belongs to Jesus Christ was born as we have read in Acts 2 on that Day of Pentecost in the first century.
So, is there a relationship between salvation and church membership?
The church is essential to salvation. The saved are members of the church and the church is made up of the saved. The two cannot be separated.
Illustration
God had Noah build a vessel of salvation, the ark.
Noah said to get into the ark to be saved. Get into the vessel commissioned by God to have salvation.
It’s your choice to get in the ark. Don’t get in if you don’t want to, but if you don’t get in you won’t be saved.
Was salvation found outside the ark?
Furthermore, God commissioned another soul-saving vessel. The perfect soul-saving vessel, Jesus Christ. The principle from the Old Testament was brought forth and fulfilled in Jesus Christ. We have the choice.
Get into the vessel of Jesus Christ which is the church, the body of Christ to be saved. You don’t have to get in if you don’t want to, but if you don’t get in you won’t be saved.
Is salvation found outside the ark of Christ?
The ark of Christ is the body of Christ, which is the church. That is why one must be in the church that belongs to Jesus for salvation. It’s the soul-saving ark of God today just like the soul-saving ark of God during Noah’s day.
The ark was the antitype of the church and Noah was the antitype of Christ. The church of Christ is not a denomination.
Denominations are divisions from the original.
The “church of Christ” is a proper description of people striving to belong to the original that began on the Day of Pentecost around 33 A.D.
Secondly, denominations have an earthly head, an association, a committee, a board of directors, conventions, etc.
HOW DO I FIND a group of Christians that are meeting together and striving to be a member of the one church that belongs to Jesus Christ?
Examine what they teach and practice!!!
- The church belonging to Jesus has no earthly head of any kind because Jesus is the head.
- The church belonging to Jesus is completely autonomous because this is the example set forth from the beginning of the establishing of local bodies of Christ as read about in the book of Acts by the Apostles who were given the Holy Spirit from Jesus to “guide them into all truth” (John 16:5-15).
- The church belonging to Jesus is self-governed by Elders as described in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. Deacons assist in the service of the church as instructed in 1 Timothy 3:8-12. This is done for the same reason as above. Everything that is taught or practiced is done by the authority of Jesus Christ. Not man because man has no authority in these matters. All
was given to Christ (Matthew 28:18-20).
Christ is the only Head. He is seated at the right hand of God, Acts 2:33, and governs over His kingdom, the church. Jesus governs His kingdom at this very moment. That kingdom is His church, Colossians 1:18, and the idea is explained in Ephesians 1:20-23, which says:
Which he brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and
seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and
authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in
this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under
His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His
body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
The local bodies of Christians meeting together and striving to be a member of the one church that belongs to Jesus Christ are bound together through brotherly love and the Word of God.
The Word unites us into one faith (Ephesians 4:3-6).
We have no man-made statements of faith, no denominational creed-books, no associations, no conventions and no board of directors.
The Bible is our only rule of faith. God’s Word. It is all man needs to do the will of God and doing God’s will is essential to salvation (Matthew 7:21-23).
AGAIN, HOW DO I FIND the church that belongs to Jesus Christ from every other church on the planet?
Religions usually identify themselves by their names or titles, but what if you removed all of the names from all of the churches today? How would we know one from another?
In other words, how can you tell the difference between one church and another?
BY WHAT THEY TEACH AND PRACTICE!!!
The way you identify the true church that belongs to Jesus today is by the same method. You find out what they teach and practice.
The church that belongs to Jesus in the New Testament was commanded to worship God in truth and in Spirit (John 4:24).
If we read all the way through the New Testament we’ll find that Christians gathered together upon the first day of the week to worship God through five acts of worship:
1. They partook of the Lord’s Supper
2. They prayed together
3. They sang songs, hymns, and spiritual songs
4. They gave as they’d been prospered
5. And they were exhorted by preaching
That is it. No robed choirs, no formalities, no liturgical prayers. Just worship to God as taught by the apostles.
Many churches today are doing all sorts of things outside of the authority of Jesus Christ and His Apostles (the New Testament) and are the subjects of Matthew 15:9, which says:
But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Remember Matthew 7:21 says: Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
We must seek to do the will of God. The apostles were divinely guided by the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that they would be guided into all Truth by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13).
So when the apostles led the early church they were being guided into all Truth and we are to follow that Truth today.
If you are one that has responded appropriately to God’s instructions to be saved and therefore He has added you to the body of Christ, which is the church that belongs to Jesus Christ.
The next step in this study would be to discover in God’s Word what He desires of you in the body of Christ.
Ephesians 4:11-16 is a good place to start. Paul is writing to the Christians in Ephesus. Make sure you read the entire letter first in order to understand 4:11-16 in its proper context.