How can I know which church God wants me to attend? In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said, ...I will build my church. From this passage we understand two things. One, whatever church would be built would belong to Jesus Christ. It would not be manmade nor even designed by man. Second, there would be only one church as its very nature is singular. After Peters sermon recorded in Acts 2, we see in verse 47 those who were being saved were added to this church by the Lord Himself. Note that there was no question as to which church they were being added. Question: WHY NOT? The answer could not be more obvious. There was only the one church and that one church belonged to the Lord. However, today we see many churches all teaching doctrines that are diverse and contradictory. What does God have to say about this? In John 17, one of Jesus prayers to the Father is recorded. One of the things he prayed about was the unity of his people. He prayed in verse 21, That they all may be one; as thou, Father, {art} in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us. Not long after the church in Corinth was planted, there was division. The problem was described to Paul. One claimed follow after Paul, or after Apollos, or after Cephas, or after Christ. Another way of stating this is to say that some were Paulite-Christians, or Cephaite-Christians. Paul rebuked them sharply asking the question, IS CHRIST DIVIDED? Prior to this rebuke, Paul begged that the Christians would, ...all speak the same thing, and {that} there be no divisions among you; but {that} ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment (v. 10). Would Paul not make the same rebuke to those in religious division today? We may know without doubt that those who have been added by the Lord to the church that He built teach and practice the same thing and that there is no division among them. Within the New Testament, we find the identifying marks or characteristics of the church of the New Testament. We will make that our study next week.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 09:24:45 +0000
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