There is one other thing that concerns our salvation that I would like for us to look at in the Bible. In response to Peters confession to Jesus in Matthew 16:16 that, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God". Jesus then says in Matthew 16:18, "On this rock I will build My church." To whom was this church to belong? "My" is possessive, which shows the church belongs to Jesus. How many churches did Jesus say He was going to build? He said He was going to build "My church", which is singular not plural. The Lord only promised to build His one church.
In Ephesians 4:4-6 there are seven ones listed: "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is above all, and through all, and in you all." Just as there is only one God and only one Lord we also see there is only one body. The Bible says there is only one body; so what is this one body? In Ephesians 1:21-22 we find out what this one body is, "And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body." Here we see that the Bible says the church is the body. So if there is only one body and the one body is the church, then there can only be one church that belongs to the Lord.
In Colossians 1:18 in speaking of Christ, we read, "And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He may have the pre-eminence." Here again we see that the body (singular) is the church (singular). Again the Bible tells us that the Lord has only one church. We also see that in all things Christ is to have the pre-eminence. For Christ to have the pre-eminence in all things, we must follow Christ in all things and not follow man. If we follow men in some things then Christ does not have the pre-eminence in all things.
Since Christ only built His one church, we need to ask where did all these other churches come from? The only answer is they were built by men, so men could "attend the church of their choice", and not God's choice. We read in Ephesians 5:23, "Christ is the head of the church, and he is the saviour of the body." Christ is only the saviour of His one body, His one church. He is going to only save His one church.
We have seen in the Bible that the one body is the one church, which the Lord built. We have also seen that Christ has only promised to save His one body, His one church. What then is going to happen to the hundreds of different kinds of other churches we see in existence today? Again let us let God answer this question. In Matthew 15:13 Jesus said, "Every plant, which my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted." What will happen to all those churches that God did not plant? They will be rooted up. This is what God has said He will do. This is frightening. I want to make sure I am in the Lord's church, the only one He is going to save.
In Psalms 127:1 we read, "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it." No one has the right to start a church or religious organization that is different from the one Jesus built. But we see hundreds of different kinds of churches that men have built, each with a different creed. We must recognize the difference between the church the Lord built and the many counterfeit churches men have built. Why not be a member of the church that Jesus built, the church of Christ so you can go to heaven. This is a sad but serious situation; one that concerns me greatly and causes me much grief and sorrow to see honest people, who are honestly mistaken, labouring in vain. This is a supreme tragedy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Questions Lesson 22 The Lord's Church
(Part A)
1) (Matthew 16:18) How many different churches did the Lord say he was going to build?
Many so we could attend the church of our choice.
More than 500.
My (possessive) Church (singular), in other words one.
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2) Christ built only His church.
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3) (Ephesians 4:4-6) There are how many bodies?
One.
One hundred.
One thousand
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4) There is only one body.
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5) (Ephesians 1:21-22) What is this one body?
There is not one body but many bodies.
All the different kinds of churches.
The (Lord's) Church.
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6) The Lord only has His one body, the church.
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7) (Colossians 1:18) Christ is the head of
The body, the church.
Many different kinds of churches.
No church.
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8) Christ is the head of all different kinds of churches.
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9) (Ephesians 5:23) Christ is going to save
His body which is His Church.
All the different religious bodies (churches).
No church.
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10) Christ is the Saviour of the church He established.
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11) (Matthew 15:13) Those plants which God has not planted
God will accept.
God will water and cultivate.
Shall be rooted up.
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12) Those plants which God planted shall be saved.
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13) (Psalms 127:1) If the Lord has not built the house
They labor in vain who build it.
It doesn't matter if the Lord has not built it.
Those who labor in it are accepted.
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14) People labor in vain if they are in a house the Lord did not build.