1. Yes, Jesus came to build only ONE CHURCH! Matthew 16:18: "And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter (petros), and upon this rock (petra) I will build MY CHURCH; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it"
a. This 'rock' (petra) upon which Jesus would build His church (assembly) was the statement Peter just made in verse 16: "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God".
b. This is the church that He purchased with His own blood: Acts 20:28: "...the CHURCH of the LORD which HE PURCHASED WITH HIS OWN BLOOD."
c. This church (assembly) NEVER had organization as a universal church upon the earth! Instead, God set up LOCAL organizational structure ONLY! Romans 16:16: "...all the churches of Christ salute you."
2. THIS ONE TRUE CHURCH IS THE ONE BODY, WHICH IS HIS CHURCH! Ephesians 1:22, 23: "and He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to THE CHURCH, 23 WHICH IS HIS BODY, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all."
3. THERE IS ONLY ONE BODY, WHICH IS HIS CHURCH! Ephesians 4:4-6: "There is ONE BODY, and one Spirit, even as ye were called in one hope of your calling: 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all."
4. JESUS IS SAVIOUR OF HIS BODY, HIS CHURCH! Ephesians 5:23: "...as Christ also is the head of the church, being HIMSELF THE SAVIOUR OF THE BODY."
5. There is only ONE WAY to get into this ONE BODY, and that is through Scriptural BAPTISM! I Corinthians 12:13: "For in one Spirit were we all BAPTIZED INTO ONE BODY, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit." This is the ONE BAPTISM mentioned in Ephesians 4:5, but what baptism is it? IT IS WATER BAPTISM (immersion, NOT sprinking or pouring) :
a. John 3:5: "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born of WATER and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." This new birth (vs. 3) is ONE BIRTH, consisting of TWO elements: WATER and the Spirit!
b. Acts 8:35-39: "And Phillip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture (Isaiah 53:7ff), preached unto him JESUS. 36 And as they went on the way, they came unto a certain WATER; and the eunuch saith, Behold, here is water; what doth hinder me to be BAPTIZED? 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they both went DOWN INTO the WATER, both Phillip and the eunuch; and he BAPTIZED him. 39 And when they came UP OUT OF the WATER, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Phillip and the eunuch saw him no more, for he went on his way rejoicing." Can anyone preach Jesus without including the commands to be obeyed in order to be saved, INCLUDING BAPTISM? (study the context carefully!)
c. Acts 10:47, 48: "Can any man forbid the WATER, that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit as well as we? 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ..."
d. Ephesians 5:25-27: "...even as Christ loved the CHURCH, and GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR IT; 26 that He might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the WASHING OF WATER with the Word, that He might present the church to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing;, but that it should be holy and without blemish."
e. Hebrews 10:22: "let us draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our body washed with pure WATER"
f. I Peter 3:20, 21: "...wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved through WATER; which DOTH NOW SAVE YOU, EVEN BAPTISM, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the interrogation of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ"
6. Remember, it is the BLOOD of Jesus Christ that washes our sins away! Revelation 1:5: "and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loveth us, and LOOSED (WASHED) us from our sins BY (IN) HIS BLOOD"
a. This takes place when we are Scripturally baptized INTO Christ, because this is the ONLY place we can reach His soul saving blood: Romans 6:3, 4: "Or are ye ignorant that all we who were BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST JESUS WERE BAPTIZED INTO HIS DEATH? 4 We were BURIED therefore WITH HIM THROUGH BAPTISM INTO DEATH; that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in NEWNESS OF LIFE." Remember, this is where Jesus shed His blood, when He died; IN HIS DEATH!
Conclusion: Dear reader, are YOU in the ONE BODY you read about in the New Testament? Are you in that ONE CHURCH that Jesus Christ established? Remember that He is the Saviour of THAT BODY, and you can only get into it through this ONE BAPTISM, immersion in water into Christ for the remission of your sins. If you now believe what God's Word says about these things, you need to repent of your sins, which may include believing false teachings about how 'many churches (denominations) are ok in the sight of God', and/or that you were saved by 'faith only' without being Scripturally baptized into Christ, then you can be Scripturally baptized into Christ. We can help you accomplish doing God's Will. Please contact us at any time. May we all seek to speak only as the Oracles of God in all matters of religion (I Peter 4:11), and not to go beyond it (I Corinthians 4:6) so that we are not found to be adding to or taking away from God's Word. (Colossians 3:17; Revelation 22:18, 19).
The churches of Christ (non-institutional)
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