The One New Testament Church
Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin ArticlesIn 1 Corinthians 1:10 the apostle Paul makes the following plea: “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye 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.”
Was the New Testament church divided? Was it made up of several denominations? If so, of which denomination or sect were the apostles and early Christians? If it was not divided, is denominationalism in harmony with the Bible?
The “Oneness” Of The NT Church
The New Testament church was one body (Ephesians 4:4; Colossians 1:18-24). It was not divided into different religious “bodies”, each having their own special name, special organization and special beliefs. The New Testament church was one undivided body of Christians. They were all members of the same church. They all believed the same thing (Philippians 3:16). Division among Christians is condemned (1 Corinthians 1:10).
Becoming A Member Of The NT Church
In order to become a member of the church described in the New Testament, you must do the following:
1) You must accept the Bible as your only guidebook and you must abandon every religious teaching and practice that the Bible does not teach.
2) You must believe and obey the one gospel it teaches (Gal. 1:8-9; 1 Corinthians 15:1-3; Mark 16:16; Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; Acts 17:30; Romans 10:9-10, 17). In so doing you will become “just a Christian” without any denominational name to identify you as anything different from New Testament Christians (Acts 11:26).
3) You must live as the Bible teaches, being faithful in service and worshipping as the Bible directs (John 4:23-24; Revelation 2:10).
Conclusion:
When you do these things, you will be nothing more than a Christian. You will not be a member of a “division” any more than were the apostles members of different churches.
Our plea is to see upon the earth an identical reproduction of the Lord’s church that is described in the New Testament. We believe many share in the hope that it can be accomplished and that the day will come when there will be “no divisions among us” (1 Corinthians 1:10). Only then can we be together in the one kingdom described in the New Testament (Matthew 16:18-19).