What Is "The Church Of Christ"?
 By John Hendrix
  
 "The church of Christ" is not a patented name that 
only one, uniform group might hold. From the 
viewpoint of common usage, "the church of Christ" is 
the name of several different organizations. We will 
not attempt to describe or define all of these groups 
in this article. What we want to do is describe "the 
church of Christ" that is spoken of in the New 
Testament.
   A thing's name, of course, is a label that is 
applied to distinguish it. Usually these labels are 
meant to be descriptive. "The church of Christ" 
should mean "the church that belongs to Christ" or 
"Christ's church." Common usage, however, may distort 
or confuse this purpose of names. For example, 
someone may look up the first name *John* and find a 
definition like "beloved of God." While I certainly 
hope that this description is accurate, most parents 
who name their child *John* probably do not have this 
description in mind.
   When we look at names in an ancient work--like the 
Bible--we must be careful not to let modern usage 
confuse us. For example, most people probably would 
say that "the church of Christ" refers to a group of 
mostly independent congregations who tend to have 
certain doctrinal similarities. While this definition 
may seem to match in the modern world, it does not 
accurately denote the New Testament description of 
the church that belongs to Christ.
   In Matthew 16:18 Jesus first spoke of "building 
[His] church." The Greek word which the King James 
Version (and most others) translate "church" 
generally means "assembly" (See Strongs # 1577). 
There were, and are, many types of assemblies, but 
Jesus promised to build *His assembly*. Thus we can 
speak of "the church of Christ"--that is, the church 
or assembly that belongs to Christ. In this passage 
(Matthew 16:18) we read of a *single* church; "My 
church" and "it" indicates *one* entity or body. In 
the context of this passage "the church of Christ" is 
a single body of people that belong to Jesus. Since 
it belongs to Jesus, one could use other names that 
refer to Jesus in its name, like "the church of the 
firstborn" (Hebrews 12:23). We can use other names as 
well. Since "Christ is God's" (1 Corinthians 3:23), 
we can accurately call this church "the church of 
God," and so the Scriptures do (for example Acts 
20:28).
   There are different names for Jesus' church, but 
all refer to the same entity, all speak of the same 
church. In fact the New Testament authors often 
simply used "the church" to refer to the church of 
Christ (Acts 2:47 and 1 Corinthians 10:32).
   So we see that there is a church in the New 
Testament--sometimes called by different names--that 
belongs to Jesus--it is "the church of Christ."
   Let us list some facts about this "church of 
Christ":
  *    It belongs to Christ (Matthew 16:18)
  *    Jesus built it (not any man) (Matthew 16:18)
  *    Jesus died for it (Ephesians 5:25)
  *    It is the "body of Christ" on this earth 
       today (Colossians 1:18)
  *    Christ is the head (Colossians 1:18)
  *    God determines membership in the church 
       (Acts 2:47)
  *    It is made up of the saved (Acts 2:47)
  *    It upholds the truth (1 Timothy 3:15)
   One thing that puzzles many in the religious world 
is that some who claim to be members of the church of 
Christ staunchly deny being members of a 
denomination. People often find this hard to 
understand because modern definitions of 
"denominations" tend to leave off an important 
meaning that used to be attached to the word. 
Dictionaries show that the word principally means, 
"to name." What is objectionable about that?
   Back in times past--when people tended to care 
more about religious issues--*denomination* was used 
in the sense of naming the parts of something. Today 
we still talk about denominations of money. There are 
five-dollar bills and ten-dollar bills, but both are 
money. Similarly, people would say, "there are 
Baptists and there are Methodists, but they are just 
denominations of the one church of God."
   Now this may seem generous and polite, but it is 
not correct. Christ is not divided, neither is His 
body, the church:
     Now I say this, that each of you says, "I am of 
     Paul," or "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Cephas," or 
     "I am of Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul 
     crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name 
     of Paul? (1 Corinthians 1:12-13)
   The church of Christ--as used in the New 
Testament--is not a sub-group of the larger church 
that Christ died for. The church of Christ is one 
church, just like there is one body:
     There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were 
     called in one hope of your calling; (Ephesians 4:4)
   The Holy Spirit was clear: Christians are not to 
divide themselves up into groups, or denominations. 
We must unite under the standard of truth:
     Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our 
     Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, 
     and that there be no divisions among you, but that 
     you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and 
     in the same judgment. (1 Corinthians 1:10)
   Let us deal with one more question. "Will only 
members of the church of Christ be saved?"
   Yes.
   [Pause while the appalled protests and objections 
die down.]
   As we have stated before--and as Acts 2:47 
teaches--the church is *made up* of the saved. The 
key to salvation *is not* the sign outside the church 
building. Nor is acceptance by some fellowship of 
people the key to salvation. The key to salvation is 
pleasing God:
     Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the 
     Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden 
     things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the 
     hearts. Then each one's praise will come from God.
     (1 Corinthians 4:5)
   If you obey God, He puts you into His church, 
forgiving your sins and saving you from certain 
wrath. The church of Christ is the body of the saved. 
Obey God and you will be a member.