Our Lord is the Head of the church which He purchased with His own precious blood. This is confirmed by the writers of the New Testament.
Colossians 1:18 (NKJV): 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 preeminence.
Acts 20:28 (NKJV): Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
As head and owner of the church He had the authority to build the church and set the entrance requirements to it.
Matthew 16:18–19 (NKJV): And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Jesus viewed His disciples as belonging to Him. He loves all of them (even modern day disciples) and prayed fervently that they would be united. He wanted all of His followers to be one in the same way as He and His Father were. Read carefully John 17:20-23. The apostles preached to unite all believers in the one body of doctrine delivered once and for all time to the saints (Jude 3)
Philippians 2:5 (NKJV): “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus“
1 Corinthians 1:10 (NKJV): “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” **
Philippians 2:2 (ESV): complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
1 Corinthians 3:10–11 (ESV): According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. **Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. **
Jesus must be saddened by the division among those who purport to be His followers. Preachers from the various divisions certainly are not preaching the same message. Some preachers say you must partake of the Lord’s Supper each first day while others say once per month, quarter or year is sufficient. Some preachers delineate the way of salvation in this way, A person must believe in Jesus after hearing the Gospel, then they must turn from their sins and confess that Jesus is the Son of God, after this that person must be immersed in water to have his sins washed away and put on Christ and thus be added to the church by God. While many other preachers say you only have to believe. Other preachers say a person is saved by saying “the sinner’s prayer.”
There is a vast difference in what all these denominations preach and teach on nearly every religious topic under the sun. Jesus cannot be pleased with all this division. It is quite apparent that these denominations don’t have the same mind, they cannot even agree to wear the name given by Christ (Acts 11;26; 1 Peter 4:16)! Instead of wearing the name that glorifies the owner and builder of the church many opt to glorify the men who started their denomination or some religious act. This certainly must grieve the one who shed His blood to buy the church.
Surely people today can fix this division by going back to the start of their religious organization. And remove whatever brought about the division. It does not take long for anyone to see the devil had a hand in bringing Paul’s prediction to fruition.
Acts 20:28–30 (ESV): “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.”
The church, Jesus died to build, fractured when men began teaching some other doctrine than Paul and the other apostles taught (Galatians 1:6-9). Paul warned Timothy that false teachers were coming to tickle the ears of people dissatisfied with plain truth (1 Timothy 4:1-5). The rampant rise of false teachers brought stern warnings and rebuke from the New Testament writers (1 John 4:1; Jude 3; Matthew 7:15-16; Romans 16:18).
2 Peter 2:1–3 (ESV): “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”
This tragedy of division, brought by false teachers, gave rise to over 300 distinct denominations today. How can we say we want to please the owner and builder of the one church and this staggering figure be so?
In a future article we will show the differences between the New Testament church and denominationalism. Please don’t think these articles are mean spirited or looking for a fight. As a preacher and Bible student I want to preach and practice the truth found in the Bible. I want to do Bible things as prescribed in the Bible. I believe each of us must give an answer for what the do and say religiously.
Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; 20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 1:18 ESV)
Worship Thoughts 