JESUS’ CHOICE OR YOUR CHOICE?
Jesus wants people to attend worship services and be members of a local
congregation, but which one? The answer is the one He built. Jesus
stated to the apostles that “upon this rock I will build my church; and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). The rock
upon which He built was the fact He is “the Christ, the Son of the living
God” as Peter confessed in verse 16. Please notice Jesus promised to build one
church, His church. Jesus wants all people associated with His church.
How do we know which church that is? We know by looking for the
identifying marks which show it is Jesus’ church. First, what name does
it wear? The name used by a church indicates a lot about that church. The use of
some man’s name is a clear violation of Paul’s admonition to the church
at Corinth. In I Corinthians 1:10 - 13 Paul wrote, 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. For it hath been declared
unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there
are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I
am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ
divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
The use of a man’s name instead of Jesus’ identifies that church as one
other than the one Jesus built.
A second characteristic of the church Jesus built
is the time and place the church began. When Jesus uttered the words of
Matthew 16 cited above, John the baptizer was dead. Jesus clearly used the
future tense for the time of His building the church, so any church
begun before this time is not the church of Jesus’ choice. When did it
start? Acts 2:47 records that “the Lord added to the church daily. .
.” so the church came into existence prior to that point.
A third recognizable characteristic is the location of the church’s
headquarters. Jesus is the head of His church as Paul made clear when he wrote,
“And he is the head of the body, the church” (Colossians 1:18). The
head is found working at the headquarters, which for the church Jesus built is
heaven. Any church with an earthly head working from an earthly
headquarters is not the church built by Jesus.
The local organization of the church is also a distinguishing mark of Jesus’
church. Jesus designed the church to be guided by an eldership or
presbytery. There are six different English words used to describe the men
who make up the eldership. Elder, presbyter, bishop, overseer, shepherd,
and pastor. They are the translation of three different Greek words.
Presbyter is the Greek word for elder. Bishop and overseer are from the
same Greek word, and bishop is defined as one who oversees. Pastor is from
the Latin meaning shepherd. The qualifications for these men are found in
I Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9. Their importance is seen in the action of
Paul and Barnabas recorded in Acts 14:21-23. Elders of the Jerusalem
church were active in resolving the dispute over circumcision in Acts 15:6, 22.
Elders were called by Paul to Miletus and were told by him, “Take heed
therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost
hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with
his own blood” (Acts 20:28). These elders were to serve as
“overseers” (bishops ASV) and “feed” or “shepherd the church” (NKJV).
We encourage people to attend the church of Jesus’ choice - the one He built,
with Jesus serving as head, and organized according to His plan as revealed
in the New Testament.
—Denton Landon, minister