Bible Study › Lesson 8 of 10
The Church Christ Built... What Now?
A person who has heard the gospel, believed it, repented, confessed Christ, and been baptized has been saved from his past sins. But that is a beginning, not an ending. This lesson asks what he has been added to, and how he is to live from here.
18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
Who did Jesus say would build the church, and whose church would it be?
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Jesus said He would build it, and He called it "My church." One builder, one church, and it belongs to Him. He did not say He would build churches, and He did not say it would belong to any man.
47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
Who added people to the church, and which people were added?
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The Lord added them, and He added those who were being saved. Nobody joins the Lord's church the way a person joins a club. When a person obeys the gospel, the Lord Himself adds him. Salvation and being in the church happen at the same moment, by the same hand.
22And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church, 23which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
What does Paul say the church is?
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His body. Christ is the head, and the church is His body. That is not a figure of speech for an organization. It means the church is as closely joined to Christ as a body is to its head, and there is no being joined to the head apart from the body.
4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in us all.
How many bodies does Paul say there are? How many faiths? How many baptisms?
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One body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God. Seven ones. Since the body is the church, there is one church, just as there is one Lord. Denominations are a human arrangement; the Scriptures know nothing of them.
42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
What four things did the newly baptized believers continue steadfastly in?
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The apostles' teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers. This is what the first Christians did after they were saved, and the word is "steadfastly." They kept learning, kept meeting together, kept the Lord's Supper, and kept praying. That is the pattern for every Christian since.
24And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. 25Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
What are Christians told not to forsake, and what are they to do for one another?
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Not to forsake assembling together, as some had already fallen into the habit of doing. They are to consider one another, stir up love and good works, and encourage one another. The Christian life is not lived alone. Meeting with the church is commanded, and it is for your sake and everyone else's.
9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
A Christian will still sin. What does John say happens when he confesses it?
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God is faithful and just to forgive the sin and cleanse him from all unrighteousness. Baptism washed away the sins of the past. For the sins a Christian commits afterward, the remedy is to confess them to God, and He forgives. A Christian does not need to be baptized again every time he stumbles... he needs to repent and pray.
10Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
How long does Jesus say to be faithful, and what does He promise?
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Faithful unto death, and He will give the crown of life. Not faithful for a while, not faithful until it gets hard. Unto death. The promise is for the one who finishes.
In short
Jesus built one church, and it is His. When a person obeys the gospel, the Lord adds him to it. The church is Christ's body, and there is one body, just as there is one Lord and one baptism. That rules out the idea of picking a church the way a person picks a store.
What the first Christians did after they were saved is what Christians still do: continue steadfastly in the apostles' teaching, in fellowship, in the Lord's Supper, and in prayer, and keep assembling together. When a Christian sins, he confesses it to God and is forgiven. And he stays faithful unto death, because that is where the crown of life is.
That is the plan of salvation, start to finish, and every answer came from the passage above it. The last lesson takes up the common objections you are likely to hear, and answers each one from the Scriptures. If you have read these eight lessons and have not yet obeyed the gospel, the Scriptures have told you what to do... and nobody in the Bible was told to wait. If you would like to talk with someone, or need help finding a congregation that follows this pattern, use the contact page. We would be glad to help.
Go deeper: What Is The Church Of Christ? | The History Of The Church