By Dennis R. Smith 

 

The Church of Christ is a body of believers in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.  They are convinced that the “seed of the kingdom” (Luke 8:11) is the word of God and that a reproduction of the New Testament church can be accomplished in modern times simply by planting the seed of that kingdom. This is done through an examination of the scriptures and application of the glorious passages to the lives of its members.  To that end, there are things which must be considered:  

 

(1) What was the church called in New Testament days (Rom. 16:16)?

 

(2) How was it organized (1st Tim. 3; Titus 1; 1st Cor. 12:28)?  

 

(3) In what kind of worship did they participate  (Acts 20:7; 1st Cor. 16:1-2; Eph. 5:19)?  

 

(4) How importantly did they consider the word of God (John 12:48; Rev. 22:28-19)? 

 

(5) What was their purpose on earth (Matt. 28:19-20)?  

 

(6) To whom did their first love belong (Matt. 22:37; Matt. 6:33)?  

 

(7)   What was their hope after death (John 14:1-2)?  

 

There have been many attempts to explain what the church is down through the years.  Some  have been excellent, but others  have strictly been the opinions of men.  To explain the church accurately there must be sufficient scriptural backing in order to obtain the proper concept of it. Since  Jesus purchased the church  with his blood  (Acts 20:28) and  God was pleased with it then -  surely he still is!