The Churches of Christ Greet You!

[This article is a continuation of an article I posted a few days ago called "My Journey of Faith." To read that article, click here.]

The average religious person likely views the church of Christ as just another denomination among thousands. This was certainly my perception at first, and so I don’t fault others for also seeing the church of Christ in the same light. Nevertheless, I would like to explain what the church of Christ is and how it is NOT a denomination.

Someone asked me not long ago, “How did the church of Christ get started?” The underlying assumption is that someone in recent history set up the church of Christ just like other men set up other denominations. We know that John and Charles Wesley, for example, were instrumental in the formation of the Methodist denomination. The efforts and influence of John Calvin led to the rise of the Presbyterian denomination. John Smythe and Roger Williams initiated the Baptist movement in the early 1600s. The Lutheran Church is named after a man named Martin Luther who lived in the 1500s. “So who started the church of Christ and when?” is the question.

It’s true that you can study American history (from a religious standpoint) and see a rise of so-called “churches of Christ” in the 19^th century. You can read about men such as Alexander Campbell and “Raccoon John Smith,” and how these men were instrumental in what is called the “Restoration Movement.” But here’s the thing: if you were to ask me how the church of Christ started, I would not reference a movement in the 1800s; I would instead direct your attention to a movement in the first century, a movement that began with Jesus Christ and the apostles.

Jesus Himself said, “Upon this rock I will build My church” (Matthew 16:18), the rock, or foundation, being the testimony that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of God” (vs. 15-16; also 1 Corinthians 3:11). When was this church established?

“Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.’ And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, ‘Be saved from this perverse generation.’ Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers…And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Ac 2:38-42, 47).

Peter and the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and preached the gospel for very first time, just as Jesus said they would (Luke 24:47). We’re told that 3,000 people obeyed the gospel, thereby making the transition from the “perverse generation” to “the church,” the very same church that Jesus had promised to establish in Matthew 16:18.

This church grew exponentially in Jerusalem under the leadership of the Spirit-filled apostles, from 3,000 to 5,000 (Acts 4:4), and from there we are simply told that believers were “increasingly added” (5:14) and multiplied (6:1). These first disciples were all united and together. There were no Baptists among them, no Episcopals, no Pentecostals or Catholics—they were simply believers who were bound by a mutual faith in the same Christ and a mutual obedience to the apostles’ doctrine (Acts 2:42; 6:2-4). 

Christianity began in the city of Jerusalem, and we’ve seen the explosive growth of the Jerusalem church, but it didn’t remain there forever. Notice Acts 8:1…

“Now Saul was consenting to his [Stephen’s] death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.”

As these Christians settled in new cities and regions throughout the world, new churches were established. We see Philip’s ministry in Samaria in Acts 8 and how the Samaritan disciples were organized afterward. Evidently, there was a church in Damascus where Saul was converted (Acts 9:18-19). We read about churches in Antioch (11:26), Corinth (18:8, 11), Caesarea (18:22) and Ephesus (20:17); there were also churches in Syria and Cilicia (15:41), Lystra, Iconium, Phrygia and Galatia (16:2-6).

Of course, based on other New Testament epistles, we know that there were churches in Cenchrea (Rom. 16:1), Rome (Rom. 16:5), Judea (Gal. 1:22), Philippi (Phil. 1:1), Colosse (Col. 1:1), Laodicea (Col. 1:16), Thessalonica (1 Thess. 1:1), Crete (Titus 1:5), Babylon (1 Pet. 5:13), Smyrna (Rev. 2:8), Pergamos (Rev. 2:12), Thyatira (Rev. 2:18), Sardis (Rev. 3:1) and Philadelphia (Rev. 3:7). These are only the churches that are specifically named in scripture; certainly, there were many, many others.

Were any of these churches all that different than the original church in Jerusalem? Apart from the location and the membership, all of these churches were roughly identical. As mentioned earlier, they were called “churches of Christ” (Romans 16:16). They all had the same doctrines (1 Cor. 4:17), the same worship (John 4:24; 1 Cor. 16:1), they engaged in the same types of activities (Rom. 15:25-26; 2 Cor. 11:8), and had the same type of organization (Ac. 14:23; Titus 1:5).

Speaking of organization, were these early churches centrally organized? Did they have a headquarters that sent out Bible class material and updates on doctrinal modifications? Were there annual conferences during which representatives from all the churches voted on policy-changes? We can answer all of these questions the same: with a resounding “NO!”

Each of the early churches was self-governing:

Paul speaking to the elders of the Ephesian church: “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” (Acts 20:28).

Peter writing to the elders of the church: “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers…” (1 Peter 5:2).

Notice how each church was independent of every other church. The elders of one church did not govern another church, nor did one church govern all the churches in a region. Each church, from within itself, appointed qualified men to serve as elders (plural) over that church (singular). There was no “National Elders’ Council,” or any kind of annual elders’ convention. Again, churches were autonomous.

The question is: if all of the churches of the first century were autonomous and self-governing, how is it that they were all so similar? Why is it that if you worshiped with the church in Antioch one Sunday and the church in Caesarea a week later, that you had the same basic experience? How did they all preach and teach identical doctrines? What was the cause of such unity and oneness?

The answer is simple:

“…who will remind you [the Corinthian church] of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church” (1 Corinthians 4:17).

“…that He might sanctify and cleanse her [the church] with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:26-27).

“Now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea” (Colossians 4:16).

“…but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15).

“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).

The local churches of the first century were united in the same way that the first Christians were united in Jerusalem: they followed the same standard of faith and doctrine! While it’s true that they didn’t have all 27 epistles, from Matthew-Revelation, bound together in one volume, they did have the apostles and prophets (Eph. 4:11), as well as the miraculous gift of knowledge (1 Cor. 13:8) to make up for the lack of a canon “till [they all came] to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God” (Eph. 4:11-13; 1 Cor. 13:8-11). Furthermore, the epistles were being distributed from church to church (Col. 4:16; 1 Thess. 5:27), and history confirms that these epistles were copies and distributed even further by Christian scribes. But the fact remains that the early churches were so similar because they followed a common standard.

Dear reader, it is no different today. If someone in America picks up a Bible and they read it from cover to cover, and they study it, and obey it precisely, and folks in Europe and Africa and Asia do the same thing, the results will be practically the same. You will have churches that worship the same way, teach the same things, engage in the same activities, and share the same type of organization, and it won’t be because some central headquarters told them all what to do—it will be because they have all submitted to the same pattern, the “doctrine of Christ” (2 John 9).

What hinders these results so often is the imposition of human opinions and traditions and desires, but again, humble obedience to THE standard will yield the same results.

Today, there are “churches of Christ” all over the world. I am personally aquainted with churches all over the southeastern United States, and I know Christians that live in every region in America. While I have not journeyed “across the pond” to Europe, Africa and Asia, I know many who have, and they speak of churches of Christ in those areas—in India, the Philippines, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Columbia, and so on.

What is amazing is that these congregations the world over are practically identical, just as the churches of the first century were identical. There is no central headquarters. No church governs another. There are no annual conferences and conventions. These churches are all autonomous, and yet they are the same because of an attitude of humble obedience that pervades each local body.

Does this mean that all groups that identify themselves as “churches of Christ” are identical? Not at all! Any church can choose to adopt the name, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they have adopted all tenets of the doctrine of Christ. Even in the first century there were churches that had adopted certain false doctrines (Rev. 3:14-16), but those churches were rebuked by Christ and commanded to repent!

So, “who started the church of Christ, and when?” You can read all about it…in the New Testament of your Bible. I am not a member of a human denomination, but of an autonomous church of Christ, whose head is Christ, and whose only creed is the Bible. And you know, there are other churches out there like mine, just as there were in the first century.

The “church of Christ” didn’t originate in the 1800s; it originated in the city of Jerusalem in the first century and the “movement” spread from there. In the millennia since then, churches of Christ have existed whenever men and women decided that they were just going to follow Christ. There is no doubt in my mind that during the Dark Ages and the Renaissance era, from the days of the Inquisition to the American Revolution, churches of Christ existed in the shadows of corrupt Christendom. While famous Protestants such as John Calvin, Martin Luther and Charles Wesley were grabbing the headlines across Europe and America, faithful Christians were behind the scenes, working humbly and quietly to advance the unadulterated gospel.

I can’t tell you to visit the nearest “church of Christ” to learn more about pure New Testament Christianity, for not all so-called “churches of Christ” are the same. I’m not here to defend all congregations who wear that name. That would be a denominational way-of-thinking, and I repudiate such a mindset. However, if what I’ve written interests you, and if you’d like to know more, contact me and I’ll do everything I can to help you. My email address is KYBibleQuestions@yahoo.com, or learn more by visiting www.zoecoc.com.

Dear reader, open your heart to receive the truth, for only the truth is capable of setting you free (John 8:32).