Todd Clippard

Topic(s): Church, Denominationalism

The church of Christ is not a denomination.  A denomination is a group larger than the local church, yet smaller than the church universal.  The Bible never speaks of the church as a denomination, neither does it mention any denominational concept of the church.  In fact, the Bible condemns religious division throughout the New Testament.

Jesus prayed for the unity of all believers in John 17:20-23.  In that prayer, He prayed for this unity to imitate the unity between the Father and Himself.  Obviously, Jesus and His Father are unified in matters of doctrine, for Jesus cited His Father as the source of His message in John 12:48-50.

Paul condemned religious in 1 Corinthians 1:10 and Romans 16:17.  Writing to the Corinthians, Paul said "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."

Writing to Romans, Paul said "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them."

Any teaching about the nature of the church that accepts a denominational concept of Christianity is to be avoided at all costs: "Is Christ divided?" (1 Cor 1:13).  Christ is the head of the body, the church (Col 1:18; cf Eph 1:22-23).  Note the singularity in this verse -- one head, one body = one church. 

Consider also Ephesians 5:23-32.  There are at least a dozen references to the church, all of them singular.  When the apostles wrote "to the churches" (cf 1 Cor 16:1), they were not writing to different denominations, but instead to different congregations of the same church residing in the same region.

The denominational concept of Christianity was unknown in the days of the apostles.  The one church established by Jesus was sufficient to meet the needs of all men of that day.  The essence of man is unchanged from the beginning.  Man’s need for remission of sins and reconciliation to God remain the same.  Thus, since one church was all that was needed (and authorized) in the first century, then there is only a need for one church today.