Topic(s):  Church

Todd Clippard

I'm not sure what is meant by the idea of church history. The church of Christ was established on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. Today, churches of Christ seek to be the same church as that revealed in the New Testament. Therefore, we accept only the apostle's doctrine (Acts 2:42), the Bible, as our only rule of faith and practice. We reject all creeds and doctrines of men (Matt 15:9). We seek to do everything by the authority of Jesus Christ (Col 3:16). This rule governs our organization, worship, faith, practice, etc.

We believe and teach that there is only one church:

1. Christ is the head of the body, the church (Col 1:18; Eph 1:22-23). One head, one body, one church.
2. Jesus came to build His church (Matthew 16:18).
3. In Ephesians 5:23-32, there are twelve noun/pronoun references to the church -- all of them singular.
4. The church is the bride of Christ - denominationalism makes Jesus a polygamist.
5. The Lord adds the saved to the church (singular) - Acts 2:47.

If there was only one church established to meet man's needs in the first century, then that's all we need today.