Christis: Hello, Denomos. I came by to invite you to our Sunday Bible class. We’re beginning a new class today in which we will study about the church.
Denomos: I appreciate the invitation, but I have my denomination where I attend. And you know, it doesn’t matter which church you are in. One church is as good as another, and you can join the church of your choice.
Christis: Denomos, did it matter if the people in Noah’s day went into Noah’s boat or some other boat?
Denomos: Indeed it did matter. Noah’s boat was the only boat that made it through the flood.
Christis: Right. Since there was only one acceptable boat, then it did matter into which boat they were in. One boat was not as good as another. They could not get into the boat of their choice.
Denomos: Okay. But what does that have to do with going to church?
Christis: You see, just as God designated one boat for their physical salvation, and thereby nullifying the notion that one boat was as good as another, God likewise designated one church for man’s soul salvation, and thereby nullifying the notion that one church is as good as another.
Denomos: My old friend, I think you’ve gone too far. How can you possibly say that there is only one church? And furthermore, that salvation is only in it?
Christis: Denomos, it is not I who says that, rather this is the teaching of the Bible. Listen, “There is one body,” Ephesians 4:4.
Denomos: It says there is one body–not one church.
Christis: Denomos, the body is the church. Listen again, God “gave him [Jesus] to be the head over all things to the church which is his body” Ephesians 1:22-23. Thus, since the church is the body, and there is only one body, then there is but one church–just as there was one ark. Furthermore, when Jesus made that monumental statement, “Upon this rock I will build my church,” Matthew 16:18, Jesus, although He knew the future, and, therefore, the coming of numerous denominations, He still said He would build His church–not churches. Jesus used the singular, and Galatians 3:16 makes clear that this is a point of crucial significance. Denomos, in 1 Corinthians 1:10, God condemned religious division. It wasn’t God who gave us this religious confusion (1 Cor. 14:33), rather it was Satan. To say that one church is as good as another, is to be working against Jesus who prayed for oneness (John 17:21).
Denomos: I did not know that those verses were even there. And that is what they say. Perhaps I need to study this more. I certainly want to be sure I’m in the right “boat.” Christos, I will be coming to your Sunday Bible class. Let’s go!
Gary Henson