Jesus referred to church once in Mat 16:18 and twice in Mat 18:17. In the former, the church seems to be a place of worship while the latter suggests an assembly gathered for the administration of God’s laws. Having given this new name, Jesus did not mention it again, leaving it for future use.
- The day of Pentecost marked the actual beginning of the visible Christian church. The disciples of Christ were assembled, and the Holy Spirit came upon them, making them the new temple of the Triune God.
- Looking past the thousands of groups and denominations, there is only one church of Jesus Christ. It comprises all congregations of believers in Christ in which the pure Gospel is preached, the sacraments are duly administered, and the discipline of the Christian fellowship is maintained with purity.
- During the sacraments of Baptism and Communion, the Holy Spirit is present in a special way.
- The church is apostolic; it is ruled by the authority living in the writings of the Apostles. That authority is manifest in the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Holy Bible.
- The church is an institution of worship; this includes offerings presented to God and blessings received from Him.
- The church is God’s appointed body for accomplishing the Great Commandment (Mat 22:36-40), the Great Commission (Mat 28:18-20) and the Restoration of Sick, Injured and Disabled (Luke 9:2, 10:9).
- Both corporate prayer and individual prayer must take place in the church.
- Public worship protocol is left to the discretion of the congregation but is also subject to the authority of Scripture.
- The church, as an instrument of the Holy Spirit, is necessarily holy, but its holiness is imputed. Satan has been at work, since Pentecost, exercising a pervasive, structural, and diabolical influence. He does this most effectively by working inside the church to corrupt its spiritual leaders.
- The one and only church of Jesus Christ may be wounded periodically, in the great struggle between God and Satan, but it cannot be destroyed. Jesus said, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
- Although the church universal will never fail, corrupted groups, denominations and leaders will do significant damage. The church expects its most severe conflicts in the future, but all apocalyptic agonies will someday cease.
- Jesus Christ has done away with the Jewish Temple; this changed the ministry of the congregation. There is now one high priest (Jesus Christ) and the disciples of Christ themselves constitute a spiritual temple. Each living member occupies a priesthood. The essential equality of individual Christians creates a powerful force for ministry. But this concept has been perverted, over the past 2000 years, to create a distinct, separate ministerial order and associated hierarchy of power which has given rise to massive doctrinal perversion in certain denominations.
100 additional bullet items could be added; but these 12 are essential.
