Articles
What Is The Church Of Christ All About?
The church of Christ is all about Christ. It is all about Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus is the Anointed One of God (that is what Christ means). He is the Messiah (the Hebrew equivalent of Christ) (John 1:41). He is the LORD, the Lord of lords, the King of kings (1 Tim. 6:15). He is God made manifest in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16). He alone, of those born of woman, is worthy of the worship of men and of the worship of angels (Rev. 5:5-14). He is the Savior of the world (1 Tim. 1:15). He is our High Priest (Heb. 4:14-5:10). He is our Advocate and Comforter (1 John 2:1). He is our Propitiation (1 John 2:2). He is our Sacrifice (Heb. 9:1--10:23). He is our sin offering (1 Cor. 5:6,7). He is our Shepherd (John 10:14; 1 Peter 2:25). He is the Head of the church (Eph. 1:20-23; 5:22-33; Col. 1:18). He and He alone, has been given all power and all authority in heaven and in earth by the Father, as the “only begotten” of the Father (Matt. 28:18).
It is the purpose of the church to make known the manifold wisdom of God in Christ Jesus our Lord to all authorities and powers in this world (Eph. 3:9,10). Thus, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen (Eph. 3:21). That is what the church of Christ is all about: making known the wisdom of God, and giving glory to God by Christ Jesus. This is done by following Him and Him alone: by being Christians and Christians alone (1 Peter 4:13-19).
Being a Christian means that we follow Jesus and that we are to become like Him (John 8:31,32; Acts 11:26). That is accomplished by following only His teaching, His doctrine, and placing all other doctrines aside. The words, the traditions and the laws of man are set aside for the words of Christ, the traditions of the apostles and the laws of God (1 Cor. 14:37; Gal. 1:6-9; 2 John 9). Even the apostles were not allowed to bind or loose anything unless it was first bound or loosed in heaven (Matt. 16:19; 18:18). Neither does the church of Christ bind anything other than what has been bound in heaven, nor loose anything other than what has been loosed in heaven.
Following only the teaching of Jesus means ignoring the years of traditions, doctrines, creeds, manuals, disciplines, etc. that have been added to the doctrine of Christ over the past almost 2,000 years. It means going back to the original doctrines and practices of Christ and His followers in the first century. It means being willing to put aside any doctrine that is not the doctrine of Christ, being willing to put aside any doctrine that has originated with man, and being willing to put aside any tradition that has it’s origin some place other than in the New Testament. That is what the church of Christ is all about: going back to the original doctrine of Christ and following it alone.
Following Christ means not being a “sect of Christians,” but simply Christians. Not being hyphenated Christians of a Catholic variety, or Protestant variety, or Evangelical variety, or Baptist, or Methodist, or Holiness, or Wesleyan, or Four-Square, or Presbyterian, or Nazarene, or any other variety (1 Cor. 1:10-19).
Following Christ means committing our lives to God through Jesus Christ as a living sacrifice, willing to obey any and all of His commandments (Rom. 12:1,2). It is not a buffet to pick and choose. It is all or none (Matt. 28:19-20).
Do you want to know what the church of Christ is all about? That’s it. It is a group of people, imperfect people, who rely upon the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse them daily. They are not different from me and you, except that they have been forgiven. They struggle through the same difficulties. They face the same temptations. They experience the same tribulations. Yet, through it all, they rely upon their faith in Jesus of Nazareth to see them through. Their dedication to obedience to the word of God, and zealousness in doing good, along with their love for one another, characterizes them; but, they are people just like you and me. And, you can be one of them.
