The New Testament Church
THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH
Christ spoke to His disciples and said, “Upon this rock I will build my church…” (Matthew 16:18) The word church is used as a rendering to the Greek word eklesia, which is an assembly of called out people.
In the New Testament Scriptures, the church is referred to in a general or universal sense as to embrace all disciples or followers of Christ, and then in a more restricted sense of His disciples in a given region, as the church throughout all Judea and Galilee (Acts 9:31). The word church is never used in Scripture in a denominational sense. All congregations were to be of the same faith (1 Cor. 14:33). Likewise, in the Scripture the term church is never used as a place of meeting, as it is often referred to today.
Christ loved his church. He gave Himself for it. He died for it and purchased it with His own blood (Eph. 5:25, Acts 20:28). Members of the Lord’s church have been BAPTIZED for the remission of their sins (Acts 2:38). Christ cleanses the church when they HEAR and BELIEVE the gospel (Acts 18:8), REPENT of their sins (Acts 2:38), CONFESS faith in Christ (Acts 8:37), and after BAPTISM, you become born again into the New Testament Church.