A reader inquired, “How many denominations are there?” Doubtlessly, no one truly knows the answer to that question. Estimates range from above 20,000 to move than 30,000, with possibly five or six new ones being established each week.
Synonyms for the word “denomination” include “unit” and “brand.” A religious denomination is perceived to be a unit of a larger collection of units that are imagined together to comprise Christianity. Further, religious denominations essentially are thought to be differing brands of Christianity.
In truth, though, Jesus Christ died to establish only one church, which belongs to Him (Acts 20:28; Matthew 16:18). He alone is the Head of it (Colossians 1:18). Only He has the authority to govern it (Matthew 28:18 NKJV). Jesus Christ will return someday to take His church back to heaven with Him (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; John 14:1-3).
That church is the one about which we can read in the Bible; it is clearly revealed in the New Testament. Sometimes in Scripture referred to as “the church of God” (1 Corinthians 1:2) or “the churches of Christ” (Romans 16:16), it preceded the Catholic Church by hundreds of years and the first Protestant denomination by about 1,500 years.
Wherever today men and women simply obey the Gospel in the New Testament and worship God in His own prescribed way, “the church of God” or the “churches of Christ” assemble in our time. However, the one true church of the Bible is more difficult to discern today than it was in the first century because of the confusion resulting from the existence of thousands of manmade religious denominations.
The Lord’s church is not a denomination. The church Jesus built is not a unit among several other units comprising Christianity today. The true church is not a brand of Christianity, but rather it is Christianity. Everything else is counterfeit religion and unauthorized by God.
In the 21st century, the church that Jesus built wears the name “churches of Christ.” A single, local congregation, then, is a church of Christ. Visit a church of Christ near you, or contact me for further information at [email protected].
