The church originated in the mind of the infinitely wise God. Man could not have created such an institution. Jeremiah proclaimed, “O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jeremiah 10:23). After sitting at the Lord’s feet for perhaps three a half years, His chosen apostles still did not understand the idea of the establishment of the church. In ignorance they asked, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). He answered, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:7-8). When the Holy Spirit came upon them (Acts 2:1-4), they with one accord began preaching the Gospel and baptized the multitudes, and the “Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).
The establishment of the church was not dependent upon the wisdom of men. The apostles preached only what was given to them by the Holy Spirit. The church was established on the first Pentecost after the death of Christ. Churches such as Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, etc. have much later dates of establishment. What conclusion must be reached in light of this information? These churches and all others with like dates of establishment cannot be the true church of Christ about which one reads in the New Testament.
Furthermore, the church was designed and built by that great Architect, Jesus the Christ. He stated, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock [Peter’s rock-bed confession of faith — “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Matthew 16:16] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). The wise man wrote, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it” (Psalm 127:1). Just as it is the case with the establishment date, so also with its builder. If a church was built or established by man, it cannot be the true church of Christ!
Additionally, the church must have been established in Jerusalem. Isaiah the Prophet wrote, “…For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3b). Acts 2, that great hub of the Bible, records the place of establishment to indeed be Jerusalem. Present day denominational churches have been established in a multitude of places, including the United States. What, then, are we to conclude about these churches? They cannot be the true church of Christ, about which one reads in the New Testament!
The original church, established by authority from God (Matthew 28:18), on the first Pentecost after the Lord’s death, built by the Son of God (Matthew 16:18) in Jerusalem, was given everything necessary for its existence and perpetuation. Peter wrote, “as His divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge [Bible] of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3). The church is “complete in Him” (Colossians 2:10). The church is indeed divine in origin!
