Is there supposed to be only one church?

Answer

The term “church” in the New Testament is translated from the Greek word ekklesia, which means “those who are called out.” The church refers to the people whom God has called to Himself from all places and times. In this context, there is a singular church – a unified group of believers called by God, encompassing both the living and deceased believers worldwide.

Additionally, the New Testament mentions “churches” (in plural form), such as in the verse “the churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house” (1 Corinthians 16:19) and “he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches” (Acts 15:17). Here, “churches” refer to local congregations of believers gathering in specific locations. In this context, there are multiple churches.

One way to interpret the dual usage of the term “church” is that there is a singular body of people called to God, yet there are distinct local expressions of this body in various places, known as “churches.” This concept can be likened to the modern business franchise model. For instance, there is one McDonald’s Corporation, but there are numerous McDonald’s establishments worldwide. It represents one entity with multiple local branches. When discussing the church, individuals often differentiate between the universal church and the local chur

Ch, or sometimes the invisible church and the visible church. (The universal church is “invisible” in that it never meets all together and no one can observe it in the way that they can observe a local church.)

In one sense, there is only one church, the Body of Christ. In another sense, there are many local manifestations of that body, which are also called “churches.” Each local church may have unique features due to the part of the world it is in or the people who comprise it, just as each McDonald’s restaurant may have a different layout and seating arrangement, and a McDonald’s in Central America or Hong Kong will have some different menu items than the standard McDonald’s in the United States. This concept is relatively easy to understand and is not controversial. If all local churches were in complete agreement with each other, with only minor variations in style and emphasis, then there would probably be no confusion. As it is, there is much disparity in the practice and teachings of various churches (and local organizations that call themselves “churches”), so the question arises: isn’t there supposed to be only one church?

Some local churches are independent, which means there is no human board or organization that regulates what they do. They follow the New Testament as they understand it and answer directly to Christ. Other local churches are part of a larger church (or denomination) that exercises control over that individual, local church. The problem arises when one local church or denomination believes and/or practices something entirely different from another church, yet they both claim to be following the teaching of the New Testament and claim to be committed to the lordship of Christ. Obviously, this is a problem and has been from the earliest days of Christianity.

When Jesus ascended into heaven, He left apostles who exercised authority in the church. These men spoke directly for God and were largely responsible for the production of the New Testament. However, even in

In the earliest days, some challenged the authority of the apostles. Paul constantly struggled against men who followed him around trying to disrupt his work. After establishing a church in a city and moving on to another city, these men would come in after him and claim that his teaching was incorrect or incomplete, or that Paul himself was inadequate. In some cases, the new teaching was so contrary to the truth of the gospel that Paul had to condemn it (and those who propagated it) strongly (see Galatians 1:6-9). In other cases, where people in the churches began to identify with one leader over another, Paul cautioned that there should be no divisions: “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:10-13). Thus, even during the days of the apostles, divisions arose in the church.

After the apostles passed from the scene, church leaders were responsible for teaching the Bible and maintaining the integrity of the church. However, as in the days of the apostles, there will always be some who will pervert or distort the gospel and gather a following unto themselves, claiming to teach the truth. Others may teach the truth but do it in a way that gathers a following based on their own personality and leadership technique. Distortions of the gospel, though, are not the only issues.

Reasons why different denominations or local churches exist vary. Churches have also formed due to stylistic, cultural, and non-doctrinal differences. The combination of these various reasons has led to the multitude of local churches and denominations we have today. Most claim to follow Jesus Christ and the teachings of the New Testament, but not all can be correct. Unfortunately, some have now only a pretense of following Christ or conforming to the New Testament.

Churches consist of fallible individuals who evolve over time. At times, members within a local church or across several churches in a denomination alter their beliefs and seek to leave the church or denomination to establish a new one that better reflects their revised beliefs. Occasionally, a church or denomination changes its beliefs, prompting individual members or churches to depart because the teachings no longer align with their convictions. Consequently, new churches and denominations emerge. This trend was evident in the early twentieth century when many denominations abandoned the belief in the Bible as authoritative. Individual churches departed from these “liberal” or “modernist” denominations and initiated new “fundamentalist” ones. More recently, as numerous mainline churches have moved towards accepting homosexual behavior and ordaining women, individuals and churches have disassociated to join or establish churches in accordance with more biblical beliefs.

Due to the diversity of beliefs and interpretations of the New Testament, it is inevitable that various churches and denominations will arise. It may be challenging for an individual to find a church that perfectly aligns with their beliefs. Similarly, a church may belong to a denomination that does not entirely mirror the views of its members. Each individual and each church must determine, based on their own study of God’s Word, which issues are crucial and which can be compromised for the sake of unity.

Individual churches are…and even denominations often collaborate with other churches and denominations when they share essential doctrine. For example, prominent pastors John MacArthur and R.C. Sproul were close friends. They worked together at conferences and stood united in battles concerning the authority of God’s Word and the purity of the gospel. Nevertheless, they held differing views on secondary matters like baptism and the end times. They even engaged in debates on some of these topics. While they never considered merging their churches, they managed to fellowship and work together in the spirit of Christian love and unity. This serves as a prime illustration of unity amidst diversity that should be prevalent among genuine believers.

All evangelical churches concur on fundamental teachings such as the Trinity, the authority of Scripture, and justification by grace through faith. Many evangelical Baptist, Independent, and Presbyterian churches collaborate on various ministry initiatives. However, merging to form a single church would likely be unfeasible due to the diverse secondary beliefs. Most Baptist churches uphold congregational governance, while Presbyterian churches advocate for elders making final decisions. It is impossible to implement both church government systems in one congregation. Similarly, Baptists endorse believer’s baptism, where individuals choose to be baptized as a symbol of their faith in Christ, while Presbyterians practice infant baptism as a symbol of parental faith. While a church may allow either practice, it cannot simultaneously endorse infant baptism and reject it. Therefore, the existence of distinct churches is inevitable and somewhat essential to maintain harmony.

In an ideal scenario, there would be only one church; however, we reside in an imperfect world. Our world is tainted by sin, and individuals are flawed. Some may intentionally strive to

Distorting the Word of God and misleading people while still referring to their organizations as a “church.” Some have forsaken the Word of God as their ultimate authority in favor of contemporary notions about “human flourishing” but continue to include the term church in their titles. Some are sincere but mistaken in their understanding of God’s Word regarding secondary matters. No church is flawless. However, all churches that proclaim God’s Word and embody the gospel are part of His universal church. God utilizes the variety present in local churches to mirror His character and the gospel to the world. It is crucial for individual Christians to join churches where the Bible holds authority, and for individual evangelical churches or denominations to collaborate with other evangelical churches to ensure that disagreements over secondary matters remain genuinely secondary. All genuine followers of Jesus Christ and all churches that proclaim and instruct in the gospel are bound together by much more than what sets them apart.