1. One Church How Many Churches Did Jesus Build?

2. One Church How many churches did Jesus build? If we look around the denominational world today we might think He built thousands. The “World Christian Encyclopedia” published in 2001 lists over 33,000 denominations in 238 different countries. That is a staggering number! Is this what Jesus intended or has man made a mess of what God set up? Human beings have a history of not being satisfied with God’s plans.

3. One Church Cain evidently thought he had a better idea about what to use as a sacrifice to God. Listen to God’s reaction to Cain’s offering Ge 4:5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. (NKJV) Ge 4:5 But in Cain and his offering he had no pleasure. And Cain was angry and his face became sad. (BBE) God was not pleased!

4. One Church King Saul worshipped God in a way that God had not prescribed. He offered a burnt offering to God. The problem with this was he was from the tribe of Benjamin. Listen to how God felt about this. 1Sa 13:13 And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.

5. One Church King Uzziah decided he wanted to change the worship of God during his reign 2Ch 26:16 ¶ But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 So Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the LORD- valiant men.

6. One Church 2Ch 26:18 And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the LORD God." 19 Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the incense altar.

7. One Church 2Ch 26:20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also hurried to get out, because the LORD had struck him. 21 King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD. Then Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.

8. One Church This good man died a leper because he tried to change God’s way of doing things Obviously God was not pleased. We could go on and list other examples of men changing God’s plan for worship but these are sufficient to make our point. That point is, God expects us to do things His way! He expected from those who lived during the Old Testament and He expects it from us today

9. One Church When we look around the religious world and see thousands of different denominations it is because men have deviated from doing things God’s way. Man sees nothing wrong with there being all of these different Churches. But, both the Old and New Testaments teach there is only one Church! Lets spend a couple of minutes clarifying what the Church is.

10. One Church The Church, the Body of Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven are different names for the same thing. The Church is the Body of Christ Col 1:24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, The Church is also the Kingdom Proving this statement is a little more difficult than proving the Church is the Body.

11. One Church There is no single verse that says the Church is the Kingdom. However when we look at the promises made by God then we examine the fulfilment of those promises it should be plain to us that the Church and the Kingdom are the same thing. John the Baptist, Jesus and His disciples preached the Kingdom of God is “at hand” before Christ’s crucifixion. “at hand” means it is near or close by.

12. One Church Mt 3:1 ¶ In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!“ Mt 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.“ Mt 10:7 "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.‘ After the establishment of the Church, the Kingdom is never again referred to as being “at hand”

13. One Church Jesus uses the words Church and Kingdom interchangeably in Matthew 16 Mt 16:18 "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.“ Peter and the other Apostles used these keys to open the Kingdom or Church on the day of Pentecost

14. One Church Now that we understand that the Kingdom, Body and Church are all the same thing then we need to answer this question. How many Kingdoms, Bodies or Churches did Christ establish? Did we notice how Jesus referred to the Church in Matthew 16? Mt 16:18 …on this rock I will build My church… Jesus said He will build His church, not churches.

15. One Church The kingdom Jesus refers to is singular also. Mt 16:19 …the keys of the kingdom of heaven… He says kingdom of Heaven not kingdoms of Heaven. Jesus built only one Church. He established only one Kingdom. This idea of one Church is emphasized several times in the New Testament Paul explains this to the Corinthian Christians

16. One Church 1Co 12:12 ¶ For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. The one Body of Christ (church) is made of up many individual members (Christians). He also points out how we get into the Body, thru baptism.

17. One Church 1Co 12:20 But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 1Co 12:27 ¶ Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. False teachers will try to convince you that these different members of the Body are different churches but that is just not true. In the next few verses Paul describes these members as Apostles, Prophets and teachers Not as Baptist, Methodist and Episcopalians.

18. One Church 1Co 12:28 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? These were all jobs fulfilled by individual Christians not differing churches.

19. One Church Paul tells the Ephesians there was only one Body. Eph 4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. How many times do we have to read in the scriptures that there is one Church or Body in order for us to believe it? ONE time should be enough!

20. One Church Listen to what Paul tells the Colossian Christians. Col 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Just as a reminder of what the Body of Christ is. Col 1:18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. If there is only one Body then how many churches are there?

21. One Church Daniel even prophesied that there would be only one Church when he interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Da 2:44 "And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. How many kingdoms was God going to set up during the reign of the Roman Empire? “a kingdom” singular.

22. One Church Now if the Kingdom and the Church are the same and God was only going to set up one kingdom then how many churches did God set up? Only one. That’s not hard to understand is it? We don’t want to get confused and think this one Church is a local congregation. This local congregation is not the one Church talked about in the scriptures.

23. One Church No local congregation is the One Church that Jesus built. The One Church talked about in the scriptures is universal and is made up of all Christians. Ac 2:47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. God adds us to this universal Church when we are baptized. Ga 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

24. Conclusion The One Church Jesus established only has Christ as its head Col 1:18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. Any church that has a man or group of men as its head is not the church that Jesus built. The members of the church that was built by Christ will follow no one but Him!