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What Is The Church Of Christ In Galena? (Part 1)
John R. Gentry
What do you think of when you hear the word church? The word church is used in many different ways by people today. The word church is defined as those called out for a specific purpose. It simply means the people whom Jesus has called by the gospel: “To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2.14). The Bible primarily uses the word church in two senses. The Bible refers to the universal church (all whom Jesus has called by the gospel, cf. Matthew 16.18; Ephesians 5.23) and to local churches (those whom Jesus has called by the gospel in a specific locality that have joined together, cf. 1 Corinthians 1.2; 2 Corinthians 1.2; Acts 8.1).
But what about the expression, “church of Christ”? This expression signifies exactly what was meant by the Lord when he said, “On this rock I will build my church…” (Matthew 16.18). The phrase “my church” signifies his church, and his church, in the possessive phrase, is simply “church of Christ.” We see Paul using the phrase “churches of Christ” to describe several local churches in Romans 16.16. So we are simply a local church of Christ in Galena, IN.
Simply Christians
When the church of Christ was established on the first Pentecost after Jesus’ death and resurrection as recorded in Acts 2, Luke tells us that Peter commanded the people to “repent and be baptized into the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins will be forgiven...So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls...And the Lord added to the church day by day those who were being saved.” To which church did God add them? The Lutheran church? The Mormon church? The Catholic church? Was Peter a member of one denomination and John another? Or when Paul was baptized (Acts 9.18; 22.16) did he become Episcopalian, Presbyterian, or Baptist? Do these questions seem a little silly? They should. Surely no one would claim that those baptized in Acts 2, Peter, John, or Paul were any thing other than simply Christians. In the New Testament, the apostles’ teaching did not make men and women Catholic or Protestant; their teaching produced Christians only. At the church of Christ in Galena we follow the teachings of the apostles as found in the Bible. Therefore, we are not Baptist-Christians, Methodist-Christians, or any other hyphenated kind of Christians. We are simply Christians!
(Come back next week for the final part in answering the question, “What is the church of Christ in Galena?”)
originally published in the Banner-Gazette
2007.03.14