There are some scholars and preachers within the church who are confused about the date of the establishment of the church.  They teach that the church of Christ rose of out the Restoration Movement of the late 1700s and early 1800s.  To hear them tell it, the church of Christ did not exist prior to this time period.  In a tract entitled, “What You Can Expect When You Visit the Church of Christ,” Joe R. Barnett begins his discussion with “a brief description of our background.”  He writes:  “We are part of ‘The Restoration Movement.’”  In the book, Decades of Destiny, edited by Lindy Adams and Scott LaMascus, we read the following on page 21:

            “In New England, Elias Smith and Abner Jones rejected the Calvinism of their Baptist heritage and began establishing Christian churches in the early 1800s.  A few years later in Tennessee, a group of Presbyterians, led by Finis Ewing, Samuel King, and Samuel McAdaw, also rejected Calvinism and formed the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.  It would be three other Presbyterians who would lead in forming the movement that produced the Churches of Christ.”

The word that troubles us in the above quote is the word “produced.”  Did three Presbyterians form a movement that produced the churches of Christ?  Some seem to think so.

            The reality is that the church of Christ was produced, established, and built on the earth in the first century.  The precise date of its establishment is the first Pentecost following our Lord’s resurrection.  Peter and the other apostles preached the gospel for the first time on that day (Acts 2:14, 22).  Those who gladly received their words were baptized into Christ (Acts 2:38, 41).  At that point, they were saved (Mark 16:16).  The Lord added these saved ones to the church.  “Praising God, and having favour with all the people.  And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47). 

            To which church were these individuals added?  Not a single denomination existed at the time.  Jesus, however, had promised to build “His” church.  At Caesarea Philipp, He said:  “And I say also unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18).  Surely, this was the church to which the saved on Pentecost were added.  Romans 16:16 confirms this to be the case.  Paul wrote:  “Salute one another with an holy kiss.  The churches of Christ salute you.”  If the church of Christ existed in the first century, it is impossible for three Presbyterians to have produced it in the 1800s.

            Those who believe that the church of Christ is a development of the Restoration Movement also fail to understand the “seed” principle with regard to the kingdom.  Plants exist in different forms.  One of these forms is seed.  Corn, cotton, beans, squash, peas, okra, and tomatoes begin each farming season as seed.  When these seeds are planted in the ground and are properly cared for, they bring forth fruit after their kind.  Tomato seeds produce tomatoes.  Cotton seeds produce cotton.  As long as the seeds exist, the produce exists.  This principle holds true in the spiritual realm also.  In Luke 8:11, Jesus said:  “Now the parable is this:  the seed is the word of God.”  God’s Word is the seed of the kingdom.  It is planted into the soil, that is, the hearts of mankind.  In good soil, its fruit is produced (Luke 8:15).  In the first century, the seed of God’s Word produced Christians, members of the church of Christ.  If that seed is planted today, it will produce exactly the same thing.  It is important to understand that as long as the seed exists, the church also exists in seed form.  Jesus declared:  “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matt. 24:35).  If Jesus’ words are true, then the church has, and always will, exist, at least in seed form.  Thus, the men of the Restoration Movement did not “produce” the church of Christ.  They merely planted the incorruptible seed of God’s Word into the hearts of honest hearers and the church grew from its seed form into its mature state.

            There are far too many within the churches of Christ that view the church as Christ as a denomination among many.  They see it as the product of man’s efforts.  They do not see it as the one and only body of Christ (Eph. 4:4; Col. 1:18).  They fail to see it as the wisdom of God that existed in God’s mind from eternity (Eph. 3:8-11).  We wonder if they believe that the church of Christ is the divine institution that was purchased by the precious blood of Christ (Acts 20:28).  Dear readers, the church of Christ is not of man-made origin.  It is not the result of the studies of good men of the 18^th and 19^th centuries.  The church of Christ is a divine institution that was established on earth on Pentecost Day as recorded in Acts 2!

More and more alleged Christians are ignoring words of the Bible that are not printed in red. They suggest that God’s people should focus more on Christ’s teaching than the writings of “ordinary men” like Paul. This attitude has really penetrated Christendom as more people are attempting to justify homosexuality using the Bible. The argument suggests that because Jesus never personally condemned homosexuality and instead focused on love, that Jesus has no issues with the LGBT agenda. However, there are at least two major problems with this line of thinking.

First, people are forgetting that the words in red were written by ordinary men as well. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the men who wrote the four gospels which are filled with the words of Christ. In addition, Paul quotes Jesus as well in his letters (2 Cor 12:9). Therefore, to suggest that the words of Christ require more respect than any other words in the text is to misunderstand the way God used man to pen His will (2 Pet 1:20-21).

Secondly, Jesus often references comments that are not direct quotations from God or Christ as being His Word. For example, Jesus says in Matthew 19:4-5, “Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?” (KJV). Interestingly, Jesus is referencing a statement made by Moses in Genesis 2:24 that is narrative in nature. Why would Jesus reference that “he”, being God, actually said that marriage worked in this manner even though an ordinary man, Moses, was the one to write them down? The truth of the matter is that anything written by inspired men constitutes being a direct quote from God.

To suggest that the words of the Bible written in black are second to the words written in red is foolishness. This line of thinking denotes a lack of understanding in the penmanship of the Word as well as its nature. Everything written in the sixty six books of the Bible is “given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim 3:16). Therefore, if the scripture teaches anywhere in the New Testament, our binding law today, that homosexuality or anything else is contrary to God’s will, then it is as true as though Christ spoke it Himself. In fact, it would mean that He did.

As Christ journeyed to Jerusalem He came upon a village plagued with leprosy. When He arrived He saw ten lepers who carefully kept their distance from the Lord. They cried out to Him, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us” (Luke 17:13 KJV). He told them to go to the priests and as they did all ten of them were healed. However, only one of them was spiritually made whole. When the other nine walked away after being healed, only the one turned and gave thanks to the Master. Jesus questioned him regarding the other nine and told him he was made whole by his faith (17:17-19). The other nine could have claimed to be grateful but only the one who showed it was accepted by Christ.

Thanksgiving may be a holiday that comes around once each year, but it is something Christians should practice daily. This includes more than claiming to be thankful in speech or in prayer. Notice the leper did not just turn around and speak words. He supplemented those words by throwing his entire body at the feet of Christ. That is the moment the Lord describes him as “giving him thanks” (17:16). Claiming to be thankful to the Lord is one thing. Proving that gratitude in a lifestyle is something totally different. The inference in this passage is that Christ condemned the other nine and received the faith of only the one.

This account is very symbolic and practical in the lives of Christians today. Leprosy was an incurable disease that destroyed the physical body. Sin is an incurable disease that destroys our spiritual body. The nine thought they were healed, but truly their greatest ailment had not yet been cleansed. Sincere gratitude was reflected in the decision of the one to lay down his life at the feet of Christ. That is the measure of a thankful heart today. Therefore, every individual must ask the question, “Am I one of the nine or am I the one?”

As Israel wondered through the wilderness those forty years God always provided their necessities. They were not always happy with the menu, but God was faithful. Interestingly, there were two special cases in which God provided them water from a rock. On the first occasion He instructed Moses to smite the rock and he obeyed (Ex 17:6). However, on the second occasion his instructions were to speak to the rock (Num 20:8). Instead, Moses smote the rock as he had before. He disobeyed God and lost his passage into the Promised Land. While this was certainly discouraging for Moses, he may not have realized the significance of the rock he had smitten. The apostle Paul told the church at Corinth that this rock was Christ (1 Cor 10:4).

In the omniscient mind of God, He used this rock as a shadow of His Son. Just as the rock was smitten unjustly so was the Son of God (Matt 26:67). That smitten rock brought forth water abundantly for the people. Christ taught that He was the water of life (Rev 21:6). Furthermore, Israel had to make the decision and effort to drink the water presented before them. For those who desire to drink of Christ’s water today, they must decide to drink of it as well. Another consideration would be the point in which the water flowed. There was no water for Israel until it was smitten. Although Christ was on Earth in the flesh, salvation was not available until He was smitten likewise. Considering these comparisons certainly explains why Paul would describe that rock as Christ. Christ is the Rock of Ages who was smitten for the salvation of all who will accept it.

One of the most well-known Messianic prophecies is found in the fifty third chapter of Isaiah. The prophet foretells the suffering, the rejection, the scourging, and even the burden of sin Christ would endure on the cross. However, there is a phrase often overlooked by Christians that is commonly noted by the skeptics of our Lord. Isaiah wrote, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7a, emp added). Obviously this cannot be taken literally as if He would not drink, eat, or even breathe through His mouth between the garden and the cross. We know this has reference to His speech, but skeptics are quick to remind us that Christ spoke several times from the garden to the cross. Does this prove the Bible is errant or that Christ wasn’t really the Messiah?

When the prophet Isaiah referenced Christ not opening His mouth He didn’t mean He would not speak a single word during His trials and crucifixion. Instead, Isaiah was referencing that Christ would not speak freely in giving a defense for Himself. If we compare Christ with men like Philip, Peter, and Paul we notice a significant difference in the amount of words used during their trials. Any other man would speak out to defend himself and attempt to have his charges dropped. Clearly Christ had more of a defense than in man ever had or ever will have. Yet, He chose to simply respond to their questions and speak God’s Word to a few individuals along the way (Matthew 27:11, Luke 23:43). In fact, there were times He chose not to speak at all (Matt 26:62-63). He didn’t freely speak out to defend Himself or argue with his oppressors, nor did He call twelve legions of angels. What a powerful display of submission to God and love for mankind!