JAKARTA CHURCH OF CHRIST

The word church is used in two ways. “Church” can be used in reference to all Christians, or a specific congregation. Jesus uses “church” both ways:

• In Matt. 16:18 , Jesus promises to build His church, speaking of Christians everywhere who would respond to the gospel call.
• In Matt. 18:17 , Jesus uses the word “church” regarding Christians in a local congregation.

Names Identifying the Church

There are several names in the Bible that identify the church.

• My (Christ’s) church (Matt. 16:18 ).
• Church of the Lord, church of God (Acts 20:28 ; 1 Cor. 1:2 ).
• Church (Rom. 16:16 ). of Christ
• The body, the church (Col. 1:18 ; Eph. 1:22-23 ; 5:23 ; 1 Th. 1:1 ).
• Household (house) of God, church of the living God (Eph. 2:19 ; 1 Tim. 3:15 ; cf. Heb. 10:21 ).
• Church of the firstborn (Heb. 12:23 ).
• God’s field, God’s building (1 Cor. 3:9 ).
• The flock (1 Pet. 5:3 ; Acts 20:28 ).

Since we are commanded to “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,” congregations of the Lord’s church must use an authorized name.

Membership in the Church

On Pentecost, people asked Peter what they should do. He told them to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins ( Acts 2:38 ). The people who obeyed the gospel received the gift of the Holy Spirit — they were saved, and added to the church by the Lord ( Acts 2:38 , 40-41 , 47 ).

• They were baptized into the body of Christ by the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13 ).
• They were born again, born of water and Spirit (Jn. 3:3 , 5 ).

The Church is God’s Kingdom

The word kingdom denotes the domain of the king. God rules over the church; therefore, it is His kingdom.

We must be born again to see the kingdom of God ( Jn. 3:3 ). Jesus said, “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God'” ( Jn. 3:5 ).

We are born of water when we are baptized, and born of the Spirit when we are added to the church, at which time we become a new creature in Christ ( 2 Cor. 5:17 ).

Since we believed the good news about the kingdom of God and were baptized ( Acts 8:12 ), we are members of God’s kingdom.

The Church is Christ’s Kingdom

God put all things under Christ’s feet ( Eph. 1:22-23 ). He is Lord of lords and King of kings, having all authority in heaven and on earth ( 1 Tim. 6:15 ; Matt. 28:18 ). Therefore, He rules over the church (kingdom).

As Christians, God has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His Son ( Col. 1:13-14 ). As members of Christ’s kingdom, we have “redemption, the forgiveness of sins” ( Col. 1:14 ).

Later in this epistle, Paul tells us exactly when these things transpire: “having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions ( Col. 2:12-13 ).

Note, from Col. 1:13-14 ; 2:12-13 :

• We are forgiven when we are baptized (Col. 2:12-13 ).
• We are forgiven in Christ’s kingdom (Col. 1:13-14 ).
• Therefore, we enter Christ’s kingdom when we are baptized.

This perfectly harmonizes with Acts 2:

• We are forgiven and saved when we are baptized (Acts 2:38 , 40-41 ).
• We are added to the church when we are saved (Acts 2:40-41 , 47 ).
• The church is Christ’s kingdom (Col. 1:13 ).
• Therefore, we are added to the kingdom when we are baptized — the time at which we are saved.

The Church is Christ’s Body

Paul tells us the church is the body of Christ, allegorically expressing our relationship to Christ as members of His body.

Paul says, “And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” ( Col. 1:22-23 ).

Since Christ is the head of the body, the church must be subject to Him in everything ( Col. 1:18 ; Eph. 5:24 ). If our congregation isn’t subject to Christ, we’re not His church!

As head of the body, Jesus is also the Savior of the church ( Eph. 5:23 ). We must be members of His church to be saved. He is the author of eternal salvation to those who obey Him ( Heb. 5:9 ) — He is our Savior if we obey.

The Church is God’s Household

Paul tells us the church is God’s household, allegorically expressing our relationship to God as His children.

Paul says, “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth” ( 1 Tim. 3:14-15 ).

Just as Jesus is head of the body, He is over the house of God: “but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house — whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end” ( Heb. 3:6 ).

Since Jesus is God’s Son, and we are also God’s children, we are Christ’s brethren. “For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren” ( Heb. 2:11 ).

We are heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ ( Rom. 8:17 ).

The Church is God’s Temple

Paul tells us the church is God’s temple, allegorically expressing our relationship to God as priests who render spiritual service to Him.

Paul says, “Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people'” ( 2 Cor. 6:16 ).

And Paul writes to the Ephesians, saying of the church, “. . . Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit” ( Eph. 2:20-22 ).

As God’s temple, we are responsible for conducting ourselves properly.

• Our bodies are members of Christ (1 Cor. 6:15 ).
• We are one spirit with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17 ).
• We must glorify God in our body (1 Cor. 6:19-20 ). We are not our own; we’ve been bought with a price.

The Church is the Bride of Christ

Paul tells us the church is Christ’s bride, allegorically expressing our united relationship with Him, as a husband is united to His wife.

Paul says, “For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin” ( 2 Cor. 11:2 ).

We are united with Christ when we are baptized ( Rom. 6:3-5 ; 7:4 ), becoming one spirit with Him, baptized into His body by the Holy Spirit ( 1 Cor. 6:17 ; 12:13 ).

Most importantly, we will live with Jesus in heaven, united with Him for eternity. John records his vision of the marriage of the Lamb, saying, “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them'” ( Rev. 21:1-3 ).

Conclusion
The church is God’s kingdom, Christ’s kingdom, Christ’s body, God’s household, God’s temple, and Christ’s bride.

There’s no greater privilege than to be a Christian. But we also have responsibilities, as people upon whom God has bestowed so many blessings. Let’s make sure we are doing our part, to be the church God ordained from eternity!

Reference: 

www.biblestudyguide.org

Originally the biblical books were hand written on animal skins or on paper made from the papyrus plant (parchment). Printing was not yet invented, so every copy of an original had to be made by hand. Therefore, copies were rare and extremely valuable.

The 39 Old Testament books were written in Hebrew, except for small portions in the Aramaic language. The first five were written by Moses about 1500 years B.C. (before Christ.) During the next thousand years the remaining books were penned, and it appears that Ezra, the scribe, brought them all together into a single book (Nehemiah 8:5) about 400 B.C. In the third century before Christ the first great translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek was made at Alexandria, Egypt. It was called the Septuagint (meaning seventy) because it was supposedly translated by seventy scholars. Christ often quoted this version or a Hebrew text similar to it.

The 27 New Testament books were written in Greek by eight men, several of them apostles of Christ, in the first century A.D. (since Christ.) The New Testament covers events occurring in the century, including the life of Christ and the establishment of his church. As is true of the Old Testament, all original copies have been lost or destroyed, and yet we have writings substantially as they were penned. Many copies have been preserved and are available for scholars to use in translating into other languages. The three most important are the Vatican Manuscript at the Vatican in Rome, written in the fourth century; The Alexandrian Manuscript in the British Museum in London, written in the fifth century; and the Sinaitic Manuscript, also in the British Museum, written in the fourth century. In addition there are hundreds of other copies of lesser importance with are of value to translators in making sure that we have the original New Testament writings.

The Dead Sea Scrolls, the first of which were discovered in 1947 in a cave near the Dead Sea and which date from the first or second century before Christ, have helped in recent translations of the Old Testament. They have also substantiated the accuracy of the manuscripts from which earlier translations were made so that we may be even more confident that we have the real message of the Old Testament writers.

There are two additional sources of information about the original New Testament books. One is the translation made soon after the New Testament was written. The most important, written in Latin, is called the Vulgate and was completed by Jerome in 405 A.D. We also have numerous Bible quotations from the writings of the early church fathers. By comparing the Greek manuscripts, the early translations, and the quotations of the church fathers. By comparing the Greek manuscripts, the early translations, and the quotations of the church fathers, Bible scholars have been able to determine with great accuracy what the New Testament authors wrote. In fact, so sure are we that we have the Bible almost as it was given that we can positively say that no major Bible doctrine is in any way affected by minor errors of copying through the centuries.

The first major English translation of the New Testament was completed by John Wyclif in 1382 after 22 years of hard work. In 1456 printing was invented by Johanne Gutenberg, making it possible to publish Bibles much faster and virtually eliminating typographical errors so common in hand copies. In fact, the first book printed by Gutenberg was a Latin Bible. The first printed English Bible was the New Testament as translated by William Tyndale in 1525. He was strongly opposed in this by the Catholic Church and he

found it necessary to have his Bibles printed on the continent and smuggled into England. Most were publicly burned in London. He was betrayed, and burned at the stake for giving the Bible to the people. His final words were, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.”

The first complete English Bible was the work of Miles Coverdale. Other versions soon followed and by 1604 the King of England’s eyes were opened. He authorized the translation of a new version, the work of 54 scholars. It was completed in 1611 and is know as the King James Version after the monarch who authorized it. Although it was translated over 350 years ago, it is still one of the most widely used English versions. In 1982 the New King James revision was published. It follows the same basic text as the King James, but updates much of the archaic speech to make it more readable.

The discovery of additional Bible manuscripts not available to King James translators and the inevitable change of the English language prompted the publication of other versions that would be more readable and accurate. An 1885 revision of the King James by 84 British and American scholars was called the English Revised Version, and was followed in 1901 by an American edition called the American Standard, a highly literal rendering of the scriptures. Other revisions of the King James and American Standard followed: The Revised Standard Version in 1952 and the New American Standard in 1970. These translations were intended to combine the finer characteristics of their predecessors with improved readability and increased accuracy based on recent manuscript findings.

The New International Version (1978) is comparable in its approach to translations with the Revised Standard and New American Standard, but unlike these is a completely new translation rather than a revision of its predecessors. The New English Bible and the Good News Bible (or Today’s English Version) are typical of recent free translations that are less literal and concentrate on capturing the sense of the original.. The Living Bible of Kenneth Taylor is a paraphrase rather than a translation and reworks the original in an effort to capture the intent of the original writers. The Roman Catholic Church has produced its own translations. The Rheims-Douai Bible appeared in 1582. It has been replaced by the New American Bible of 1970. Catholic versions include the same books found in other versions (sometimes under a different name) plus fourteen more in the Old Testament usually called the Apocrypha. This work means “hidden” and is applied to these books because of their doubtful origin. They are found only in the Greek, not the Hebrew canon of the Old Testament, and have been rejected by the Jews and most non-Catholics as not belonging in the Old Testament. However, their exclusion from the Old Testament does not materially affect any Bible doctrine.

The Bible claims to be inspired. Peter said, “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (II Peter 1:21) The Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost) so guided the writers of the Bible that they could not make mistakes. “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth.” (I Cor. 2:13.) Because of this there are no real contradictions in the Bible. Those things which appear to be contradictions disappear under close investigation.

That the Bible is true may be shown by several of its characteristics. It is scientifically accurate, event though it is not a book of science. It is historically accurate. Every attempt to prove it historically wrong has failed. It is prophetically correct as is seen in many prophecies which have been fulfilled beyond question. It is impartial, presenting both good and bad of all men, not trying to gloss over the sins of any man who might be “a man after God’s own heart.” It presents the world’s highest standard of morality. Finally, it has never been destroyed in spite of dozens of attempts to exterminate it.

 

Reference: 

www.churchofchrist.net