Establishment of the Lord’s Church
Members of the church of Christ contend that the church was established on the first Pentecost following the resurrection of Christ . . . in 30 A.D. . . . in the city of Jerusalem.
The prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 2:2-3 – “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; he will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”
The expression, “Jehovah’s house,” refers to the church. 1 Timothy 3:15 – “. . . I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”
Every phrase of Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, the record of which is given in Acts 2.
- Isaiah said the church would be established in “the latter days.” Peter, on Pentecost, referred to this time as being the “last days” (Acts 2:16-17). This marks the fulfillment of the first phrase of the prophecy.
- Next, Isaiah said God’s kingdom would extend its blessings to include “all nations.”
- During His earthly ministry, Christ declared, “. . . The time fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel.”
- John the Baptist also said in Matthew 3:2 – “. . . The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
- “At hand” means imminent or nearby, but not an accomplished fact.
- When Jesus spoke the words of Matthew 16:18, “Upon this rock I will build (future tense) my church,” the establishment of the church was obviously a future event.
- In Mark 9:1, Jesus told those standing there that the kingdom would be established during the lifetime of some of those to whom He was speaking. “And He said to them, Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.”
- Jesus further said that the kingdom would come with power, and that the power would come when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles. Acts 1:8 – “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
- The Bible says in Acts 2:1-4, “Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…”
Before the day of Pentecost, all scriptural references to the establishment of the church indicate it as a future event (Isaiah 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-2; Daniel 2:44; Matthew 3:1-2; Matthew 16:18; Mark 9:1; Matthew 6:9-10). After Pentecost, the church is spoken of as an existing institution.
- Acts 2:47 – ” . . . And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”
- Colossians 1:13-14 – “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”