When someone asks you what church you belong to they generally want to know what denomination you belong to. Are you Catholic or are you a Protestant? If you are a Protestant what denomination are you? In the first century the “church” consisted of those people who believed in the gospel of Christ who met regularly in each others homes to worship the Lord and study the teachings of Jesus.
The New Testament defined the “church” as the body of believers in the gospel of Christ and over the last 2000 years the church has evolved into different denominations with slightly different doctrines. As long as a church holds to the core beliefs of the gospel of Christ it is considered a Christian church and its members are saved. If a church departs from the gospel of Christ that church is a cult and its members will feel the wrath of God on the last Day.
Psalm 89:5 – And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints.
Jesus Christ is the author of Christianity and the head of the Christian church. As believers we are members of the church and collectively we are referred to as the body of Christ. Each Christian is connected to each other spiritually and we are brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. When did we become the Christian church? Some people think the church began with Adam in the Garden of Eden.
Others point to Abraham, the Apostle Paul and to John the Baptist as the starting point of Christianity. Most people point to the life of Jesus Christ as the beginning of the church. Christianity means, “Christ’s men.” and Jesus is certainly the author of our faith and the head of the church from his position in heaven at the right hand of God where he serves as our Advocate and High Priest.
Matthew 16:18 – (Jesus speaking) – 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.
However, the “church” didn’t start during Jesus’ lifetime. Jesus made it a point to tell his disciples he had to return to heaven so that he could send the Holy Spirit who would fill them and empower them to preach the gospel of Christ to the ends of the earth. Think about it. There couldn’t be a church in the world until Christ’s death because the foundational message of the church is the finished work of Jesus on the cross where he shed his precious blood for the sins of all men.
Furthermore, there could be no church until Christ arose from the dead to provide the church with resurrection life. No resurrection meant no eternal life for believers and therefore no church. There could also be no church until Jesus ascended back to heaven to become the head of the church and our High Priest. Nor could the church exist without Jesus being at the right hand of God making intercession for us and acting as our Advocate in heaven.
Ephesians 1:19-20 – And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.
Finally, there could be no church on earth until the advent of the Holy Spirit. God made us and our bodies are the holy temples of God. After Jesus people no longer had to go to a man-made building or a certain location to worship God. God now comes to us and indwells believers with his Holy Spirit so each of us is a temple of God and we’re free to worship God in spirit anywhere we are and at any time. Our eternal spirits are regenerated, baptized and sealed by the Holy Spirit of God through faith in Jesus.
For all the reasons I’ve mentioned above, it’s evident the Christian church started at Pentecost after the death of Jesus when the Holy Spirit came to earth to indwell all believers from that point forward. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus spoke of the church as being in the future so we know the church was not in Jesus’ lifetime.
Let’s say the “church” is a car. A car can’t go anywhere without fuel to power the engine so we can drive it. In the same way the Holy Spirit is the fuel used to drive the “church” forward. The Holy Spirit is the gasoline that makes the “church” go. There can be no “church” without the active involvement of the Holy Spirit of God. The tremendous growth of the early “church” was due to the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:5 – (Jesus speaking to his disciples) – For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
Acts 11:15-16 – (Peter speaking) – And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them (the Gentiles), as upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, “John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
The principal evidence that the church began on the day of Pentecost concerns the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. The Lord declared that this particular and distinctive ministry of the Holy Spirit was still in the future just before his ascension. We know from Scripture that the indwelling of believers first occurred on the Pentecost following Jesus’ death and this spiritual baptism officially places the believer in the body of Christ. Pentecost is the Jewish festival also known as the, “feast of harvest,” which comes fifty days after Passover and commemorates the end of the grain harvest season.
Since this baptism by the Holy Spirit is the only way to become a member of the body of Christ, which is the church, it’s obvious that the “church” officially began on the day of Pentecost in 33 AD. The Church of God didn’t begin by any announcement but simply by a function of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost when all those believers in Jerusalem were filled with the Holy Spirit of God.
1 Corinthians 12:12-14 – For as the body is is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body- whether Jews or Greeks (Gentiles), whether slaves or free- and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.