What Church Do You Belong To?
Discovering the First Century Church
Acts 11:19-26
Two thousand years ago when the apostles began preaching the gospel of the Lord to the whole world, there was no such thing as a great variety of "churches", denominations, and sects, each with its own doctrines and methods of gathering disciples. In fact, Jesus and His apostles taught that there was only one church, which is the body of Jesus, with He Himself being the head (see Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:4, 5:22-23; Colossians 1:18). Therefore, as people were converted no one asked them, "what church do you belong to?" – because it was obvious that they belonged to that singular church that Christ Himself was building.
Many today claim that they are looking for "the right church". For some this means nothing more than a place where they can simply feel good about themselves, comfortable, soothing their consciences with external acts of "worship" to God. However, for those who are more honestly seeking, this search may truly be a longing to be part of that "...holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9-10).
With this honest desire to discover the church built by Jesus Christ, let us travel back some two thousand years to the city of Antioch in ancient Syria, where the gospel of Jesus Christ was arriving and being preached for the first time. As we read the Holy Spirit’s account of people being converted in this city, let us carefully observe what took place and ask the question, "What church did these people belong to?"
What happened in Antioch? (Acts 11:19-20)
After Stephen was stoned to death in Jerusalem for preaching the gospel (see Acts 7:51 - 8:4), the Christians who lived there scattered to the surrounding regions, taking with them the word of the Lord to places where it had not yet been taught. At first these disciples preached only to Jews, but some of them who had been born in places among the Gentiles ("Greeks") soon began also to preach to non-Jews.
What, exactly, did these disciples preach? Verse 19 says “those who were scattered... traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word", and verse 20 teaches us that they were "preaching the Lord Jesus". This fact is too simple and too important for us to ignore – those who went out from Jerusalem preached only the word, the gospel of the Lord Jesus. Demonstrating this same pattern in his own teaching, the apostle Paul said: "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2).
What was the result of preaching the word of the Lord? (Acts 11:21-24)
The Bible affirms that hearing the word is sufficient to produce in people the kind of faith that brings salvation. The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes..." and "...faith comes through hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Romans 1:16; 10:17). People who truly wish to serve God together with His people do not need to hear of miracles or promises of material blessings, but will respond in faith at simply the preaching of the word of Christ. Let’s observe what happened in Antioch when people responded in faith:
Conversion to the Lord. When the honest people of Antioch heard the gospel, "a great number who believed turned to the Lord" (Acts 11:21). Preaching the gospel of Jesus results in people being converted to Him, the Lord!
No one in the Bible was ever converted to a church. Unfortunately, many are “converted” to churches today. All you have to do is listen to a conversation between two “believers”, and fairly soon someone will say something like this: "Did you hear that so-and-so left the church?", or "Thank God that after having fallen away for so long I came back to the church!" Expressions like these reveal people that are converted to a church and not to the Lord. The problem is that many who call themselves "evangelists" hit the streets to announce many things – the church, the “pastor”, theology, promises of healings or of material blessings, the casting out of demons, etc. – but few people seem to be interested in preaching the word of Christ. The result of this is people who are converted to these things, but not to the Lord. To be a part of the church which belongs to the Lord, we must first hear the gospel, the word that speaks of the Lord, so that we may become converted to Him.
Faithfulness to the Lord. Good news runs swiftly, and soon the church in Jerusalem heard of the conversion of those in Antioch (Acts 11:22). The language that describes the church in Jerusalem ought to call us to careful attention. For example, the church in Jerusalem has "ears". Also, at the same time the church is both singular - "the church" - and plural - "they sent Barnabas". What do we learn from this? The word "church" in the Bible does not describe a building or some organization (denomination), but rather it describes people. The church in Jerusalem was simply the people converted to the Lord, who when they heard of the conversion of others sent them help in the person of Barnabas.
When Barnabas arrived in Antioch, he was very happy to see the grace of God among these new converts (Acts 11:23). How is it possible to see the grace of God? The apostle Paul wrote: "...the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." (Titus 2:11-13). What Barnabas saw in Antioch was people whose lives had been visibly transformed by the grace of God. His response was to exhort "them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose" (Acts 11:23).
Many are proud to claim that they will never leave their church. It is important to remember, however, that the church is people, and people – even good ones – can make mistakes. It would be absolute foolishness to remain firmly tied to people who are no longer serving the Lord! On the other hand, the one who remains firmly tied to the Lord will not fall, even if all of the church and its pastors do, because he will be following the One who is truly the “good shepherd” (see John 10:27-28).
They were added to the Lord. Because of the preaching of the gospel by Barnabas and others in Antioch, “a great many people were added to the Lord" (Acts 11:24). In fact, the result when people hear the gospel of the Lord, are converted to the Lord, and remain faithful to the Lord will be people who are added to the Lord. That is the whole point of conversion – God is offering us peace and reconciliation in Christ so that we may be united with Him for eternity (see 2 Corinthians 5:18-21; John 14:1-3)!
What church did these people belong to? (Acts 11:25-26)
Unfortunately, the pattern we see in the religious world today is quite different from what we see happened in Antioch. Today, men preach the church, people are converted to the church, people remain faithful to the church, and people are added to the church. However, the focus of Barnabas and the other disciples that went out spreading the word was never the church, but was always the Lord! And what happens when people respond to teaching about the Lord? "For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people" (Acts 11:26). No one preached the church, and yet the result of their preaching was a church in Antioch that was actively teaching others!
And so, therefore, our question is obvious - "what church did these people belong to?" Was it Catholic? Baptist? Presbyterian? Mormon? No! To be any one of those churches, it would have been necessary to have taught people and converted them to the doctrine of those groups. Was it some church that was under the denominational wing of the church in Jerusalem? No again! No one preached about the church in Jerusalem, even though all of them had come from there! The doctrine wasn’t about Jerusalem, but about the Lord! So, what church was it? We can simply say it was the church of the Lord (after all, it belongs to Him!) which was meeting in the city of Antioch (see Romans 16:1; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; etc.).
And what were the members of this church called? Catholics? Baptists? Presbyterians? Mormons? Once again, no! "And in Antioch, the disciples were first called Christians" (Acts 11:26). Since these were people who had heard the word of the Lord Jesus Christ, had been converted to the Lord Jesus Christ, had determined to remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ, and had been added to the Lord Jesus Christ, it makes perfect sense that they should be called by His title - "Christians". These people didn’t know any other human doctrine in order to be called by any human names or methods. They simply followed and served the Christ.
Is it possible to have a church like the one in Antioch today?
The issue is not one of having a church that is just like the one in Antioch, but rather of being a church like that one. And such is not only possible, but it is essential - because to be any other thing will bring the righteous condemnation of God (see 2 John 9-11)! So then, how can we become a church like the one in Antioch? The answer is simple – we do exactly what those disciples in the first century did. We must stop looking for churches and associations with man-made denominations and doctrines, seeking instead for the Lord Himself by means of His word! Upon hearing the simplicity of the gospel, honest seekers will be converted to the Lord, will remain faithful to Him, and will be added to Him. When these people meet together in one place to worship Him together, even if it is only two or three people, they will be a church that belongs to the Lord (cp Matthew 18:20). What church will they be? The church that is built by the Lord, with He Himself as their head.
What church do you belong to?
-- by Carl D. Ballard