![]() ![]() Thirdly, the popular idea that Christ's one body is made up of people from all the different denominations, while they preach and practice contradictory doctrines, makes Christ's body a freak or a monster. The obvious answer is "No!" But who can deny that modern "Christendom" is divided? If Christ is not divided and "Christendom" is divided by all the modern denominations, how can Christ's body be made up of those who are promoting and perpetuating such division? ![]() Paul asked the Corinthians the rhetorical question: "Is Christ divided?" (1 Cor. What denominationalism really means is division! In fact, the only reason that these denominations exist is because they preach and practice different doctrines. Secondly, modern denominationalism promotes division that is diametrically opposed to the unity that Jesus desires for His people (cf. So this one point alone demonstrates the fallacy of the idea that Christ's body is composed of people from all the various denominations. Jesus said that if the blind lead the blind, they both fall into the ditch (Mt. 15:14). While it is conceivable that someone could be taught wrong about baptism and baptized right (if the student listened to the Bible instead of his teacher), such a scenario would be highly unlikely. Everyone would agree that if someone is not really a Christian, he cannot be a member of Christ's one body (1 Cor. 3:21), then those who have not been baptized for the remission of sins are not really Christians. If that is what the NT teaches, and it is (Acts 2:38 22:16 1 Pet. They do not teach that one must be baptized for the remission of his sins to be saved. There are many misconceptions about the nature of Christ's one body, but one of the greatest misconceptions is the idea that this one body is composed of "true believers" from among all the various denominations in "Christendom." In this brief article, I want to explain why this concept cannot be correct Biblically.įirst of all, most of the denominations in modern "Christendom" do not teach the truth about conversion. So it is not the belief in one body that gives us trouble it is our various conceptions of this body's nature. That is a good explanation of what the NT teaches, and his comments are representative of other commentators like Barnes, Henry, Hendriksen, Barclay, et al. The organism composed of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Head and all true believers in him." (The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. In commenting on Ephesians 4:4, Alfred Martin writes: "One body. One body, one church, pretty simple isn't it? In fact, I might be tempted to conclude this article at this point, since I have explained why I believe there is one body but the belief in one body (or one church) is really not the issue in modern "Christendom." Almost everyone believes in one body. So there can be no doubt that the NT teaches that there is one body, and this one body is identified as Christ's church (Eph. Other passages clearly say the same thing (cf. Just as surely as there is one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God, there is one body. When the apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, he said: "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling" (Eph. The song says "Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so." Friends, that is not only why I believe that Jesus loves me, but why I also believe that there is one body - because the Bible tells me so. Ephesians 4:4 - "There is One Body" - church ![]()
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