Know The Truth – Should I Join A Church?
On the first Pentecost after the ascension of Jesus Christ to heaven, the Holy Spirit commanded those who believed that Jesus was the Christ to “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…” Acts 2:38. Did the three thousand souls that gladly received His word and were baptized join the church? No! Listen to the words of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:47, “Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” Because these people had obeyed the commands given by the Holy Spirit, the Lord added them to His church. Matthew 16:18. Man did not have a choice in the matter.
Is the church important? The Holy Spirit stated that the “church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood.” Acts 20:28. How important is the blood of Christ? The same blood that was given so that you and I may be saved is the same blood that purchased the church. Revelation 1:5. These people were added to the church by the Lord and at the same time were “delivered…from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son…” by the Father. Colossians 1:13.
The Holy Spirit stated, “Which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.” Ephesians 1:20-23. Jesus is seated at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus is above all authority and rule, and His name is above all names. Acts 4:12. God, the Father, put all things in subjection to Jesus and under His feet. Jesus is over all things and He is the head of the church, which is His body. See Colossians 1:18. Knowing this helps us to understand the importance of the church.
The Holy Spirit stated, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and He is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it…This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” Ephesians 5:23-25, 32. The Holy Spirit teaches us that Christ is the only Savior of His body, the church. Can you be saved outside the body/church of Christ? No! Christ loves His body/church. When one hears the gospel, believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, repents of their sins, confesses Jesus as the Son of God, and is immersed for the remission of their sins then and only then they are delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son by the heavenly Father AND are added to the church by the Lord. Colossians 1:13; Acts 2:47. The kingdom of God’s dear Son and the church being the same. Jesus purchased the church with His own blood. Acts 20:28. Since Jesus has all authority and is the head of the church, no one has the right to make rules and regulations for the church. If they do make rules and regulations, they are not in subjection to the Christ. Matthew 28:18.