When Ephesians and Corinthians turn to Christ, they turn away from their former temples.37
What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God…Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty (2 Corinthians 6:16-18). M
When Paul receives baptism, he does not return to his old religion. Where do we find him? “With the disciples” (Acts 9:19). Later we read, “And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples” (Acts 9:26). Paul has already been washed in baptism and thus been added to the saved family.38 Now we see Paul living that truth by joining his brothers and sisters in the family’s worship and work. They share the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week39 to remember the grace that makes them one united family.40
The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread (1 Corinthians 10:16-17). M
Do you see the Lord’s simple yet striking answer to the dilemma of division today? In every community, those born into the Lord’s family come together around one table. By so doing, they all practice the unity they enjoy in Christ’s death and resurrection. “Fellowship” then, for every child that walks in the light, is more than a principle and a privilege. It is a practice with a purpose.
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near (Hebrews 10:24-25). M
As Paul emphasizes, these meetings “edify” through loving attitudes, lessons, reports, songs, Scripture readings, prayers and the Lord’s Supper.41 When members of God’s family meet regularly, they are His “congregation” or “church” in that place. Each congregation should grow to have spiritually qualified shepherds (overseers), servants (deacons), evangelists and teachers, and should help to start other congregations.42 All such congregations in the world are what Scripture calls “all the churches,”43 “the churches of God,”44 and “the churches of Christ.”45
All this is the simple answer of God’s word. Yet, when put into practice, it can strike sparks of angry reaction in the religious world. That’s when someone like the town clerk speaks up, “Doesn’t all the world know that every congregation belongs to some denomination?” Critics agree, and deride God’s family as another “sect.”46 They repeat lines spoken to Paul in his Roman prison, “For with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against” (Acts 28:22). But the family knows that their real identity is defined by their Father, not by “people everywhere.” “All the world” cannot overrule one Lord whose one body refuses to be divided.
To illustrate that simple truth, imagine that a time machine brings Paul from the first century to the twenty-first century. He helps others to become Christians as he did in Acts. They meet together as congregations, like early Christians did. Tell us, to which denomination do these congregations (and Paul) belong? If you recognize that New Testament churches in the first century were not part of any denomination, then you know that such churches in the twenty-first century may also be non-denominational.
Now remove imagination, and think about reality. Instead of bringing Paul to our century, bring his message, the one you read in the New Testament. People today really believe that message. They become Christians in the New Testament way, and form congregations in that way. They believe Paul’s letters to Corinth and to Ephesus. Therefore they speak, as Paul does, for unity and against division. They practice that unity with all who “walk in the light” as the New Testament describes. But they refuse to join factions. They recognize no headquarters but heaven. They refuse to place themselves under any head but Christ. Tell us, to which denomination do these congregations belong? If you know the answer, then you know where you should belong.
37. Cf. Acts 14:15; 1 Thessalonians 1:9
39. Acts 20:7; see Study Note: The Lord’s Table
40. Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 10:14-17; 11:23-26
41. 1 Corinthians 11:20-29; 14:3-40; 1 Timothy 2:8-12; 4:13; Acts 2:42; 14:27; 15:3-4; 20:7-12; see Study Note: The Lord’s Table
42. Acts 13:1-3; 14:21-23; 15:41; 19:10; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 1:1; 4:10-18 ; Romans 12:4-13; 1 Peter 4:10-11; 3 John 1:5-8
43. 2 Corinthians 11:28; Revelation 2:23 cf. Acts 16:5; 1 Corinthians 7:17; Revelation 1:4,11
44. 1 Corinthians 11:16; 1 Thessalonians 2:14; 2 Thessalonians 1:4
Picture: Two simple things served on the Lord’s Table: unleavened bread and grape drink.