I.
1 Corinthians 1:10-13: "I pray, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you all speak the same thing; and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me... that there are quarrels among you. Now I say, that every one of you says: 'I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephus; and I of Christ. IS CHRIST DIVIDED? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?"
1 Corinthians 3:3: "For you are not yet spiritual: for there are many among you envying, and strife, and divisions."
2 Timothy 2:15-16: "Study to show yourself apporved unto God, a workman who needs not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
1) Are Christians to “Speak the same thing”?
2) Are there to be any divisions among Christians?
3) If he had answered that he was a "Paul-ite", and "Apollos-ite", or a "Cephas-ite", would he have been condemned by God?
4) Are Denominations “speaking the same thing”?
5) Are Denominations divided over spiritual matters?
6) Is this division from God or man?
7) Can there be any justifiable reason for Christians being part of this division?
8) Are those in a denomination obeying the commandments of men, or of Christ?"
9) Can people be Christians, and nothing else in this day and age?
10) How must this be done?
[other verses: Acts 17:11; Romans 16:17; 2 Corinthians 13:11; Philippians 3:16; Philippians 2:2; ]
1 Corinthians 14:33"For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints".,
- 1) Is God the author of confusion?
2) Can all the things the different denominations teach be correct?
3) Is Denominationalism in harmony with God’s Word, or in confusion?
4) Are then denominations from God?
5) Where are they from, then?
II.
Matthew 16:18 [Jesus said] “... I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
Colossians 1:24, “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,”
Ephesians 4:1-5: "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. "
1) Who does the church belong to?
2) Does Christ’s body figuratively represent the church?
3) How many bodies did Jesus Christ have?
4) How many bodies [churches] are there that belong to Jesus Christ?
5) How many faiths are there?
6) Are Christians to endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit?
III.
2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Romans 15:19; where Paul says, "... I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. "("in its entirety" - The Amplified version); and Acts 20:27, "...I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God"
2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 1:13, “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.”
1) Has God given all the information we need to worship Him the way He wants?
2) Has God commanded Christians to “Study” His Word to discover what He desires of us in worship?
3) Would God tell us to do something that we could not do?
4) Does the Bible contain all we need to know to duplicate God’s pattern for the church?
[See also: Genesis 6:11-22; Exodus 25:9, 40; 26:30; Numbers 8:4; Hebrews 8:5; 1 Timothy 1:16; Philippians 3:17; Acts 7:44]
2 John 9-10: "Whosoever goes contrary to the teachings of Christ has not God. He that abides in the doctrine of Christ, he has both the Father and the Son. If there come any to you, and bring not these teachings, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: for he that bids him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds."
John 14:6: "Jesus said ... I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, except by Me."
Colossians 3:17 "Whatsoever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name (authority) of the lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him".
John 14:15 Jesus also said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments" .
1) Must we obey Christ’s Word if we want to go to Heaven?
2) Does this include worshipping God according to His plan as given in the Bible?
3) Should Christians wear no name but Christ's, and have no creed but the Bible?
[See also: John 17:17; Romans 1:18; 2:5-11; 1 Corinthians 13:4-6;
2 Corinthians 13:7-8]
IV.
Matthew 16:18 [Jesus said] “... I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
1) When Jesus made this statement “... I will build My church..” --- was this yet to be accomplished at a time in the future?
Acts 2:47; “... and the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”
- 1) Who did the Lord add to the church?
2) Who was the person doing the adding?
3) When was this done?
4) What was the approximate date this occured?
5) Where did this first occur?
Colossians 1:24, “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,”
1 Corinthians 12:12-14; “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13For by one spirit we were all baptized into one body --- whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free --- and have all been made to drink into one spirit. 14For in fact.” the body is not one member, but many.
Acts 11:26b; “...And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”
- 1) What are those belonging to Christ’s church called?
2) How were they put into the body, the church?
3) Who’s church were they baptized into?
4) When, where, and by whom was the church belonging to Jesus Christ established?
5) Can any church established at any other time, or place by any other person than Jesus Christ be His church, then?
6) What were Christ’s disciples called in Acts 11:26?
7) Because of what these verse teach, should followers of Christ call themselves by any other denominational name today --- or be part of a denomination?
1 Corinthians 4:2, “Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.”
- 1) Must Christians, as stewards of God, be faithful in the things He has told us to do?
2) Must we then be a member of His body --- His church, as defined by the pattern in His Word to be pleasing to God?
3) Are you a member of the church established by Jesus Christ in Jerusalem about AD 30 --- as shown in the Bible?
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