Over the years, the question has often been asked, “Do you think that only members of the church of Christ are saved?” Sometimes this question is asked sincerely, but most of the time it is asked out of derision. No matter what the motive, it is a question that always demonstrates a misunderstanding of scripture and what constitutes the Lord’s church.

That Jesus only built one church is clearly taught in the Word of God. Consider the following passages carefully.

Matthew 16:18 (ESV)
¹⁸ And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Notice that the word church is singular. Jesus never planned to built a bunch of churches. He knew that one would be enough. We should not be surprised, then, that after the church was established on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), the scriptures specifically teach that there is only one of them.

Ephesians 4:4 (ESV)
⁴ There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—

Should this not settle the issue of there being only one church? Paul made a point of it. That the body Paul referred to is the church is made clear by other passages that he wrote.

Ephesians 1:22-23 (ESV)
²² And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Colossians 1:18 (ESV)
¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

In view of these passages, who would deny that the body is the church; and, since there is clearly only one body, there is also only one church. Now, what is the church?

The universal church, which is what we are writing about in this article, is composed of all the saved. A person is saved and added to the church at exactly the same time.

Acts 2:47 (ESV)
⁴⁷ Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Who is added to the church? Luke said it was those who were being saved. Thus, when a person is saved, he is immediately added to the church. This means that if a person is not a member of the church, he is not saved. The question is, what church were people being added to in Acts 2? Since Jesus only built one church, we know the answer to that question. It was the church of Christ. The word of here is a preposition denoting possession. The church of Christ is the church that belongs to Christ. It belongs to Christ because He bought it with His blood.

Acts 20:28 (ESV)
²⁸ Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

Now, consider the question of the article again. “Are Christians really only found in churches of Christ?” It seems silly to ask this question, does it not? Of course, the answer is yes. There is no such thing as an unsaved Christian, and since the church is made up of the saved, one has to be a member of the church in order to be a Christian.

What about all the churches today that are not churches of Christ? Well, if Jesus did not built them, they do not belong to Him. Remember, He only has one. We know when and where Jesus built His church, that is, in the first century, in Jerusalem (Acts 1 and 2). Any church that started somewhere else, and at some other time, is not the church Christ built, that is, it is not the church of Christ.

The most telling fact of all is that most churches today, that are not churches of Christ, teach the wrong plan of salvation, plans that do not involve being baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3-3; Galatians 3:27; 1 Peter 3:21, etc.). How can a person who does not obey God’s plan of salvation, and, therefore, has never been born again, be saved? They cannot, which means they are not members of the Lord’s church.

When one understands what the church is, he will not ask if only members of it are Christians. The answer is too easily seen.

Don