What is the One True Church?

Introduction

Though there are many Christians in the world, many are split up amongst many hundreds if not thousands of denominations, organisations, churches and congregations.

Many of these denominations and churches, though not all, like to claim to be the “One True Church”, and several compete in this respect, and all using different methods of reasoning, theology or tradition to do so.

Be it Catholics, Orthodox, Calvinists, Anglicans, Lutherans, Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons…. to name a few, all at some point in time or even still to this day, have laid claim to being “God’s True Church”, and even would claim that membership to said church as a requisite of salvation.

How Denominations Lay Claim to Being the One True Church

Different churches have various ways or arguments to claim they are the “True Church”.

Apostolic Succession

The Catholic, Orthodox, Moravian, Lutheran, and Anglican churches lay claim to a tradition of “Apostolic succession”, and adhere to a church structure of “Episcopal polity” or “Hierarchical polity” and “Clericalism”.

In this framework, these churches view themselves as “ordained” directly by Yeshua and the Apostles themselves, from one successor passing ordination and power to the next, operating on a system of hierarchy or dynasty.

The claim of Apostolic tradition is the notion of the Apostles first ordaining Overseers and Elders directly by the laying of hands, giving them the authority Yeshua in turn gave to them, and the Father to him. In turn, it is believed each Overseer of the congregations across the ancient world through the years, appointed their own successors by also laying their hands and passing on their titles and positions to others.

The Christian Elder Irenaeus for example, claimed he was an ordained student of Elder Polycarp, who in turn was an ordained student of Apostle John.

This was a method founded by some early Christians of the 2nd century, as to lay claim to authoritative teaching, and to establish a sense of “official orthodoxy” or authenticity amongst the rise of many heretical sects, such as the Gnostics, who had claimed to be the keepers of the “secret teachings of Yeshua and the Apostles”, and the Montanists, who claimed to have exclusive access to the power of the holy spirit.

By laying claim to a tradition or lineage of teachers leading back to the Apostles themselves, the early Christians were more easily able to fight off other heretical groups and their teachings, simply by attempting to delegitimise their leaders and their so-called “gospel writings”, and lineage to power which they claimed to be “apostolic” but were not.

Since the second century, this method of acclaimed “apostolic succesion” has been continued throughout, all the way down to the fourth and the beginnings of the Roman Catholic Church (325-381 A.D).

For this reason, such a tradition has the most prevalence in history with the Catholic Church, but has also been adopted by its break away sects, such as the Orthodox Church, and following, various sects of the early Protestant Reformation such as the Anglicans and Lutherans – seeing that their roots also come from the same tradition, thus claiming to “have the power” to pass on such ordinations that they first received, into their own separate denominations.

Whilst the Catholic Church believes all power to declare universal Christian doctrine is upon their “Holy See”, that is, in the Overseer (Bishop) of Rome the Pope, who they believe sits in the position of “head of all Overseers (Bishops)” inherited from Apostle Peter according to their interpretation of Matthew 16:18, the other sister churches adhereing to Apostolic succession place their authority to declare holy doctrine in their united councils of Overseers (Bishops) from all over the world on their interpretation of Acts 15:6, 22.

Through the laid claim authority of succession, it is believed that to be truly considered a part of the “Church Yeshua founded”, one must be baptised and “confirmed” by the clergies of these said churches, of whom lay claim to a traceable tradition and lineage of ordinations and the continued passing of the holy spirit by touch, in the manner first done in the 1st Century when Elders were appointed and given the gifts of the spirit (John 20:21-22, Acts 8:14–17, Acts 13:2-3, Acts 14:23, 1 Timothy 4:14, 1 Timothy 5:22, Titus 1:5).

In this, they claim to be the one and the same unbroken Church from the beginning in which Yeshua said “would never be claimed by Sheol (or ‘Hades’)” in Matthew 16:18.

Prophet Movements

Churches founded from “prophet movements” operate on a similar mindset to Apostolic succession, but with a twist.

Prophet movement churches have sprung up from the earliest centuries, and in a large way after the Second Great Awakening in the mid-late 1800s. The notion of there being a special figure who has been chosen by God to “restore and lead his True Church”.

Such churches often claim to be the “true continuation of the 1st century Apostles” as a response to the churches that rely on Apostolic tradition or succession such as Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans, etc, of which Prophet Movement churches claim have “lost God’s approval and spirit”, and thus then claim God’s spirit to have founded a “new church” by means of these chosen men or groups.

In the early centuries, religious movements such as the Montanists first founded by Montanus of the late 2nd Century A.D, Islam led by Muhammed in the 7th Century, and later in history in the 19th Century, groups such as the Seventh Day Adventists under the leadership of Ellen G White, Latter Day Saints (Mormons) under Joseph Smith, Jehovah’s Witnesses under Charles Taze Russel and Joseph Franklin Rutherford, and other groups, have founded themselves by such a notion.

These kinds of churches claim their leaders to be elected, divinely inspired or otherwise used by God, to be his new “revelation” to mankind, and salvation being dependent on following said individuals, and the churches they established, no matter what their doctrines are.

Doctrinal Perfection

Other churches in general may claim to be God’s True Church, merely by claiming doctrinal perfection or correctness, and this may also play a component part to the previous methodologies.

Rather than trying to lay claim to “authority” or “election”, the notion of asserting one must be a part of a specific church for salvation on the basis of correct doctrine, comes from a very specific “definition” of the word “Church”.

This interpretation views the Church as to be an “institution”, and so to be “part of God’s Church” is interpreted to mean “part of God’s institution” or “part of God’s organisation”, or such a term, in a fashion similar to how Israel is portrayed in scripture to be “God’s nation” and being a part of it meant both worshipping God, and being officially registered as a citizen.

In this respect, the said church will claim to be the “only correct Church” by means of doctrinal statement, and therefore ‘has to be’ God’s true Church of which membership to provides salvation.

This type of argument predominantly relies upon using scriptures such as Hebrews 10:25 which instructs us to “keep on gathering together”, in combination with 1 Corinthians 1:10 which encourages Christians to not be divided, and John 4:24 which instructs us to “worship in spirit and truth”. Thus, the “logical conclusion” being “one must be part of an official church” united under some kind of “banner” forming a “physical body” under a leadership.

And that one Church of course, being the one that lays claim to perfect salvational doctrine, and hence ‘must’ be “God’s one and approved”, and thereby demands our membership to it.

Power & Recognition

Likewise to above, by using the definition of “Church” to mean some kind of “institution to join”, some churches will merely claim their “success rate” proves them to be God’s chosen Church.

Simply put, their “power” or achivements, are interpreted to be evidence of God’s blessing. That it is “divine providence” that God will make sure his true church will be accessible to all no matter what, and therefore, it has to be something obvious and successful.

This argument operates also on the similar mindset, that God’s church would not “under the power of Sheol/Hades”, whilst other churches of this kind will use scriptures such as Matthew 24:14 to indicate that this faith would be overt and global, before the coming of “The End”, and verses like Acts 5:39, which says “if something is from God it can’t be stopped”.

This method might be used solitarily, regardless of the doctrines espoused by the church, or in tandem with other mentioned methods.

Smallness

Being the opposite end of the spectrum regarding power, some groups believe it is the “smallest sects and churches” which are True. This is based upon verses such as Matthew 7:14 which states “few are on the path to life”.

Hence, these churches regard the larger churches to be falsehood, and that the smaller their group is, the more likely it must be true. Whilst other groups will try to “combine” the views regarding power and smallness, that they must be a “well known” church, but comparatively smaller to the many greater churches in the world.

Groups such as the Amish, Mennoites, Quakers and Jesus-Christians, typically recognise themselves in such a way, and thus “seperate themselves from the world” into communes and villages.

Persecution

There are then also churches or groups that claim to be God’s True Church, merely by resorting to how much persecution they recieve.

As Yeshua taught his followers would be hated by all men at Matthew 10:22, this is often used as a measuring tool of whether one is a true Christian, and therefore, it is reasoned that the most “hated” denomination or sect would be the truest.

Some again, will lay claim to this form of recognition no matter what their doctrines are, whilst other churches will use the recognition of persecution in ‘tandem’ with other methodologies mentioned above.

Combined Models

Finally, there are Combined Models, simply, churches which use multiple aspects of the aforementioned methodolgies, claiming that, they must have “all” of “most” of them, in order to lay claim to being the True Church.

Hence, the belief that the True Church is a denomination or physical institution being “global”, “powerful”, “recognisable”, “undefeatable”, “persecuted”, “teaching perfect doctrine” and with some kind of “divine authority” whether it be via claims to Apostolic succession or form of Prophethood.

Churches that lay claim to combined models can be recognised everywhere, the most prominant being Catholics, Orthodox, Hyper-Calvinists, Lutherans, some Pentecostal churches, Seventh-Day Adventists, Latter-Day Saints (Mormons), Jehovah’s Witnesses and Iglesia ni Cristo.

The smaller of these churches, also typically make use of the “smallness” methodology in their models, to showcase a contrast between themselves, and the more popular churches, whilst still retaining the notion of “power and success”.

Scriptural Examination

Regardless of the methodology of how a specific group or denomination claims to be the “True Church”, the real question we must ask is; Did Yeshua or the Apostles ever teach that salvation and being part of his “Body” was defined by being a part of a specific church, congregation, creed, or organisation?

To answer this question, we must examine scripture itself to see how the Christian faith was established and handled in the beginning.

Yeshua’s Commission

From the start of Yeshua’s ministry, he first sent out his Apostles and 72 others to the Jews in Israel, and these followers were to speak his words as messengers to them. Yeshua stated in this respect, that to reject his messengers was to reject him.

• “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; and whoever rejects me rejects the One who sent me. Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; and whoever rejects me rejects the One who sent me.” – Luke 10:16

We see from the beginning, Yeshua makes a statement that to reject those he sends is to reject him, and his Father in turn. This is because that clearly, his messengers speak the very same words as the one who sent them.

Therefore, this gives us a priority to put the words of those of both Yeshua and those who were sent by him directly, first. – Scripturally speaking, this would then be the words of the Apostles contained in the New Testament that we have today as this source of information.

When Yeshua sent his Apostles into the world to preach the Gospel, we see that they were also promised the gift of the holy spirit which would tell them all the right things to say and teach.

• “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, immersing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit/in my name“. – Matthew 28:19
• “But, believe me when I say that my going away is for your own good. Because, if I didn’t go away, the Advocate wouldn’t come to you. However, after I go, I’ll send it to you. And when that one arrives, it’ll condemn this arrangement over its sins, its righteousness, and its judgments… However, when that one (the Spirit of Truth) arrives, it’ll lead you to all truth. And it won’t be speaking for itself; it’ll tell you what he hears and then it’ll announce the things that will be coming“. – John 16:7-8, 13
• “Well, after they’d all assembled together [with Yeshua], he gave them this order: ‘Don’t leave Jerusalem. Stay there and wait for the promise that the Father spoke of, and about which you [also] heard from me. Indeed, John immersed you with water, but in just a few days you‘ll be immersed in Holy Breath (or Spirit)! …You’ll receive power when the Holy Breath (or Spirit) comes over you. And you’ll be witnesses of me in Jerusalem, throughout all of Judea, in Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth.’” – Acts 1:4-5, 8
• “Now, towards the end of the day known as Pentecost, while they [the Apostles and 120 others] were all observing that celebration, a noise suddenly came out of the sky! It sounded like a violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire, which were distributed so that one [tongue] sat over each of them, and they all became filled with Holy Breath (or Spirit) and started speaking different languages, saying whatever the Breath (or Spirit) was telling them to say!“. – Acts 2:1-4

We see that the Apostles, whom would be given the holy spirit to teach and do powerful works, were simply told to go out, make disciples of Yeshua, and baptise people… We don’t see here so far any notion of commanding a membership to any kind of church, creed, group, denomination or alike, but only discipleship to the Lord and personal baptism.

When it was the time for the holy spirit to come, we see that it filled an entire house of believers, not the Apostles only, but 120 others, and all of them received the gifts. We are not given any details however if these others were baptised by the Apostles, or whether they baptised one another, but we do see they recieved the spirit equally, as opposed to it being passed on via one person to the other in this circumstance.

Thus far, we don’t see any indication of baptising with exception to the baptism of the spirit that Yeshua said would happen, and this baptism of spirit was given to multiple believers present, merely based upon their faith alone in this instance, rather than from an authorative structure from person to person or a laying of hands, an example which ‘might’ be argued to declare that it is not any notion of succesion or lineage which requires baptism (either of spirit or water) to be valid, but only faith in the Lord himself.

Nevertheless, we have only seen so far, command from Yeshua for his disciples personally to go and baptise others and disciple them, and because of that, one might ‘assume’ that the Apostles went and baptised the others in water whom were also present with them, if they didn’t already previously, which may have also explained why they had recieved the spirit when the time came for it, but that of course would be an inference, as we have not yet seen that any kind of baptisms yet performed by the Apostles cited.

The First Baptisms

• “Yeshua and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was immersing [people]… Yeshua was making and immersing more disciples than John [the Immerser], (although Yeshua himself did not immerse, but only his disciples)“. – John 3:22, 4:1-2
• “[Peter said] so let the entire House of Israel know for sure that God appointed this Yeshua whom you impaled to be the Lord and His Anointed One!’ Well when they heard this, they were all stabbed to the heart! So they [the crowds that gathered outside the house] asked Peter and the other Apostles: ‘Men, Brothers, what must we do?’ Then Peter told them: ‘Repent!‘ And each of you should get immersed in the name of Yeshua the Anointed One, so your sins can be forgiven, and then you’ll receive the gift of the Holy Breath (or Spirit). That’s a promise to you, to your children, and to all those who are far away. To all those who’ll be called by our God, YHWH!’ Well thereafter, he went on and testified to them a lot more, giving them this advice: ‘Get saved from this crooked people!’. Then those who welcomed his words were immersed. And about 3,000 people were added that day!’“. – Acts 2:36-41
• “Philip had gone to a city in Samaria, where he preached to the people about the Anointed One… They listened to him closely and watched the signs that he performed… When Philip came preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God and about the name of Yeshua the Anointed One, they started believing him; and as a result, many men and women got immersed…
  
  After the Apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria was starting to accept the word of God, they sent Peter and John there, and they prayed for [the believers] to receive Holy Breath (or Spirit), since it hadn’t come to any of them yet – even though they’d been immersed in the name of the Lord Yeshua. But when [Peter and John] laid their hands on them, they each started receiving Holy Breath (or Spirit)….
  
  The Breath (or Spirit) [of God] then told Philip: ‘Go and catch up with [the Ethiopian man’s] chariot.’ …So Philip proceeded to explain this scripture, telling him the good news about Yeshua. Now, as they were traveling along the road, they happened to be passing by some water. So the eunuch said to him: ‘Look! Here’s some water! What’s to prevent me from getting immersed? …So he commanded the chariot [driver] to stop, and then Philip took the eunuch down to the water and immersed him.’”. – Acts 8:5-6, 12, 14-17, 29, 35-36, 38
• “There was a disciple named Ananias in Damascus; and in a vision, the Lord called out to him saying: ‘Ananias!’ And he replied: ‘Here I am Lord!’ Then the Lord said: ‘Get up and go to the house of Judas on Straight Street, and ask for a man called Saul of Tarsus. Look, he’s praying [right now]! …So Ananias went over to the house and went inside, and then he laid his hands on him and said: ‘Saul, Brother,‘ The Lord Yeshua who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here has sent me to restore your sight and to fill you with Holy Breath (or Spirit).’ Well at that, what looked like scales immediately fell from [Paul’s] eyes and he started to see! Then he got up and was immersed [in water]”. – Acts 9:10-11, 17-18
• “Peter said: ‘I can see for a fact that God is impartial! For He accepts any man who fears Him and does righteous things, no matter what nation he’s from! So He’s sending word to the Sons of Israel that they must announce the good news of peace through Yeshua the Anointed One to [the gentiles] also, for he’s really the Lord over all! I can also see that you’ve already come to know about this thing that’s being proclaimed throughout all of Judea, which started in Galilee after John [the Immeser] came preaching about [the need] to get immersed…. and that [Yeshua is] the one all the Prophets had testified about, [where they foretold] that everyone who put faith in him will have their sins forgiven through this name!’ Well, as Peter was still talking about this, the Holy Breath (or Spirit) came over everyone who was listening to what he said! ….the gift of the Holy Breath (or Spirit) was now being poured out on gentiles…Then Peter asked; Can anyone forbid water to immerse these who have received the Holy Breath (or Spirit) the same as we have?’ So he commanded that they should be immersed in the name of Yeshua the Anointed One.“ – Acts 10:34-37, 43-45, 57-48
• “‘[Well, when we got there, the Gentile man] told us how he’d seen a messenger [from God] standing in his house, who told him this: ‘Send your men to Joppa and ask for Simon who’s called Peter. He will tell you what you must do, so that you and your household can get saved.’ But after I started speaking to them, the Holy Breath (or Spirt) fell upon all of them, the same as it did upon us long ago. And then I remembered that the Lord used to say: ‘John immersed in water, but you’ll be immersed in Holy Breath (or Spirit).’ So if God gave them the same gifts that he gave to those of us who have believed in the Lord Yeshua the Anointed; who am I that I should be strong enough to resist God?’ Well after they heard this, they all quieted down and started glorifying God, saying :‘So then, God has also given gentiles the opportunity for repentance into life!“. – Acts 11:13-18
• “Well, a woman named Lydia from Thyatira (an importer of purple [cloth]) who was a worshiper of The God, was listening… And the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to the things that Paul was saying. Then… she and her household were being immersed… [A jailer said] ‘Lords, what must I do so that I might get saved?’ [Paul and Silas] replied: ‘Believe in the Lord Yeshua, and you and all in your house will be saved.’ Then they spoke to him and all those in his house about the word of the Lord. So at that hour of the night… he and his family were immediately immersed“. – Acts 16:14-15, 30-33
• “Silas and Timothy finally arrived from Macedonia, Paul really intensified his work of witnessing to the Jews and proving to them that Yeshua is the Anointed One… Crispus (the synagogue’s presiding officer) became a believer in the Lord, as did his whole household. And many Corinthians that heard about it also became believers and were immersed.“. – Acts 18:5, 8
• “…when [Paul] got to Ephesus, he found some disciples and he asked them: ‘Did you receive Holy Breath (or Spirit) when you became believers?’ And they answered: ‘We’ve never even heard that there is Holy Breath (or Spirit).’ So he asked: ‘Then, into what were you immersed?’ And they replied: ‘Into John’s [form of] immersion.’ So Paul told them this: ‘When John immersed [people], it was an immersion [in symbol] of repentance. However, he told the people to believe in the one who was coming behind him, in Yeshua. ’And after they heard this, they were all immersed in the name of the Lord Yeshua. Then after Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Breath (or Spirit) came over them and they each started speaking in different languages and prophesying (there were about 12 men)”. – Acts 19:1-7

The earliest baptisms we see in Acts 2, are those performed at the preaching done by Peter and the Apostles, of which of course, is to be expected, as only the Apostles were first taught to baptise others by Yeshua, and so this responsibility fell on them.

It is of course, of note to mention that we are not told who baptised all 3000 of the people present that day, whether if multiple believers baptised each other, or if the Apostles themselves baptised them all individually, we are not informed. It is reasonable to suggest however, that the Apostles would have been responsible at first, given Yeshua’s words them to go and baptise.

Whether or not other people baptised on behalf of the Apostles after their own baptisms given the sheer number of people, it would be safe to assume that the Apostles did the first baptisms. What we’re not told however is whether or not these people recieved the gifts or authority of the holy spirit when this happened, either from the Apostles themselves, or independently from the Lord Yeshua himself.

Of importance in this chapter, we see people ask Peter “what they must do to be saved”, and Peter’s answer was a simple one; “repent and be baptised in Yeshua’s name”, and as a result he told them they would recieve the spirit.

By Acts 8, the next baptism we see is the one performed by Apostle Phillip. We see that he had the gifts of the spirit which enabled him to perform miracles for others to see, in order to prove the truth of things he was preaching. As a result many people were baptised, though we are not told by who, it of course is reasonable to suggest it was Phillip who did such baptising.

Following this, we are told many people in Samaria heard rumours of the Gospel, and that they had all been baptised. However, we are told that Peter and John had to visit them all and pray for them to recieve the holy spirit. This is a note worthy detail, because it’s clear that the believers were baptised by others in the absense of Apostles, which shows that there must have been a practice amongst Christians of baptising believers, even if they did not have the gifts of the spirit.

We are not told in this instance who did the baptising, whether it was those baptised and ordained by the Apostles, or simply by those who were common believers who had been given no special ordination or authority. What is clear, is that these doing the baptising did not have the gift of the spirit to pass on to the baptised, which would indicate that they did not recieve it either. Or, if they did, they did not have any ability or authority to pass it down in some form of succesion.

When Peter and John arrived, we clearly see that these people did not need to be re-baptised by them, but only did they pray and lay their hands for the gifts of spirit to be given to them. And it’s clear that ‘Apostles specifically’ had to be called upon to do this, not anyone else, regardless of having the gifts of the spirit given to them by the Apostles or not.

Following this, the next baptism mentioned in this chapter, goes back to Apostle Phillip, who was sent by the holy spirit to an Ethiopian traveller who had faith. As soon as they had found water, the man was immediately baptised, without hestiation, merely on the basis of his belief and faith in Yeshua. We are not told that he had hands laid upon him, or if any gifts of the spirit were passed to him.

Moving into Acts 9, we see a Christian named Ananias was sent to Saul (who later was called Paul) to lay his hands on him and cure him of the blindness given by the vision of Yeshua he had recieved when travelling on the road to persecute Christians. When this happened, we see Paul was then baptised, likely by Ananias himself. It is interesting to see here, that Ananias was chosen specifically for this role, despite not being an Apostle. Whether he already had the gifts of the spirit, or if they were given to him during this moment, we are not told when or how. But what we see that the spirit was given to Paul by him, following which he then baptised him.

The next baptism and coming of the spirit we see is of many gentiles upon Peter’s preaching in Acts 10–11.

In these chapters, we’re first told the people had already “heard” of the Gospel, but it would appear that they may not have known of the full details, or heard enough proof to put belief in it, as Peter has to go on explaining to them what it’s all about. However, when this happens, we see suddenly these gentiles have the holy spirit come upon them, just as it did for the Jews in Pentecost. This happens at Peter’s surprise, showing it was not him giving them the spirit directly, but because they were coming to believe the things that he said.

In this circumstance, these people had recieved the spirit before they had become baptised, which was not the usual order of things, as baptism typically came before the coming of the spirit, or, has to be conferred onto the baptised by the Apostles. But this circumstance shows us that it is possible to recieve the spirit through faith directly from God and the Son, even before a baptism.

Jumping forward to Acts 16 and 18, the following baptisms we see are performed simply by preaching Apostles to individuals who listened to them. A couple of the baptims here likewise, we are not told specifically who performed them. Again also, as it was in Acts 2 and 8, some specifically ask these Apostles “what they must do to be saved”, and the answer given to them was the same. Merely to “believe in Yeshua” – following which they spoke those very words of Yeshua to them, which led to their baptism.

Finally by Acts 19, we see there are believers in Yeshua, but they were only baptised by John the baptist, and as a result had never heard of the holy spirit. Because of this, Paul has them re-baptised in the name of Yeshua, as opposed to John’s form of baptism, and afterward we see he has to lay his hands on them so that they recieve the gifts of the spirit.

The main points to take away from what we learn of baptism and the coming of the spirit are these:

• Yeshua told his Apostles to go and make disciples and baptise them
• Yeshua told his Apostles they would recieve the holy spirit
• The gifts of the holy spirit came upon the Apostles and many others who were present with them
• The first baptisms were likely performed by the Apostles
• Many people were baptised in absense of the Apostles and those who had ability to pass on the gifts of the holy spirit, and their baptisms were seen as valid
• The Apostles had to pray for the gifts of the holy spirit to come upon some of those who were baptised in their absense
• Some baptised by the Apostles were never given the gifts of the spirit or had hands laid on them at all, yet were considered to be saved
• Some had the gifts the spirit come upon them before they were baptised, merely by faith and belief in Yeshua as they had heard his words given to them by the Apostles
• There are correct and incorrect forms of baptism, the former being in the name of Yeshua

Means of Salvation

When we look through these scriptures for what salvation consisted of, we are given a very basic formula.

We have already seen Acts 2, 8 and 16 state, that repentance, belief in the words of the Lord Yeshua and baptism were the requirements. Yeshua’s commands in turn were to believe he was the Son of God, the Messiah (Anointed one), and in his spiritual teachings, as passed down and written by his Apostles whom he appointed to go out and make disciples (Matthew 28:19, Luke 10:16). Yeshua says to listen to his Apostles, whilst his Apostles say to listen to Yeshua.

We are not told that salvation involved; being baptised by an authority figure, signing a creed, joining some kind of institution, nor membership to a club. Rather, just faith and obedience to Yeshua and God alone, and by those things, according to Apostles Peter, Paul and John, makes one a part of the “Body” and “Temple” which is the “Church”:

• “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the Good News I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: That the Anointed One died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me“. – 1 Corinthians 15:1-8
• “Everyone who believes that Yeshua is the Anointed has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments“. – 1 John 5:1-2
• “Immersion, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Yeshua the Anointed”. – 1 Peter 3:21
• “For in one Breath (or Spirit) we were all immersed into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit”. – 1 Corinthians 12:13
• “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Breath (or Spirit) dwells in you?” – 1 Corinthians 3:9
• “Yes, you must approach him as though he’s a living block of stone that was for a fact rejected by men, but has been chosen as something precious by God. Because, it’s upon him that you’re being built as living blocks into a Spiritual Temple and as a Holy Priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God, through Yeshua the Anointed One”. – 1 Peter 2:4-5
• “But Yeshua was speaking about the temple of his body.…” – John 2:19-21

It’s of note, that Paul says the “doctrine of faith” is merely to believe that Yeshua died for us, was raised, and appeared to the Apostles and those with them, with himself being the last – hence being the instructors of the faith qualified to pass down his teachings and words.

This then puts priority on the words as written in the Gospels and Epistles, in order of authority; Yeshua > Apostles/Writings of Apostles > Appointed Overseers and Elders, just as is stated:

• “…he assigned some to be Apostles, some to be Prophets, some to be messengers of the Good News, and some to be shepherds and teachers, in order to prepare the Holy Ones for the work of serving and strengthening the body of the Anointed One, until we all become one in the faith and in knowledge of the Son of The God – to the point where we’re a complete man who fully measures up to the stature of the Anointed One”. – Ephesians 4:11-13

We are also told by Paul, that though all Christians are “immersed into one spirit”, that not all Christians have the “gifts” of the spirit (1 Corinthians 12:29-30), showing that being baptised into one body in one spirit, is not the same as having the “power” of the spirit. And it is often implied that such gifts had to be “given” by those with authority, be that from Yeshua himself in Heaven or Apostles and Elders with the ability (Acts 19:6, 1 Timothy 4:14).

In Ephesians 4:30, Paul tells us the “spirit seals us for the day of redemption” and not to therefore grieve it by sin, and likewise in Titus 3:5 he says it “cleanses and renews” us, telling us that it plays some part in our salvation. He also goes on to say in his other letters that “all of us” as “believers” who are “God’s Temple”, “have this spirit” (1 Corinthians 3:16).

However, nothing tells us that having gifts or ordinations of gifts of the spirit were a requisit of salvation, but that baptism was the rite in which one entered such a state, with the spirit coming upon the individual as a “result”, of which it might appear, is not the same as having the kind of laid upon spirit which resulted in tongues, healings and alike.

Of note in this respect, is not only as aforementioned, Paul’s mention of those who do not have any such gifts of the spirit, but also that he mentions the ultimate “fruitage” of the spirit were the qualities of our faith and character:

• “The fruitage of the Breath (or Spirit) is: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Being caring, Goodness, Faith, Reasonableness, and Self-control”. – Galatians 5:22
• “Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Breath (or Spirit) set their minds on the things of the Breath (or Spirit)…  The Breath (or Spirit) itself bears witness with our breath (or spirit) that we are children of God… For all who are led by the Breath (or Spirit) of God are sons of God“. – Romans 8:5,14, 16
• “…no one can say, ‘Yeshua is Lord’, except by the Holy Breath (or Spirit)“. – 1 Corinthians 12:3

Thereby, we see that the spirit is involved in salvation, but the spirit does not always result in gifts. But a way of knowing we have it is the transformation of our character through our faith and obedience in the Lord Yeshua.

We have also seen above, that the spirit can come upon those with faith (whether with gifts or no gifts), without it being passed down via a proccess of any kind of ordination or lineage, either before or after baptism, and according to Paul, that it applies to everyone who truly confesses Yeshua as their Lord.

Limit of Authority and Tradition

As covered in my article on Elders, the writings of the Apostles as well as some later Christians, tell us the stretch and limit of authority ordained Elders have, and it is quite clear that it wasn’t all encompassing or unquestionably domineering, but they had to be tested against the original inspired words and teachings of Yeshua himself.

• “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a Good News contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse! …Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of [the] Anointed“. – Galatians 1:8-10
• “When Peter came to Antioch, I told him face to face that he was wrong… when I saw that they were not really obeying the truth that is in the Good News, I corrected Peter in front of everyone… – Galatians 2:11,14
• “I know your deeds, your labor, and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate those who are evil, and you have tested and exposed as liars those who falsely claim to be apostles“. – Revelation 2:2
• “And indeed, there must be factions among you to show which of you are approved”. – 1 Corinthians 11:19
• “Nor let the people flatter themselves that they can be free from the contagion of sin, while communicating with a priest/elder who is a sinner, and yielding their consent to the unjust and unlawful office of their Overseer… On which account a people obedient to the Lord’s precepts, and fearing God, ought to separate themselves from a sinful offical, and not to associate themselves with the sacrifices of a sacrilegious priest/elder… they [the congregation] themselves have the power… of rejecting unworthy ones…“. – Cyprian of Carthage, Epistle 67:3
• “Our apostles also knew, through our Lord Yeshua the Anointed, that there would be strife on account of the office of the Overseers…. We are of opinion, therefore, that those appointed by…. the consent of the whole Congregation… we see that you [the Congregation] have removed some [Elder] men..“. – 1 Clement 44

Therefore, if even Apostles were under such scrutiny, this means that no matter what means a person or church uses, be it tradition, succession, prophethood, or merely “claims” to flawless doctrine, one can’t claim unquestionable authority for their church, or their teachings. But each individual Christian must scour the scriptures as the “noble Bereans” did (Acts 17:11), to put their church and leaders to the test.

It does not matter how big, small, powerful, influential, successful, or persecuted a church, group or denomination is – such things are not the ultimate litmus test for truth, for ‘all’ manner of churches can lay claim to such things in some form and yet have radically different teachings and doctrines, and Yeshua himself even warns not to fooled by such surface evaluation (Matthew 7:22, 24:24). Rather, adherence to the teachings of Yeshua’s Gospel, which can be understood by all, and tested by all.

If a church or its elders are indeed found to be teaching falsehood, then they must be “exposed” (Revelation 2:2, Ephesians 5:11) and we must follow God as ruler rather than men in how we live our lives in accordance to the Faith (Galatians 1:10, Acts 5:29).

It does not matter what authority they claim, or what lineage they are a part of. The teachers cannot claim the sacred writings containing the words of the Lord and his Apostles, as contained in Bible, can only be correctly understood, interpreted, believed or taught through them. We are warned of such thinking by the Apostles themselves, that false teachers would rise from “amongst” the brothers themselves, those very ones ordained by the Apostles before them to be church teachers and authorities (2 Peter 2:1, Acts 20:29), and so we cannot take for granted or rely on the notion that God would prevent any notion of mass apostasy or corruption of any one church or congregation.

The aforementioned Bereans we were told of, also were praised for their skepticsm and study of the scriptures to make sure of what the Apostles and Elders were teaching was true, ‘before’ they even became Christians (Acts 17:12), showcasing that even the unbaptised and faithless, can grasp scripture for themselves with reason and common sense.

Thus we must beware of this circular reasoning:

“The words of the Lord and his Apostles are our foundation of truth and doctrine” > “Their words can only be understood through the institution of our Church” > “What if the church leaders become corrupt?” > “How do we know they are corrupt?” > “They contradict; The words of the Lord and his Apostles which are our foundation of truth and doctrine” > “The words can only be understood through the institution of our Church…..”.

The words of the Lord and the Apostles have given us all individual freedom and autonomy of understanding in this respect (Matthew 15:2-3,9, Galatians 1:8-10, Galatians 2:11,14, 2 Corinthians 13:3,5-8, Acts 17:11-12).

Hence, if the “line of authority” from Yeshua > Apostles/Apostolic writing > Overseers and Elders, is broken, we must seek to appeal to the next in the chain. And as Paul says, there “must be” divisions at times if we are to be approved by God (1 Corinthians 11:19), for it is better to divide than to be united in or by falsehood.

Whilst Yeshua indeed taught that his Church, those who believe he is the Son of the living God, would not be over come by death in Matthew 16:16, 18, he also taught that until the end harvest at his last coming, there would be “Wheat and Weeds” growing ‘together’ in the same patch of land, and that they will not be seperated or made distinct from one another until his Advent:

• “The Kingdom of the heavens is much like a man who planted good seeds in his field. But while all his people were sleeping, an enemy scattered weed seeds over his wheat. So when the blades started sprouting with fruit, the weeds also appeared… So [the man’s slaves] asked him: ‘Should we go and pull up [the weeds]?’ And he told them: ‘No …Let them grow together ‘til the harvest arrives. Then I’ll tell the reapers to collect the weeds first, and put them in bundles and burn them; Then, gather the wheat into my barn’ .
  
  …The one who planted the good seeds is the Son of Man, and the field is the world. The good seeds are the sons of the Kingdom, the weeds are the sons of the wicked one, and the enemy who planted them is the Slanderer. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are [angelic] messengers. So, just as the weeds are collected and burned in a fire; that’s what will happen at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his [angelic] messengers to collect all the snares and all the lawless people out of his Kingdom, and they’ll be thrown into a flaming furnace, where they’ll cry and grind [their] teeth. But after that, the righteous will shine as brightly as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Let those who have ears pay attention to this!”. – Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43

Valid Baptism

Though we have seen that traditions, church leaders and denominations, do not have unquestionable authority, are we still required to be baptised by a certain tradition of ordained clergy to have an authentic baptism? Even if they have become false teachers? Is it merely a case of visiting the churches that lay claim to a lineage of Apostolic succession, or prophet foundation, getting baptised and confirmed by them, to then go one’s own way and not follow in the rest of their false teachings if one is convinced of such?

To have a valid baptism, scripture itself does not actually mention that it has to be done by a specific person, authority, rank, or institution.

Of course, it was a given that all early baptisms of the 1st century, would have been valid, as all baptisms began with Yeshua and the Apostles, and then by those in turn who were baptised by them, whether they had the gifts of the spirit or not (Acts 8:14-16).

At this time there were only the Apostles and the all believers, one single Church, rather than competing denominations and hundreds of false teachers. Hence, there was no need to even “mention” the need of a baptism performed by the “correct authority and tradition”. And as absense of evidence is not always evidence of absense, we can argue both ways that 1. The scriptures do not say it’s wrong for a baptism to be performed by a person without Apostolic authority or official ordination, but 2. Neither does it say that it it’s okay either.

Rather, it’s very ambigious on how this all worked. And no instruction in scripture was left for us on what to do in the case of a mass Church apostasy, other than to remain loyal to the Lord (1 Timothy 4:1, 2 Timothy 4:3-5, Galatians 1:8-11).

However, we have also seen, that the spirit can come upon those, even in absense of the Apostles or any authority figures ordination (Acts 10:47, 1 Corinthians 12:3), and just the same, baptism was performed without those who had the ability to give the gifts of the spirit (Acts 8:14-16). And as the Apostles typically gave everyone they personally baptised such gifts most of the time, it’s reasonable to conclude that such baptisms did not require any “official authority” to authenticate, besides genuine faith, otherwise the baptisms would have had to have been re-done, just as it was for those who were baptised into John the Baptist (Acts 19:1-7).

Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that a valid baptism and induction into the Christian faith is simply one performed in faith by a believer in the correct manner (in Yeshua’s name), as opposed to one performed by a tradition or requirement of a specific church clergy.

Interestingly enough, though it’s not of the inspired scriptures, it’s also of note that on the authority of baptism, we also have some 2nd-3rd Century quotes regarding the universal authority of Christians as a united priesthood to perfom such a function, and especially so in the absense of Overseers and Servants:

“If, however, there is no priest, and if necessity presses and there is imminent danger, pour water three times on the head in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” – Hippolytus of Rome, Apostolic Tradition (170–235 A.D)

“The chief priest (who is the Overseer) has the right: in the next place, the Elders and Servants, yet not without the Overseer’s authority, on account of the honour of the Church, which being preserved, peace is preserved.

Beside these, even laymen have the right; for what is equally received can be equally given. Unless Overseers, or priests, or Servants, be on the spot, other disciples are called to the occasion. The word of the Lord ought not to be hidden by any: in like manner, too, baptism, which is equally God’s property, can be administered by all. But how much more is the rule of reverence and modesty incumbent on laymen— seeing that these powers belong to their superiors — lest they assume to themselves the specific function of the Overseer! Emulation of the episcopal office is the mother of schisms. The most holy apostle has said, that ‘all things are lawful, but not all expedient‘.

Let it suffice assuredly, in cases of necessity, to avail yourself (of that rule , if at any time circumstance either of place, or of time, or of person compels you (so to do); for then the steadfast courage of the succourer, when the situation of the endangered one is urgent” – Tertullian, On Baptism, Chapter 17 (160–220 A.D)

As it has been understood through early Christian history, that there are cases of “necessity” where a “lay person” of the faith may perform a baptism, it is reasonable then to conclude that the circumstances regarding a mass apostasy or heretical churches, may be such a circumstance justifying the performance of a baptism outside of the institutions of the churches and denominations of which now are on the global scene, as one may consider this an “absense” of truly “apostolic” Overseers and Servants.

In turn it also would be reasonable to conclude that ‘any’ baptism, no matter by who or where, performed in a “correct manner” in accordance with scripture, also would be considered authentic if done by a true believer – For who can truly say that the baptism they have recieved did not first come about from those who were baptised before them, which all goes back to the original baptisms in the 1st Century, and who’s testimony and witness we all have become recipient? In this respect, all baptisms performed based on the same faith delivered to us from the scriptures, can be said to be apostolic.

Indeed, furthermore, we even see that Yeshua himself instructed that nobody should stop a man who has faith in him:

• “Master, we saw a man casting out demons by using your name and we tried to stop him, because he isn’t one of us!’ But Yeshua said to him: ‘Don’t try to stop him, because those who aren’t against you, are for you!’” – Luke 9:49
• “‘Don’t try to stop him, because those who do powerful deeds in my name won’t be too quick to say bad things about me. For those who aren’t against us are for us”. – Mark 9: 39-40

Thus, a valid baptism, that is, one done in Yeshua’s name in true faith, and one confessing Yeshua as Lord in repentance, would be enough to say one is a true believer and part of the “Universal Body”.

The True “Church”

A Universal Church

The True Church, in reality is the “catholic” church. No, I don’t mean ‘that’ one. By “catholic” I refer to what the original Greek word meant when it was used by some the earliest Christians, “katholikos”, meaning “universal”. Hence, catholic with a lower-case ‘c’.

In the beginning, there was only one body, one faith, one baptism (Ephesians 4:4-5). And so all Christians baptised with faith in the Lord, were part of that one universal body. And for a long time this body came to be known as the Universal Church of all believers. But eventually, came about false teachers, traditions of men, sects, divisions, denominations.

The Roman Catholics inherited the early title of the “Universal Church”, but branded it as their moniker (“Catholic” with a captial ‘C’), whilst those in the East who broke from them inherited “Orthodoxy” as theirs, and then those who protested the unbiblical traditions of the churches named themselves “Protestants”, then came those of us who disagreed with all of them, seeking to restore the original way as “Restorationists”, and so the pattern continues

When there came multiple sects, there then came a desire and need for “branding”, for groups to define themselves, what they believed, in contrast to those they branded heretical in their teachings or opinions. Nevertheless, all consider themselves Christians, and all of them originated from the same roots. Merely their interpretations of doctrine differed as time went on, just as Yeshua foretold concerning the Wheat and Weeds growing together (Matthew 13:30).

A Church Amongst Weeds

As aforementioned, Yeshua said his followers would be alongside many who would be called “weeds” (Matthew 13:30).

He commanded not to sort out or remove them ourselves, but that there would coming time where the “angels would seperate them” and sort out his true followers.

This seperating and gathering of true and false believers will be upon his second coming in the skies (Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43), a coming that is not secretive in which he hides his presense in “inner rooms” or “wildernesses” where he cannot be seen, nor a coming difficult to discern or understand, such things he warned are taught by false teachers, but it is a coming that all people will see:

• ‘…Let them grow together until the harvest arrives. Then I’ll tell the reapers to collect the weeds first, and put them in bundles and burn them; Then, gather the wheat into my barn’ ...The one who planted the good seeds is the Son of Man, and the field is the world. The good seeds are the sons of the Kingdom, the weeds are the sons of the wicked one, and the enemy who planted them is the Slanderer. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are [angelic] messengers. So, just as the weeds are collected and burned in a fire; that’s what will happen at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his [angelic] messengers to collect all the snares and all the Lawless people out of his Kingdom…” – Matthew 13:30, 37-41
• ““Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the age?’ ‘…False anointed ones and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it, for as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so the presense of the Son of Man will be …At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven (or the sky), and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven (or the skies), with power and great glory…. And he will send out his [angelic] messengers with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other‘”. – Matthew 24:3, 24-27, 30-31
• “For the Lord himself will descend from Heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in the Anointed One will be the first to rise. After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
• “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen”. – Revelation 1:7
• “Then I heard another voice from heaven say: ‘Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues’ …Then a mighty [angelic] messenger picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: ‘With such violence the great city of Babylon will be cast down, never to be seen again’…” – Revelation 18:4, 21

Therefore, before the second advent of the Lord, this is an indication that his individual followers remain amongst weed-like followers and churches all about, but will be seperated from them at the end judgement, and that is when his “True Church” will be ‘physically’ revealed and made manifest for the world to see.

The Lord will first gather the wicked together for destruction, whilst he calls his wheat-like followers “out of her” from where he has gathered them for that said destruction.

Therefore, any church today claiming to be the One True Church as an appointed institution, speak presumptuousness, for the Lord has yet to appear and send his angels to gather and secure the true believers out from amongst the false – the immoral, the antichrists, the false teachers, and the decievers.

To “Church” Together

The true definition of “church” in this respect, is important to take note of. As mentioned in my article on congregations, it comes from the word “ekklésia”, which is the Greek word meaning “to gather”, “assemble” or to “congregate”.

The principles thus taught in scriptures such as Hebrews 10:25 and 1 Corinthians 1:10, are not rules on aligning ourselves under a banner, membership, or creed. But they are interpersonal instructions on how to arrange and conduct ourselves in local congregations where we might find fellowship with believers, and that Christians should go on encouraging one another in communion and social unity, rather than being estranged from one another.

Simply, “church” is the “gathering” or “grouping” of the body of baptised believers, and is not a word that refers to a building or membership to an institution or Christian faction. No, the True Church stretches beyond such man-made boarders and scopes.

The true followers of Yeshua, continually seek to gather together in worship, called together by spirit and truth, even whilst scattered amongst the false.

A Spiritual Nation

The True Chuch is united by spirit. Just as the Lord taught, when he said:

• “For where two or three gather together in my name, there am I with them”. – Matthew 18:20

When Lord Yeshua came to establish his New Covenant with us, one of the major reforms was to change God’s nation from a physical one to a spiritual one.

A nation without walls, land, barriers, properties, or territories. A nation, not founded on registration or worldly institutionalisation, but rather, as something “not of this world”, something not that people could point to say “here or there”, but something “within us”, “in our own midst” (John 18:36, Luke 17:21). And just like the physical nation of Israel which congregated at the Temple of Jerusalem for worship, we ourselves also are that very Temple in which God dwells (1 Corinthians 3:9), and it is therefore “in ourselves” together that we gather for worship.

This is why Christians do not need to fight for land, or assets, for the Kingdom of God under king Yeshua, has no need of them. There is no worldly census, no dotted line on a contract of paper to sign, no man’s book to be listed in, but those in the the Faith are counted by him who is above in the Heavens (Philippians 3:20, Ephesians 2:18-22).

Conclusion

In conclusion, we have seen in scripture, true initiation into the faith from the beginning, was done via repentance, belief and baptism in the name of the Lord Yeshua.

We see that though first baptisms were done by the Apostles and the spirit often given to many by the laying of their hands, there were many who were baptised in their absense, and we see also without them, that the spirit was able come upon those with faith from the Lord directly who promised to send it, without any need of the laying of hands or ordination.

To have faith in the Lord as the Anointed Son of God and saviour from our sins, we are told, is to be “born of God”, and thereby be part of his body and temple, in which, God’s spirit resides, sealing us for salvation and aiding us in producing the fruitage of righteousness that our God and Father YHWH requires of his children, and only by that spirit do we call God our Father, and Yeshua our Lord.

We also have seen that no Elder, Body, Church or other kind of institution, have unquestionable authority, no matter what tradition, lineage, or teaching they hold to. Rather, we are informed that individuals of the Body have autonomy in the fact to follow their Lord, and hold any and all churches and their leaders to scrutiny.

In addition, we have seen that, it does not matter how big, small, powerful, successful, hated or persecuted a church is, many churches can lay claim to such descriptions and yet have contradictory doctrines, and some of these things may even be the “powerful works, signs and wonders” Yeshua even warned about (Matthew 7:22, 24:24), but it is adherence to the truth of the teachings and Gospel of Yeshua and his Apostles is what truly counts.

Therefore, the True Church, is the universal Body of all genuine believers in the Lord, even if they may differ in their doctrinal understandings and interpretations. It’s not a membership to a denomination, club, organisation, or house, none of these things are requisits for salvation. To “church” with our brothers and sisters, is to “gather” in the unity of our faith, no matter how small or large that gathering may be. The True Church is one spiritually connected family of belief in Yeshua the Son of God.

Our job as individuals being to keep the faith as best as we know how, in accordance with the teachings of the scriptures, so that we may navigate the world, and know whom we feel we may congregate and share worship with. And as the Lord tells us, wherever we gather with others in the Faith, he is with us, not via a temple, or a holy mountain, but through spirit, as we ourselves are his very living “temple”, that “place of worship” (Matthew 18:20, John 4:21).

No one man, nor institution, nor creed, can lay a claim on the Lord Yeshua’s body, which is the True Church.

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Breath (or Spirit) dwells in your midst? …you together are [God’s] temple.… Therefore, stop boasting in men. All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Peter or the world or life or death or the present or the future. All of them belong to you, and you belong to the Anointed One, and the Anointed belongs to God”.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 21-23