The Origin of the Church
There are three schools of thought relative to the time the
church was established, namely:
*Some say it was established in the days of Abraham.
*Others say it was established during the personal ministry of
Christ.
*Still others say it was established the first Pentecost after
the resurrection of Jesus.
The following are some scriptural evidences that the church did
not begin in the days of Abraham, or on the day of Pentecost, but
rather during Christ's earthly ministry. The church already
existed before the day of Pentecost.
1. Jesus Christ said, "I will build my
church" (Mat.16:18) which He did during His earthly
ministry.
2. The authority of disciples was placed in the
church during Christ's earthly ministry (Mat.18:15-19).
3. Jesus sang the praises of God "in the
midst of the church" (Heb.2:12; Mat.26:30).
4. They had a commission to preach the Gospel
before Pentecost (Mat.10:5-7).
5. They had "the keys of the kingdom of
heaven", and these were given to His church (Mat.16:18-19).
6. They were baptized believers before Pentecost
(Mat.3:5-6; Jn.4:1).
7. They had authority to baptize before
Pentecost (Jn.4:1; Mat.28:18-20).
8. There was an ordination service before
Pentecost (Mk.3:13-14).
9. There were apostles before Pentecost; and the
office of apostle was a church office (Eph.4:11; I
Cor.12:28; Lk.6:12-13).
10. They had a church roll of 120 members before
Pentecost (Acts1:15).
11. They had the Great Commission before
Pentecost (Mat.28:18-20).
12. About 3000 were added unto His church roll
on the day of Pentecost; You cannot add to something that does
not already exist Acts 2:41).
13. They had a business meeting before Pentecost
(Acts 1:23-26).
14. They had a church treasurer before Pentecost
(Jn.13:29).
15. The ordinance of the the Lord's Supper was
instituted and observed before Pentecost (Mat.26:26-30).