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Origin of Christ's Church
The Bible teaches that the true Church
began with Christ over 1900 years ago, not with men or women 15 to 19
centuries later. It was founded when Our Lord spoke the following and
other similar words:
Matt. 28, 18-20: And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore. and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
COMMENT: History proves that the First Protestant Church was the Lutheran, founded in 1517 by the ex-priest Martin Luther; all other of the some 33,800 sects have been created since then.
Matt. 28, 18-20: And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore. and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
COMMENT: History proves that the First Protestant Church was the Lutheran, founded in 1517 by the ex-priest Martin Luther; all other of the some 33,800 sects have been created since then.
Authority of Christ's Church
The Bible teaches that the rulers of
Christ's Church have authority which must be obeyed in matters of
religion.
Heb. 13, 17: Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
Matt 18-17: And if he shall neglect to hear them tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
Luke 10-16: He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
Matt. 16-19: And I will give unto thee (Peter) the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou (Peter) shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou (Peter) shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
COMMENT: The apostles repeatedly claimed this authority: Gal. 1-8; John 1-10; Acts 15, 23 and 28. Hence the laws or precepts of the true Church are founded upon the same authority as the commandments of God. For the Church of Christ has authority to act in his Name.
Heb. 13, 17: Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
Matt 18-17: And if he shall neglect to hear them tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
Luke 10-16: He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
Matt. 16-19: And I will give unto thee (Peter) the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou (Peter) shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou (Peter) shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
COMMENT: The apostles repeatedly claimed this authority: Gal. 1-8; John 1-10; Acts 15, 23 and 28. Hence the laws or precepts of the true Church are founded upon the same authority as the commandments of God. For the Church of Christ has authority to act in his Name.
Infallibility of Christ's Church (i.e., it cannot err in teaching matters related to faith and morals)
One
The Bible teaches that not the Bible itself, but the Holy Ghost was the teacher of the Apostles.
John 14-26: But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things. and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 16-13: How be it when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth . . .
Acts 1-8: But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.
COMMENT: In consequence, the true Church was necessarily infallible, being as St. Paul said (l Timothy 5-15) "the pillar and ground of the truth."
Two
The Bible teaches that the Church has Christ always WITH IT and the Holy Ghost always to guide it-not only during the first century but during all future ages.
Matt. 28-20: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you ALWAYS, EVEN UNTO THE END of the world. Amen.
John 14-16: And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you FOREVER.
COMMENT: Hence it is an insult to Christ and the Holy Spirit to say that God's Church fell into error and had to be reformed by Luther, Calvin and other men or women.
The Bible teaches that not the Bible itself, but the Holy Ghost was the teacher of the Apostles.
John 14-26: But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things. and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 16-13: How be it when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth . . .
Acts 1-8: But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.
COMMENT: In consequence, the true Church was necessarily infallible, being as St. Paul said (l Timothy 5-15) "the pillar and ground of the truth."
Two
The Bible teaches that the Church has Christ always WITH IT and the Holy Ghost always to guide it-not only during the first century but during all future ages.
Matt. 28-20: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you ALWAYS, EVEN UNTO THE END of the world. Amen.
John 14-16: And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you FOREVER.
COMMENT: Hence it is an insult to Christ and the Holy Spirit to say that God's Church fell into error and had to be reformed by Luther, Calvin and other men or women.
Perpetuity of the Church
The Bible teaches that the visible Church
of Christ has had and will ever have uninterrupted existence.
Matt. 28, 19-20: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost . . . lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
Matt. 16-18: . . . and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
COMMENT: Hence the theory that Christ's Church, which began with Christ, failed - became non-existent for 1000 or more years - and then was revived by either Luther, Calvin, Knox or some other man or woman, is ridiculous and untrue.
Matt. 28, 19-20: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost . . . lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
Matt. 16-18: . . . and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
COMMENT: Hence the theory that Christ's Church, which began with Christ, failed - became non-existent for 1000 or more years - and then was revived by either Luther, Calvin, Knox or some other man or woman, is ridiculous and untrue.
Visible Unity of the Church
The Bible teaches that Christ ascribed to
his Church qualities and gave to it the names that proved it to be a
VISIBLE organization with VISIBLE UNITY among its followers.
Romans 12-5: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
Eph. 4-3 to 5-3: Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4. There is ONE BODY, AND ONE SPIRIT even as ye are called in one hope of your calling. 5. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, etc.
John 10-16: And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
Rom. 12, 4-5: For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, etc.
John 17-21: That they may be one, as thou Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that (as a consequence) the world may believe that Thou hast sent me.
In many places of scripture, Christ's Church is compared to a house, a body, a city built on a mountain, a sheepfold, etc.; but these are all visible things. Hence Christ's Church besides being one spirit is also "One Body." The Catholic Church alone has this two-fold unity. The "invisible" theory is therefore false on the face of it.
COMMENT: Contrast the unity of Faith, Fold and Shepherd in the Catholic Church with the dissenting, contradictory tenets of 33,800 Protestant organizations and the divinity of the former becomes obvious and certain.
Romans 12-5: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
Eph. 4-3 to 5-3: Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4. There is ONE BODY, AND ONE SPIRIT even as ye are called in one hope of your calling. 5. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, etc.
John 10-16: And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
Rom. 12, 4-5: For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, etc.
John 17-21: That they may be one, as thou Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that (as a consequence) the world may believe that Thou hast sent me.
In many places of scripture, Christ's Church is compared to a house, a body, a city built on a mountain, a sheepfold, etc.; but these are all visible things. Hence Christ's Church besides being one spirit is also "One Body." The Catholic Church alone has this two-fold unity. The "invisible" theory is therefore false on the face of it.
COMMENT: Contrast the unity of Faith, Fold and Shepherd in the Catholic Church with the dissenting, contradictory tenets of 33,800 Protestant organizations and the divinity of the former becomes obvious and certain.
Sinners and Christ's Church
One
The Bible teaches that Christ died for all men, both saints and sinners; and not merely for the "saved or predestined."
II Cor. 5-15: And that he died for ALL, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
Rom. 5, 6-21: For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly, etc.
I John 2-2: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
I Tim. 2-4: Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
COMMENT: Hence to the Catholic Church the soul of the condemned criminal on the scaffold is an object of tender solicitude even as, to Our Lord, was the thief on the cross.
Two
The Bible teaches that not only the just but sinners will always claim external membership in the true Church.
Matt. 22-2: The parable of the king who made a marriage for his son.
Matt.13-24: The parable of the field in which grew both grain and cockle.
II Tim. 2-20: But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth: and some to honor, and some to dishonor.
Matt. 18-15: Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee. go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
Matt. 13-47: Parable of the net that was cast into the sea, and gathered every kind of fish, savory and unsavory.
COMMENT: Hence that ungodly persons call themselves Catholic, but are so in name only, is no reflection upon the Church itself. It is rather a verification of Christ's prophecies.
The Bible teaches that Christ died for all men, both saints and sinners; and not merely for the "saved or predestined."
II Cor. 5-15: And that he died for ALL, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
Rom. 5, 6-21: For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly, etc.
I John 2-2: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
I Tim. 2-4: Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
COMMENT: Hence to the Catholic Church the soul of the condemned criminal on the scaffold is an object of tender solicitude even as, to Our Lord, was the thief on the cross.
Two
The Bible teaches that not only the just but sinners will always claim external membership in the true Church.
Matt. 22-2: The parable of the king who made a marriage for his son.
Matt.13-24: The parable of the field in which grew both grain and cockle.
II Tim. 2-20: But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth: and some to honor, and some to dishonor.
Matt. 18-15: Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee. go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
Matt. 13-47: Parable of the net that was cast into the sea, and gathered every kind of fish, savory and unsavory.
COMMENT: Hence that ungodly persons call themselves Catholic, but are so in name only, is no reflection upon the Church itself. It is rather a verification of Christ's prophecies.
Catholicity of the Church
The Bible teaches that from the beginning
and in every age the true Church of Christ is all over the world or
universal; the Greek word used is "Katholikos," from which the English
word "Catholic" is derived.
Matt. 28, 19: Go ye therefore, and teach ALL NATIONS, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Mark 16-15: And he said unto them, Go ye into ALL THE WORLD, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Acts 1-8: But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judaea; and in Samaria, and unto the UTTERMOST PART OF THE EARTH.
Rom. 10-18: But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
COMMENT: Except the Catholic Church, what Christian organization has even a remote claim to universality, in point of place and in point of time? But this is what the essential nature of Christ's Church demands.
Matt. 28, 19: Go ye therefore, and teach ALL NATIONS, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Mark 16-15: And he said unto them, Go ye into ALL THE WORLD, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Acts 1-8: But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judaea; and in Samaria, and unto the UTTERMOST PART OF THE EARTH.
Rom. 10-18: But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
COMMENT: Except the Catholic Church, what Christian organization has even a remote claim to universality, in point of place and in point of time? But this is what the essential nature of Christ's Church demands.
Apostolicity
The Bible teaches that the Apostles
appointed lawful successors to carry on their work.
Titus, 1-5: For this cause left I thee in Crete that thou shouldest set in order the things that was wanting, and ordain elders (i. e. priests) in every city, as I had appointed thee.
Acts, 13, 2 and 3: As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have recalled them. 3. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
COMMENT: Saul or St. Paul had been selected by Christ Himself; yet he was later ordained by Apostolic authority. By what right then does a Dowie, Eddy, Russel, Calvin, Knox, Campbell, or their agents assume the role of ruler, teacher, founder of a "Christian" Church?
Titus, 1-5: For this cause left I thee in Crete that thou shouldest set in order the things that was wanting, and ordain elders (i. e. priests) in every city, as I had appointed thee.
Acts, 13, 2 and 3: As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have recalled them. 3. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
COMMENT: Saul or St. Paul had been selected by Christ Himself; yet he was later ordained by Apostolic authority. By what right then does a Dowie, Eddy, Russel, Calvin, Knox, Campbell, or their agents assume the role of ruler, teacher, founder of a "Christian" Church?
The First Pope
The Bible teaches the one (and only one)
Church which Christ founded had Simon Bar-Jona or Peter for its head.
(Our Lord had changed his name from Simon Bar Jona to Peter.)
Matt. 16, 18-19: And I say also unto Thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, etc.
Later Our Lord made Simon-Peter pastor of both the lambs and the sheep, that is His whole flock.
John 21, 15 to 17: So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16 He saith to him again the second time. Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him. Feed my sheep. 17. He saith unto him the third time, Simon son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Our Lord promised that Peter would confirm the faith of the other Apostles:
Luke 22-32: But I have prayed for thee (Peter) that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
COMMENT: Hence only the Church having Peter and his lawful successors for its head can logically claim to be the Church of Christ.
Matt. 16, 18-19: And I say also unto Thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, etc.
Later Our Lord made Simon-Peter pastor of both the lambs and the sheep, that is His whole flock.
John 21, 15 to 17: So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16 He saith to him again the second time. Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him. Feed my sheep. 17. He saith unto him the third time, Simon son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Our Lord promised that Peter would confirm the faith of the other Apostles:
Luke 22-32: But I have prayed for thee (Peter) that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
COMMENT: Hence only the Church having Peter and his lawful successors for its head can logically claim to be the Church of Christ.