THE AUTONOMY OF THE
The meaning of “autonomy” is
independent or self- governing. The
church we read about in the New Testament is made up of autonomous
congregations. The word “church” means “the called out.” It is used to describe God’s people who have
been called by the Gospel (2Thessalonians
The word “church” is used in the New Testament in only two senses. First, it refers to the called out people of Christ in all the world. This is the universal sense. When Jesus promised in Matthew 16:18: “Upon this rock, I will build My church,” He was including all believers in all the world in His church. Thus, He was speaking of the universal church.
Second, the word “church” is used
in the local sense. When Paul addressed
the First Corinthian letter to “the
church of God which is at Corinth,” he was speaking to a group of
Christians in
The word “church” is never used in the Bible in a denominational sense. A denomination, by its own claims, is not the universal church. Most denominations claim to be a part of the universal church along with all the other denominations. Therefore, a denomination is smaller than the universal church. But most denominations are made up of many congregations. Therefore, a denomination is larger than the local church. An organization smaller than the universal church but larger than the local church is not found in the Word of God! Denominations were established by men. They exist without the blessing of God for they are completely unknown in God’s Word!
Churches of Christ are autonomous
in government. Each one is independent
of all others. Each one has its own
leadership. We read in the New Testament
of churches in a district such as “the
churches of Galatia” (Galatians
1:2). However, there was no district
organization. Each of the churches in
It is easy to see that God’s plan
for His church was for each church in each place to be self-governing. When Paul and Barnabas returned from their
first missionary journey, they again visited the churches they had established.
They “appointed elders in every church”
(Acts
Paul wrote to Titus: “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you
should set in order the things that are lacking, and
appoint elders in every city as I commanded you” (Titus 1:5). The Lord told
John to write letters to each of the seven churches in the Roman province of
Always, in each local church, we
read of more than one elder. Paul and
Barnabas “appointed elders in every
church” (Acts
Congregations can cooperate with
one another in doing the Lord’s work. We have examples of this in the New
Testament. The
God’s wisdom is seen in the way He has organized His church. If a window is made of a single piece of glass, just one stone hitting the glass will break the whole window. If the window is made up of several panes of glass, a stone hitting one pane will break only that one pane. The rest of the window will not be broken. The same thing is true of God’s church. If there is a central organization of all the churches, and false teachers come in, all the churches will be led astray. If there is no central organization, then false teachers might lead one congregation astray, but the others will not be harmed.
God’s way is best! The church belongs to the Lord. He purchased it with His own blood (Acts
God’s Plan of Salvation for Man
1. We must hear the truth.
Romans 10:14; Romans 10:17.
2. We must believe Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. Mark
John 8:24.
3. We must repent of our
sins. Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38.
4. We must confess Christ
before men. Matthew 10:32,33;
Romans 10:10.
5. We must be baptized
into Christ. Galatians 3:27; 1 Peter 3:21;
Acts
6. We must continue to
live for Christ Revelation 2:10;
2
Peter 1:10; 2
Peter 3:18.
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