Now let us walk slowly through what the Bible actually teaches about the church Jesus built. Read each point carefully.

Jesus was the builder of the church.

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.Matthew 16:18

Christ built it. Not Peter, not Paul, not a denomination, not a reformer. Christ.

Jesus is the head of the church.

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.Ephesians 5:23

No pope or earthly headquarters can take that place. He is the head.

Jesus purchased the church with His own blood.

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock ... to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.Acts 20:28

That is what it cost. To set up a competing church alongside His is to dishonor the price He paid.

Christians, that is, the saints, are inside it.

To the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia.2 Corinthians 1:1

And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.Acts 11:26

The members of the New Testament church were not Baptists, Methodists, or Catholics. They were Christians. Plain. Simple. Scriptural.

The church and the kingdom are the same.

Upon this rock I will build my church ... And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.Matthew 16:18-19

Jesus moves between "my church" and "the kingdom" in the same breath. The two are the same.

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.Colossians 1:13

When a person obeys the gospel, he is translated into the kingdom, which is the body, which is the church.

Each local congregation had elders.

And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.Acts 14:23

God’s plan for the local church is plural elders in every congregation, men who meet the qualifications He laid down in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. Not a single pastor over a congregation. Plural elders.

The church was called the church of Christ, or churches of Christ.

Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.Romans 16:16

The name was simple and pointed to its owner. It was the church belonging to Christ, the church of Christ.

The church taught the same thing in every place.

For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.1 Corinthians 4:17

What Paul taught in Corinth he also taught in Ephesus, Antioch, Philippi, and everywhere. There was no separate denomination per city. One faith, one teaching, in every place.

The Lord, not man, added the saved to the church.

Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.Acts 2:47

No one signed up. No one was voted in. The Lord Himself added the saved. And He still does. So the question that remains is the most personal of all. How does a person become one of the saved? That is the next lesson.