What is the church of Christ?

She is the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:23-24), the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23, Colossians 1:18,24), the mystery of the Old Testament from the heart of God (Colossians 1:26), bought with the blood of Christ from eternity in the mind of God (Ephesians 3:10-11, Colossians 1:20), sanctified in Christ (I Corinthians 1:2, I Corinthians 16:22), persecuted from its establishment and unto the end of time (Acts 8:1, Acts 11:19, II Timothy 3:12), consists of obedient souls from every nation under Heaven (I Corinthians 4:17), and are brethren in Christ (I Corinthians 16:19).

It is simply Christians. It is the church one reads about in the New Testament, established in the first century (Acts 2:38). The term “church of Christ” is not a denominational designation, but rather is a descriptive term indicating that the church belongs to Christ and her members are His followers. Only Christ has the authority to say what the church is and what she should teach (Matthew 28:18).

Since only the New Testament sets forth Christ’s teachings, it alone must serve as the basis for all religious practices, teachings, and instruction. In I Corinthians, chapter one, the apostle Paul begged those who were divided to unite in Christ. Religious unity can be achieved and the only way to achieve this unity is for all men to return to the Bible, the Word of God. To subscribe to any creed or doctrine other than the New Testament, to refuse to obey the instruction and principles of the New Testament, or to follow any practice not supported by the teachings found in the New Testament is to add or to take away from the teachings of God. As such, any additions or deletions are condemned in the Bible (Galatians 1:6-9, Revelation 22:18-19). True followers of Christ strive to do Bible things in Bible ways and to call Bible things by Bible names: nothing more or nothing less.