Ask a Catholic, and they will tell you it's the Catholic church that we read about Jesus starting in the Gospels. Ask an Eastern Orthodox, and they will tell you Orthodox Christianity is the original church. Ask a Protestant, and they will likely say that all Christian believers together make up the body of Christ, and so "church" is just a metaphor for the loose conglomerate of believers. Oh, and it doesn't include a bunch of "sects" that have the wrong interpretation of Jesus's teachings.
I've given up trying to determine the answer because I keep asking humans, and these humans keep pointing to themselves. There's no objective way to determine which understanding and interpretation is correct. But I do wonder sometimes....
If I asked Jesus, what would He say is this "church" that He started? What is it, first of all, and where can I find it? Is it something I can belong to? Is it something I can be a part of? Is it something that has a visible aspect to it? Is it something that changes over time?
I think the Protestant view of church is probably the closest to what Jesus had in mind, BUT unfortunately they seem to have thrown out the proverbial baby with the bathwater. Most (not all) Protestants have gotten rid of the liturgy, the manner in which we worship God, and this in turn has created a new kind of question: what is worship?
Word association... and.... go!
Saying good things about God, praising Him, and singing these things to Him; joyful, humble, reverent, awe-inspiring; obedient, open, listening; surrounded by/reminded of God's great power in nature & history; offering sacrifices of our time, talent, treasure, and our very bodies and lives; lavishing onto God all the things we pour into other areas of our life (time, treasure, talent) but much more and only as a starting point!
And then being inspired through this corporate and corporal worship, we carry the gospel in our hearts and live it out in our day-to-day life. If we fail to do this last part, then can we really say that what we did on Sunday was "worship" God? Or did we just "humor" Him with our presence?
Now we can maybe circle back: what is Christ's church? Any group of people gathered to worship God.
For those who think only one denomination is "Christ's 'true' Church", think about how there are multiple buildings and fellowships that meet in different places and at different times, yet they share in common a certain creed, liturgy or service style, and moral teachings. Now, if we draw the line here and not at the person of Jesus Christ, we have cut ourselves off from the real one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church that Christ started, because we have drawn the line at human innovations (the creed is a human articulation of what Christians "should" believe, the liturgy/service is a set of human rituals and traditions, and moral teachings may or may not actual originate with Jesus, depending on their interpretation.
Jesus taught that He was the Messiah, the Son of God. He taught that He had the power to forgive sins, and He demonstrated His ability to perform miracles. Therefore, if we are to belong to Christ, we must believe in these things. If we do, we fulfill the credal part of Church membership.
Jesus taught us to worship the Father in spirit and in truth, not to merely "worship" Him with our lips but fail to hold Him in our hearts. He participated in the communal worship of the synagogue, the cultural context of what was available at the time, one might say. He likewise spent a lot of time in prayer alone, in nature. He spoke openly about God and God's kingdom, never separating the Gospel from the concerns of daily life. So Jesus showed us a continuation of corporate and corporal worship of the temple and the daily worship of the heart that is inspired and strengthened for the week each Sabbath.
Therefore, if we are to belong to Christ, we must likewise belong to a corporate group of believers that meets regularly to study Scripture and pray prescribed prayers, sing psalms, and be prepared for the week ahead. This can be fulfilled by many different denominations, but not necessarily every church within any particular denomination. It's really a case-by-case basis. But bottom line, get your butt into church, and judge if it's the right place for you by the fruits it has in your life.
Finally, Jesus demonstrated a certain life of virtue. Not just by what He Himself did and did not do, but also the virtues He praised in His parables, and the ways He admonished sinners. Therefore, if we are to belong to Christ, we must model our own lives according to what He held in high esteem.
Jesus started His church in the hearts of His apostles and disciples. He lives within us and He is what unites us. There is no such thing as a church governing body that magically serves to unite us to each other. These have been proven time and again to be broken up. They excommunicate each other. They split from each other. They call each other apostates, schismatics, heretics. They hold up their own interpretations and traditions over the unifying teachings and example and person of Jesus Christ. So they are not the church of Christ.
The church of Jesus Christ is not a denomination. It is not a human organization based in religion. It is not the Catholic church or the Orthodox church. It is any and every individual believe who centers their life on the person of Jesus Christ. The details of how exactly they do so are irrelevant. The church of Christ consists of some Catholics, some Orthodox, and some Protestants, but not all of any of them. On any given Sunday, there may be followers of Christ and imposters worshipping side by side - the former worshipping the One True and Triune God, and the latter worshipping Idols of their own making. Christ's church is made of the true believers in all of the human churches (denominations).
If I'm being honest, I have to say that I see bits and pieces of truth in different denominations, and the reason I've struggled with finding the perfect church was because I thought it was something I could find in a tangible way. I thought I could become a member of it by some human rite, but the way I become a member of the church of Christ is by declaring faith in Him, repenting, and being baptized. After that, I follow Him, and in the following, I work out my salvation. In the following, I worship God the best way I know how. In the following, I pick a church and stick to it for however long it feeds me spiritually, but I do not commit to it over my commitment to follow Christ wherever He leads me.
Jesus said that foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no where to lay His head (Matthew 8:20). Likewise, His followers cannot expect comfort as a condition of discipleship. Feeling certain of my denomination's "truth" over all others would provide the sort of comfort that Jesus does not offer. He gives peace, but not peace as the world give it (John 14:27). My peace cannot come in human approval from my in-group. My peace must come in trusting that following Jesus means being ridiculed by Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants alike.
Protestants, because I value Oral Tradition (not just sola scriptura) and the Eucharist and Our Lady, and that I believe in working out my own salvation (not in being saved "by faith alone").
Orthodox because I value the Magisterium of the church and appreciate the Catechism, and because my style of worship and prayer includes unleavened bread and the Rosary.
Catholic because I value the way the Orthodox approach theosis, that they commune all their faithful starting with infants, and that their Divine Liturgy is joyful rather than somber.
I value Bible Study AND the Eucharist. I value joyful praise and worship AND chant for church music. I value repentance on the knees AND the sacrament of confession. I value liturgy AND solid preaching. I value head coverings AND arms raised in praise. I value any embodied expression of faith that will bring me closer to Jesus, Whom I follow for my salvation.
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