Many people today try to argue that Jesus Christ did not establish a church and was merely a great philosopher. As I help individuals on
Mormon.org chat learn about the
Lord's reestablished church, it then is often called into question whether he established a church to begin with.
First of all, we learn from the word Christ's apostles chose to use when they translated Christ's teachings to find out something about Christ's Church. I've learned that in the
New Testament, they described it with the word
ekklesia. According to
Strong's Bible Concordance, the word
ekklesia, means "
a calling out, i.e. (concretely) a popular meeting, especially a religious congregation (Jewish synagogue, or Christian community of members on earth or saints in heaven or both):--assembly, church."
It is apparent from this definition, that ekklesia or church in the New Testament was the congregation, assembly or community itself, rather than an administration or building. That community is lead by Christ [
Eph 1:22] and he set up and organized leaders over it:
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; [Eph 4:11-14]
As stated in those verses, those leaders and the organization are there to help us become perfect. It's a place to teach others [
1 Cor 14:19] and care for the needy [
1 Tim 5:16]. As long as we are imperfect and struggle with our weaknesses we will still need that organization Christ established to help us through it.
The Church of Christ, guided by his prophets and apostles, properly answers inquiries about the doctrine in a lawful assembly (
Acts 19:39), or
General Conference as we call it today. It offers strength and support to families and individuals.
Throughout the New Testament, and in his church today, there are many examples that the church is not exactly what many imagine the word church to mean. Christ's church is a well-organized body of his followers. I've been in places where the reestablished church was just a few Saints worshiping together in a home or office building. Despite the circumstances, there was authority, and modern directions passed down from Jesus Christ through his modern Apostles, for administering his sacrament and uplifting one another.
