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 his time, we are going to study the church that is being mentioned in the Bible. We need to study this inasmuch as we are trying to examine the different doctrines of the different religious organizations here today.
There was somebody who said that, the true church is not the congregation of the Apostles because the Apostles were destroyed by satan and they were killed. Therefore, theirs was not the true church.
He said that, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mat. 16:18). It means that the true church would not die. And for that reason, the members of that church would not experience death either.
And they alleged that the Apostles died because their church was not the true church, theirs was the true church.
We will consult the Bible to find out if the claim of many churches, that they are the true church, were true, or not. Let us find out also if there is any truth to their assertion that they are the only true church, and whosoever does not join their church will never be saved.
It is but natural that people develop the feeling that their church is the true church, and that only they will be saved. And those who are outside their church have no salvation. Actually, this is already an old claim by different religious organizations, and until now, this is still their claim.
But let us find out from the Bible, which is the true church. As far as some people are concerned, theirs is the true church, while all the others are impostors. That is why we better ask the Bible, which is the true church? What comprises it? Where is it? Is it in the Philippines?
Did it originate here? We will try to seek answers to these questions from the Bible. For us not to be misled, let us start our discussion from the very beginning.
First and foremost, let us find out, which is the very first church? Nothing could be better than the original. Please, bear in mind; we are referring to the first real church. The Bible speaks of “firsts,” or “originals”. Let us cite an example.
I Corinthians 15:45 says--
“And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.”
The Bible said, the first man, Adam, became a living soul. The very first man, the original, was Adam. Do not forget that nobody came ahead of Adam. Although, nowadays, there are some who believe that there were already a group of people who had come before Adam and they alleged that they were even more intelligent than him.
They were referring to those who build the pyramids of Egypt. Apparently, they marveled at the great architectural design of the pyramids of Egypt. But if we are going to base our belief on the Bible, the very first man is Adam. And according to St. Paul, who is an authority of the Bible, he said that nobody came ahead of Adam.
The book of Genesis in chapter 3 verse 20 also speaks of another “original”.“And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.”
Very clearly, the reason why she was called Eve was because “she was the mother of all living.” In other words, Eve is our original mother, while Adam is the original, or the first man. If, in matters like this, there are “originals”, when it comes to the church, there is also an original, or the first church.
And this is what we are going to talk about. Now, let us begin. Let us consult the Bible and ask: what was the very first church? Let us read Hebrews 12:23--
“To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to the God the judge of all?”
St. Paul said,“To the general assembly and church of the firstborn.”.” Could there be another church that had come ahead of this? None, because this is the church of the firstborn! Firstborn means the very first; none has come before a firstborn. In other words, the very first church in the Bible is the church of the firstborn.
Now, let us find out, to whom was the Bible ascribing the name “church of the firstborn”? Remember, we are not talking about the first church in the Philippines! We are talking about the first church insofar as the biblical account is concerned. And from the Bible, we have learned about the church of the firstborn. Now, let us read
Exodus 4:22--
“And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thou saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn.”
Which was referred to as the firstborn? Israel is the very first nation that served God. It was the first nation on earth that was chosen by God.
Deuteronomy 7:6-7 says,
“For thou art a holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you because you were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people.”
God chose Israel, despite the fact that it was the smallest then. There were already a number of nations on earth that time. Egypt was one of them. There were already the seven nations, which were a lot bigger than Israel. Yet, God chose Israel to serve Him. (Israel refers to the Jews). Let us read
Deuteronomy 7:1--
“When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgasthites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Parizzites, and the Hevites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou.”
There were seven nations greater in strength and in number than Israel. But it was Israel that was chosen by God to be His nation. The Bible said,
“The LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.”
Although there were greater and mightier nations, God still chose Israel. In fact, the Bible even said, that they were the fairest of all people.
That is why, if we are going to talk about service to God, Israel was the first. The Bible calls them as the Church of the Firstborn. And the Israel that is being referred to here is the group of people that Moses led out of Egypt – the people who crossed the Red Sea, which was parted by Moses (Exodus 14).
They were the people who witnessed the many miracles of God so that they would be freed from the hands of the Pharaoh. Those very people of God were the ones being called as the church of the firstborn. After freeing them from slavery, Moses brought them to the wilderness of Mount Sinai, where they stayed for a long time.
God made a covenant with them, thru Moses. That was the church of the firstborn, the church in the wilderness. What is our basis in saying that it was, indeed, Israel? In the Acts of the Apostles chapter 7 verse 38 it says--
“This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sinai, and with our fathers who received the lively oracles to give unto us.”
This is the Moses in the church in the wilderness. If you will trace the beginning, there was already a church even before Jesus Christ assumed the image of a man. That was the church which was led by Moses, and this was called church of the firstborn or the church in the wilderness. This is the reason why the ministers of other religious groups should be cautious.
Imagine they are making their members believe that their church is the original because it was the first. That is a big lie! The very first church is the church of the firstborn, and that was Israel. The word “firstborn” means that none had come before it. None had come ahead of the firstborn.
In the Bible, a firstborn refers to the child that opened a mother’s womb. In Luke 2:22-23 it says--
“And when the days of her purification according to the Law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord; (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord).”
The firstborn refers to the child that opens his mother’s womb; a firstborn implies the first. In the Bible, the church of the firstborn refers to the Israelites, not the Filipinos. Therefore, even during the time of Moses, there was already a church. Even before Christ made Himself manifest in the flesh, there was already a church. This was the church in the wilderness of Sinai – the Church of the Firstborn.
Is there any verse that would affirm that Israel was the church of the firstborn? In James 1:18, “Of his own will begot he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.”
The Israelites were the first. Do we have a proof that Israel is the church in the wilderness and church of the firstborn, which God acknowledged then?
Romans 9:4-5 says--
“Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises. Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came . . .”
It was from their race that Christ sprang from when He made Himself manifest in the flesh. It says, to them pertains the adoption, the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises. Whose are the fathers, and in whom as concerning the flesh Christ came. In the beginning, Israel was the only city that was acknowledged by God. Let us read what
II Kings 5:15 says,
“And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before them; and said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel.”
There was no God in all the earth but in Israel. And this was confirmed by the “Pasyon” of the Catholics, which says,
Lalong dakila ang sala
Ng tanang anak ni Eva
Anakin idolatria
Kahit ano sinasamba
Pinaparang dios nila
Iisang nasyon sa mundo
Ang kumilalang totoo
Sa Dios kumapal sa tao
Ito ngang mga Hudyo
Bukod na walang anito
(Greater is the sin)
(By all of Eve’s children)
(Who practice idolatry)
(They worship anything)
(They regard them as their god)
(There was but one nation on earth)
(That truly acknowledged)
(The God who created man)
(the Jews)
(Were the only ones who did not worship false gods)
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Bible
Finding
the True Religion
