“What Was the First Ever Church Called?”
The title of this post is taken from a portion of a podcast I listened to on September 15, 2023. The name of the podcast is The Briefing and its host is Dr. Albert Mohler. He is well known in some religious circles. This would be especially true among those identified as “evangelical.”
In case you are not familiar with Dr. Mohler, the following information is from his website. The information is very basic. but what I’m reproducing here should help you to see how he identifies himself religiously.
Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr. serves as president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary – the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the largest seminaries in the world.
The podcast on the date I’ve mentioned earlier contained an answer that Dr. Mohler gave to a young girl. The following is copied from the transcript of that portion of the podcast.
But finally, we’re going to end on a question from a wonderful six-year-old girl listening to The Briefing. This would be Eva. And Eva asked, ‘What was the first ever church called?’ Well, Eva, it was called the Church. In Matthew Chapter 16, Jesus said, ‘Upon this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ I know what you’re asking in terms of like First Baptist Church, Christ Presbyterian Church, St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. There are all kinds of names. Sometimes there are places where you might have, say, London Baptist Church or something similar, but the fact is that in the New Testament, there are references to the church as Jesus made in Matthew Chapter 16. There are multiple references to the church as the body of Christ, and there are references to the churches. And in the New Testament, they’re most often identified by the city where they are located. You see this in the letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelation, for example.
And so Eva, what a sweet question. The first church was named Church by the Lord Jesus Christ, who said, ‘Upon this rock, I’ll build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ It is the church established by, belonging to, and under the rule of Jesus Christ. Such a sweet question, Eva, makes me wonder, what’s the church called where your family goes?
I can’t help but wonder if those who read Dr. Mohler’s answer have the same question that I have. In fact, I wonder if Eva might have had the same question.
If, indeed, the “first ever church” was called the church, where did all of the other names come from? What is the origin of other designations like “evangelical,” “charismatic,” etc?
You may remember that Jesus poured out His heart in prayer to His Father prior to going to the cross. Please read and consider carefully the portion of that prayer that applied to those who would believe in Him:
That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. (John 17:21)
It seems to me that many religious people have grown so accustomed to accepting as “normal” all sorts of things that did not exist when The New Testament was being written and which are in direct opposition to the Lord’s prayer for unity. One example of that is that, in almost the same breath, a person can talk about religious groups with different names (and by implication a variety of beliefs and practices) and also stating (correctly) that, originally, there was the church.
Let’s imagine a scenario together. Let’s suppose that, instead of asking Dr. Mohler her question, Eva would have begun to study her New Testament. Let’s suppose that, as she did, she read Acts 2. As you may know, the events that transpired on the first Day of Pentecost after the ascension of Jesus back to heaven are recorded in that chapter.
During the course of that reading, she would be reading a sermon preached on that day that convinced the Jews in attendance that Jesus was both Lord and Christ and that they had been complicit in His crucifixion (Acts 2:36). We might imagine Eva having some concern for these people as they asked, “…Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37)
We can only attempt to imagine the relief of those Jews and, maybe Eva’s relief as well, when there was, indeed, an answer:
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38, ESV)
So, what church were these people members of? Please allow me to remind you of a portion of Dr. Mohler’s answer to Eva:
The first church was named Church by the Lord Jesus Christ, who said, ‘Upon this rock, I’ll build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ It is the church established by, belonging to, and under the rule of Jesus Christ.
There were no differing religious denominations then and, wherever and whenever people are willing to recognize both the Lordship and the will of Jesus now, there should still be none.
To quote Dr. Mohler again and ask you to consider some ramifications that he may not have intended when he asked this question:
What’s the church called where your family goes?
AUTHOR: Jim Faughn