The church of the New Testament was vitally important and incomparably valuable to Jesus! He planned it (Eph. 3:10-11), promised it (Matt. 16:18), purchased it (Acts 20:28), and sent the Holy Spirit to establish it (Acts 2:32-47). The church that He started nearly 2,000 years ago is still in existence on this earth today. God planned perpetual existence for His church until the final return of Christ.
The prophecy of Daniel proves the Lord’s church still exists today. In about 600 B.C., Daniel prophesied of the church. “In the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever” (Dan. 2:44). It “shall never be destroyed.” “It shall stand forever.” It is still here today!
The promise of Jesus proves the Lord’s church still exists today. When Jesus promised, “I will build My church,” He went on to say, “and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). Jesus was emphasizing that nothing would be able to overpower His church. It is still here today!
The continual saving of sinners proves the Lord’s church still exists today. The church began in Acts 2, when the first people responded to the full message of the gospel and were baptized “for the remission of sins” (2:38, 41). Those who were “saved” were added to the church (2:41), and God was adding to the church “daily those who were being saved” (2:47). As long as God is saving people, He is adding them to His church. It is still here today!
The continual presence of the Bible proves the Lord’s church still exists today. In the parable of the soils, Jesus called the gospel, “the word of the kingdom” (Matt. 13:19), and said it was “the seed” (Luke 8:11). Think about the nature of a seed. Wherever and whenever the seed of the kingdom (i.e., the gospel) is planted, it produces a kingdom identical in every respect to the kingdom that was established in the first century. It is still here today!
The ultimate delivery of His church to heaven proves the Lord’s church still exists today. When Jesus returns at the end of time, He is going to deliver “the kingdom to God the Father” (1 Cor. 15:24). Jesus cannot deliver the church to God if it does not still exist. It is still here today!
The Lord only has only one church (Eph. 4:4). Since we have the pattern for the Lord’s church in His word, and since we know exactly what His church looks like (thanks to the clear pattern in Scripture), let us find His church today and restore it precisely as He wanted it to be. It is still here today!