The church that Jesus Christ promised (Matt. 4:17; 16:18), purchased (Acts 20:28; Eph. 5:23, 25) and established (Eph. 1:22-23) in the New Testament was not a “denomination,” for no denominations existed at that time. In fact, the word “denomination” is not even found in the Bible because it represents
a non-Biblical concept that is the work of man and not of God.
So, how is the church of Christ different from a denomination? The answer to this question is quite extensive, but let’s summarize it in this way. Is the church of Christ “non-denominational”? Perhaps it could be stated that way, but that is not the clearest way to state it. Is the church of Christ “anti-denominational”? Again, one might state it that way, but that is not the clearest way to state it. Seeing that the church which Christ established in the first century (and the one that belongs to Him) was not a denomination for it existed before man-made denominations ever came along, perhaps the clearest difference is that the church is “pre-denominational.”
All that we can know about Christ’s church is what we learn from Christ in His Word!