What is a denomination?

The body, all true believers in Christ, is denominated (to give a name to) the body of Christ. It is derived from Him. It is sustained by Him. It is joined to Him. A denomination, a collection of individuals called by the same name, is a sect. Interdenominationalism is the mutual embracing of all denominations.

When believers were enlightened to the truth of Christ's Headship and His body at the beginning of the last century these truths led them out of the systems of men and the denominations too. They owned no name except Christ's. They owned no membership except that of the body. They met in homes and rooms which bore no distinctive name or title. It was impossible for them to call themselves the church of God in any place. Such a title would have excluded those who did not meet with them. They believed in churches because the New Testament speaks of such but they did not call themselves THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST or THE CHURCHES OF GOD. They met simply as members of the body of Christ. Scripture did not teach them any other name or membership. These brethren did not attempt to set up a unity of the body. They believed rightly that the unity existed unbroken in spite of the confusion. All they endeavoured to do was to humbly and dependently express the unity that existed. The movement of the Spirit of God was such that companies of believers were formed all over the world. These companies sought to move together as one. There was no thought of independent companies although each company was responsible to maintain the truth revealed. There was no recognised universal leader but spiritual men were honoured for their service. No governing body formulated rules and regulations. Christ was recognised as Head and The Leader. The Scriptures of truth were the sole authority for all matters pertaining to assembly functions.

In many ways the name "Church" is misleading, partly because of a certain historical but unscriptural meaning attached to it, and partly because the word is used in so many different ways. For instance, a building where religious meetings are held is called a church; the persons meeting there form a church; the denomination with which they are connected is a church. Similarly, we have the Church of England, or Scotland — meaning the established form of religion in those countries. To the Romanist "the Church" means the Papal system, and to the ritualist something very similar. TheEvangelical will tell us that the word has a twofold significance, designating respectively the visible and the invisible Church. Thus all professing Christendom forms the visible Church; while only the true believers form the invisible.

The Roman Catholic church and the Greek church are large bodies of persons professing Christianity, associated under these designations. So of Presbyterians, and Covenanters, Lutherans, etc. If you press the matter, the church is the teaching, the authoritative part of it. This is so even among Protestants. The thirty-nine Articles of England tell us the church can decree rites and ceremonies, and has authority in matters of faith. So that we have to know what a person means by "the church" before we can reply to a question as to it.

On no occasion is the Christian free to forget his proper relationship, and it is as true of the assembly as of the individual. Is it so with you in both respects? If you know what it is to be heavenly in your affections and ways, you will not tolerate an earthly-minded denomination, and indeed a denomination as such, denies the body and bride of Christ as a present reality here below, which demands entire devotedness to Christ and continual waiting for His coming, not of the world, as He is not. A denomination is a voluntary society, or a system framed by worldly authority; neither of which can, in the nature of things, express or even contemplate, the one body of Christ. If we are His, we are so by the Holy Ghost who made us one, as the objects of His love and for His glory, at the same time separating us from the world which crucified Him. "Believest thou this?" May our God bless His own truth for Christ's sake! W. K.

The fact is, the dissenter adds to the name of Christ certain ideas of his own (drawn, as he thinks, from the Scriptures) on church organization and government; and the churchman, in like manner, has surrounded the name of Christ with his traditions. I grant you that both are generally willing to receive all Christians (this is not universally true, for the largest "church" in your own denomination makes baptism by immersion a condition of membership), but it is on their own foundation that they are willing to receive them. Thus, if you go to the "church," you must of necessity agree in all their plans and modes; and so also if you go to a chapel.

You will therefore see that it is not true that denominational Christians are gathered to the name of Christ alone. If they were, they would repudiate all human names, glorifying only in the name of Christ. In fact, a denomination does not appeal to all believers, but only to those of like doctrines and views. Thereby, they practically confess that Christ alone is not their centre.

Take the Presbyterian church. Here is a body of people, all of whom may be Christians, but who are bound together, apart from other Christians, on the ground that they are all agreed that the Presbyterian mode of church-government is the right or the best thing, and therefore they unite in the setting up of that form, in doing which they separate or cut themselves off from all Christians who do not see it.

To recapitulate: A true knowledge of the Scripture teaching as to church organization is hindered by general misconceptions as to the necessity of denominational names and creeds; as to the clergy, sacraments and worship. A person with such misconceptions would probably define a proper church organization to be one "formed by a company of Christians gathered under some denominational name, held together by the adoption of a doctrinal creed, presided over by a regularly ordained minister, who administers the sacraments and presides over the worship!' Does this sound like a libel? Our sad answer must be, Look around and you will find expression of scarcely anything else. But we are bold to say that, to get a scriptural idea of church organization, we must eliminate, or change almost every feature given in the above definition.

we see Christendom broken up into innumerable sects, each having a special form of Church government, holding distinguishing creeds and conducting their services according to special forms and ceremonies. We see, too, vast numbers of societies and organisations for sending out missionaries, and generally conducting religious work, and in them all we see devoted men for whom we can truly thank God.

You have the church of God no longer on the ground of one assembly — no longer holding to such a foundation-principle as liberty for the Spirit therein to edify by whom He pleases. You have different religious associations set up, often peculiar to different countries, and in no respect answering to either the assembly or the assemblies in the word of God. If a man belonged to the church of God at Jerusalem, he belonged to the church of God at Rome. It was merely a question of locality. He was a member of the church of God, and therefore, wherever it might be, he if there belonged to the church in that place, Scripture does not recognize membership of a church, but of the church. If the church of God was in a given place, the Christian, unless put away, finds his place within it. You never find, I repeat, in scripture, anything about membership of a church; it is always of the church. This is a most significant difference, as indicating the departure of Christendom from God's word. For in our days, if you belong to this church, you do not for that very reason belong to that church. Instead of your membership in the church of God being the ground why you are a member of it everywhere, on the contrary, so great is the change, that now the fact of belonging to one church is the best possible proof that you do not belong to another. If you belong to the church of Scotland, you have no such connection with the church of England; if you are a Baptist, you do not at the same time belong to the Wesleyan society, or to any other of the Dissenting bodies. Scripture knows nothing of the kind.

You have the church of God no longer on the ground of one assembly-no longer holding to such a foundation -principle as liberty for the Spirit therein to edify by whom He pleases. You have different religious associations set up, often peculiar to different countries, and in -no respect answering to either the assembly or the assemblies in the word of God. If a man belonged to the church of God at Jerusalem, he belonged to the church of God at Rome. It was merely a question of locality. He was a member of the church of God, and therefore, wherever it might be, he if there belonged to the church in that place. Scripture does not recognize membership of a church, but of the church. If the church of God was in a given place, the Christian, unless put away, finds his place within it. You never find, I repeat, in scripture, anything about membership of a church; it is always of the church. This is a most significant difference, as indicating the departure of Christendom from God's word. For in our days, if you belong to this church, you do not for that very reason belong to that church. Instead of your membership in the church of God being the ground why you are a member of it everywhere, on the contrary, so great is the change, that now the fact of belonging to one church is the best possible proof that you do not belong to another. If you belong to the church of Scotland, you have no such connection with the church of England; if you are a Baptist, you do not at the same time belong to the Wesleyan society, or to any other of the Dissenting bodies. Scripture knows nothing of the kind.