Church

Since the church is the body of Christ, the church is closely related to our salvation. The Lord Jesus imparts His salvation through His church. He sends out workers and gives His church the authority and power to forgive sins (Jn 2:21-23; Mt 16:18-19). Baptism, footwashing, and Holy Communion, all of which have to do with a believer’s salvation, are performed by the church.

Therefore, to accept the church is to accept Christ and to be saved is to become a member of the body of Christ. How can a person believe in Christ yet refuse to be a member of the body of Christ? True believers of Jesus Christ are members of the same body, the church (1 Cor 12:12-13, 27-28). Christ is the Savior of the entire body, not of separate body parts. Therefore, we are not saved apart from the church, but as part of the whole church (Eph 5:23-27; also Acts 20:28).

The Lord promises to be with us when we gather in His name (Mt 18:20). He blesses us when we worship Him through songs and prayer, and as we study His word through sermons and discussions. The Bible also clearly tells us not to neglect meeting together, but to strengthen each other’s faith so that we will meet our Lord with confidence when He comes again (Heb 10:24, 25).

The Lord Jesus also taught us to love and serve one another. By meeting with brothers and sisters in the church, we can edify one another with spiritual gifts (Eph 4:11-12, 16). By combining our efforts, we can spread the word of God more effectively. Furthermore, through spiritual growth and unity, the body of Christ can be built up to become the dwelling of God’s Spirit (Eph 2:19-22) and be prepared as the bride of Christ (Rev 19:7, 21:2).

This name is not intended to condemn anyone; but this does not make the church any less true. The word “true” is used because the Bible emphasizes that God and Jesus are true. Thus, the name best reflects the nature of the church as belonging to the “True God” (Isa 65:16; Jer 10:10; Jn 7:28, 17:3; Rom 3:4; 1 Jn 5:20) and the “True Jesus” (Jn 1:9, 14:6, 15:1; 1 Jn 5:20; Rev 6:10).

Since believers are branches of the true vine and they constitute the church—the body of Christ—it follows that the church is also the “True Church”.

Essentially, the church is not just “true” in name but also in substance. The True Jesus Church preaches the complete gospel of salvation, has the presence of the Holy Spirit, and is accompanied by signs and miracles. In other words, the Holy Spirit abides with the church to testify that this church preaches the truth and is indeed the true Church (Heb 2:3-4; Eph 1:13-14, 2:22).