What is the true Church?

Question:

When was the first Christian church founded and by whom? Has Jesus entered any Church? If yes, where? Has Jesus ever prayed in a church? If so, please tell me the name and the place of this church. Has Jesus worshiped the saints painted on the walls and on wood icons in a church? If yes, please give details because we can not believe without details and without investigating. We must know whom we worship.

Because there are more questions here, I will need to take them one by one, but not before giving the answer to the main question.

What is the Church?

From the way the question was addressed it is clear that to the author the church is the building where Christians gather, or the house of worship. This is not the Church, but the building where the Church gathers for worship. The word “church” in English translation of the Bible is the Greek “ekklesia” which was used extensively in the Greek world until the writing of the New Testament and it symbolized initially the gathering of the citizens called out from their homes in a public place to address certain public issues. Sometimes this word was used to mean any gathering of people assembled with or without a purpose. In the New Testament this word ekklesia, or Church, has the same meaning of assembly, i.e. the gathering of those redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ for inheriting eternal life. Moreover, a phrase used in the Bible is “the church that is in this or that house”, that makes a clear distinction between the gathering of the believers and the building. Here’s an example:

The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. (1 Corinthians 16:19)(NASB)

Buildings can not send or receive greetings. Carefully reading the New Testament you will easily see that it is always a clear delineation between the Church that is the meeting of Christians and the place where the Church was gathering, that this sacred assembly.

Now, to answer the questions I have been asked …

When was the first Christian church established and by whom?

According to the Word of God there is only one Christian Church which is composed of the redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. This Church was born when the Holy Spirit descended in the Day of Pentecost, 10 days after the Ascension of Jesus Christ. The event is reported in chapter 2 of the book of Acts.

Has Jesus ever entered into a Church?

If you think that the Church is the building, then no, Jesus has never entered into a church when He was on earth because the Church has not been yet established and of course it has not yet had any building. Lord Jesus went into the synagogue of Jews. Now, Lord Jesus is present in any building where there are real Christians who are born again through faith in Him, as He has promised:

For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst. (Matthew 18:20)(NASB)

Has Jesus ever worshiped the saints painted on the walls and on wood icons in a church?

No! Absolutely not! Lord Jesus is the One whom all saints of all time worship and have to worship. He is alive and requires true worshipers to worship Him and the Father in spirit and truth.

Translated by Felicia Rotaru