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Some Roman Catholics are fond of saying that Jesus asked Peter to establish His Church. So, what IS the Church of Jesus Christ? If we see that clearly, will it answer the questions raised over what the Roman Catholic Church makes claims, and over what various protestant denominations make claims? Perhaps ... let's find out.

In this post I'm not going to do the work for readers, because I would appreciate it if they went to the Bible they use and find the passages referred to. First, we notice that Jesus has come into the world to save sinners. When asked what work God demands to be righteous, Jesus replied 'This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom God has sent' for the job of saving sinners.

The Church of Jesus is the Body of Christ, referred to also as The Bride of Christ. This is a spiritual group and is beyond the identifying by which Apostle baptized you or in which city is your groups of believers present.

The Church of Jesus Christ is the population, the body of believers, the individual souls seen collectively yet still as individual members for The Kingdom of which Jesus spoke, saying 'My Kingdom is not of this world.'

That's part one. There's more, oh yes, there's more.

The Church of Jesus Christ is made up of individual members who are characterized by God's Spirit speaking through the Apostles. These individual members are spoken of as 'the Temples of the Living God', contrasted to the physical churches, cloisteries, meeting halls, homes of gatherings, cathedrals, and temples made with hands, all featuring building materials like stone or wood. These edifices are not the Temples of God, they are the places individual temples of God gather to be of one accord in worshiping Him in Spirit and Truth.

So, what is the Church which is not of this world It is a spiritual entity having one essential thing in common and without that one thing there is no membership, regardless of how long the institution has been functioning or by what earthly powers it is backed. The thing common to all the members of the Church of Jesus Christ is not any physical characteristic. It is not found in rituals, sacraments, or liturgies. It is a spiritual reality which has real physical impact upon the members of the Church of Jesus Christ, and which can actually be seen to influence the behaviors of the individual members.

God's Spirit instructs us through the Apostles to be in the world but not of it. There is only one power which can make that real in our lives. It is not found in mystical meditations or physical regimens or mantra repetitions or ritual practices. This one thing is in fact the very thing which identifies ALL the members of the Church of Jesus Christ, regardless of vagaries in style and techniques of worship.

This one element is so important that it imparts the Righteousness of God upon the member in the Church of Jesus Christ. And that is a righteousness no man can achieve by works he may do regardless of how long he lives in the flesh. To have this one characteristic, this single most important thing to be a member in the Church of Jesus Christ, The Body of Christ, you must be a family member of the most eclectic family humanity could possibly produce. You must be in God's family.

But family membership is not the one thing you must have to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. No, what every member must have is The Life of God in their spirit. ONLY the Life of God can produce works of righteousness that measure up to the righteousness standards of God's nature. So to be a family member you must have the Life of the Head of the Church of Jesus Christ.