Why does the “Church of Christ” insist that their name is scriptural when it cannot be found anywhere in the Bible? The church is referred to as the “church of God” eight times in the Bible, but never is it called the “church of Christ.” The verse they use is\u00a0Romans 16:16, but it doesn’t say “church of Christ.” Where does the Bible call the church the “church of Christ”?<\/p>\n\t
“Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you<\/em>” (Romans 16:16).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
There are a variety of names used to describe the church that belongs to Christ. “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it<\/em>” (Matthew 16:18).<\/p>\n
The congregations were known as:<\/p>\n
\n
- the churches of Christ (Romans 16:16)<\/li>\n
- the church of God which is at [name of some town<\/em>] (I Corinthians 1:2)<\/li>\n
- Or just plain church of [name of some town<\/em>] (Colossians 4:16;\u00a0I Thessalonians 1:1;\u00a0II Thessalonians 1:1;\u00a0Revelation 2:1;\u00a03:14)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The entire body of Christians across the world was called:<\/p>\n
\n
- Church of God (I Corinthians 10:32)<\/li>\n
- Church of the Living God (I Timothy 3:15)<\/li>\n
- The household of God (I Timothy 3:15)<\/li>\n
- Church of the Firstborn (Hebrews 12:23)<\/li>\n
- Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 7:21)<\/li>\n
- Kingdom of God (I Corinthians 4:20)<\/li>\n
- Kingdom of Christ and God (Ephesians 5:5)<\/li>\n
- Kingdom of the Son of His Love (Colossians 1:13)<\/li>\n
- Kingdom of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (II Peter 1:11)<\/li>\n
- Body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:27)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Any of these names would be acceptable for a congregation of Christians located in an area. Each name emphasizes a particular spiritual aspect of the people who worship God as Christians and gives emphasis that the church belongs to the Son of God. A congregation of Christians striving to follow the Scriptures will select one of these names, but just because a group uses one of these names, it does not necessarily mean it is faithfully following Christ. Several congregations mentioned in Revelation 2-3 prove this point.<\/p>\n\t
Question:<\/h2>\n
Can we call our groups Iglesia Ni Cristo as far as our dialect is concerned?<\/p>\n\t
Answer:<\/h2>\n
The phrase means “Neither a church nor Christ” when translated from Spanish, so obviously that would not be an appropriate name for a group that claims to follow Christ. But in Filipino, it means “Church of Christ,” which would be appropriate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Why does the “Church of Christ” insist that their name is scriptural when it cannot be found anywhere in the Bible? The church is referred to as the “church of God” eight times in the Bible, but never is it called the “church of Christ.” The verse they use is\u00a0Romans 16:16, but it doesn’t…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[448,998],"class_list":["post-2327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-church","tag-names"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":52393,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-a-church-right-because-it-calls-itself-a-church-of-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":2327,"position":0},"title":"Is a church right because it calls itself a church of Christ?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 14, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How do you know if a church is the right church? Is it because they bear the name \"church of Christ\"? Isn't it possible that a church might also be a Bible-believing church but might not have a \"church of Christ\" attached to their church? Or is the name\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67110,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-the-churches-of-christ-the-only-correct-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":2327,"position":1},"title":"Are the churches of Christ the only correct church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi Jeffery, In the article \"Wasn't Babel the city of Eridu?\" you mentioned, \"You will not find any claim that the churches of Christ are the only correct church on this site.\" Do you no longer believe in the one true church? I understand that not every church with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20053,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-you-mormon-what-are-your-beliefs\/","url_meta":{"origin":2327,"position":2},"title":"Are you Mormon? What are your beliefs?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 30, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I happened to stumble upon your church when I googled \"the most accurate version of the Bible.\" I have been currently attended a Baptist church, which solely uses the King James Version. I am really in search of the truth on my Christian journey. I am not one who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44695,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-church-of-god-the-one-true-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":2327,"position":3},"title":"Is the church of God the one true church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day brother Jeffrey, I need your help. Where does the church of Christ get the year 33 AD? What is the basis for this? Another question: Is it true that no religion can save? The Church of God said that the one true church is the Church of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23270,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-we-only-greet-in-the-name-of-the-lord-jesus-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":2327,"position":4},"title":"Should we only greet in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Brother, Greetings to you. Is there any regulation to greet only in the name of Christ? Or can we greet in the name of Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit? Could you please clarify this, brother? Thanks. Answer: Of the many passages that mention greetings, none say \"in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25826,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/isnt-the-use-of-conservative-non-institutional-or-mainstream-to-describe-churches-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":2327,"position":5},"title":"Isn’t the use of “conservative,” “non-institutional,” or “mainstream” to describe churches wrong?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Since the \"Church of Christ\" is the only authorized name for the church, why do some take pride in calling it the \"conservative church\" or the \"non-institutional church\"? I also hear of the \"mainstream church.\" Is this not liberalism and denominationalism? 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