Publisher's Synopsis
The New Testament Church of Christ and its Relationship to Redemption
Luke who is author of the New Testament book of Acts, he informs us that Jesus "...purchased the Church with His own blood" (Acts 20:28). The Lord Jesus Christ shed His blood when they scourged Him before Herod. He shed His blood when they placed a woven crown of thorns upon His head. He shed His blood when they nailed Him to the blood-splotched rugged Cross and violated the sanctity of His anatomy. Isaiah, the Dean of Messianic Old Testament prophets said, "But he was wounded for our transgressions and he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).
Think for a moment, would Christ die on the Cross at Calvary and shed His precious blood for something that is not essential to the salvation of humanity? By virtue of the fact that the Lord Jesus died a ignoble, inglorious, ignominious, discreditable, disgraceful, and dishonorable death for the sins of the world to bring man back to God and therewith purchased the Church with His blood, gives us sufficient reason to know that the Church is essential for redemption.
When we speak of the Church, we are referring to the New Testament Church of Christ because it is the only Church you can read about in the New Testament Scripture (Matthew 16:13-18; Ephesians 1:22, 23; Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 4:4; 1 Corinthians 12:12). In Ephesians 5:23 we learn that just as the husband is the head of the wife, Christ is the head of the Church and that He is the Savior of the body. According to Colossians 1:18, the body is the Church. Therefore, Christ saves the Church [the one body] and those who desire to be saved must become members of the one body [one Church] which Christ saves. Finally, the apostle Paul says: "Giving thanks to the Father who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: In whom we have redemption through His blood even the forgiveness of sins..." (Colossians 1:12-14 - KJV).
