The Only Church That Is Saved—True Jesus Church (III)

H.H. Ko—Heidelberg, Germany

In part two of this three-part study on one true church, we examined the uniqueness of the true church from a spiritual angle. God is One and His will is immutable—this is the basis for the church’s uniqueness. Even before time began, God intended to establish only one church. Moreover, Apostle Paul compares the relationship between God and the church, which comprises believers whom the Lord Jesus has redeemed with His own blood, to that of husband and wife—an absolutely monogamous relationship. When the promised Holy Spirit filled Jesus’ disciples at Pentecost, the one apostolic church was established, “[f]or there is one body and one Spirit” (Eph 4:4). Hence, from a spiritual perspective, God’s true church is always one. We shall now look into the uniqueness of the True Jesus Church and explain why she is the only true church of the end times.

UNIQUENESS OF THE TRUE JESUS CHURCH FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF HER NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS

The True Jesus Church Is Unique Because She Has Been Entrusted with the Truth of Salvation

When the True Jesus Church was established, her current name was prefixed with “The Church That Rectifies All Nations.” She had made it her mission to continue in the salvation truth propagated in the apostolic times. If we use the Bible as our yardstick to compare the various gospels preached by different denominations globally, we will realize that only the True Jesus Church preaches the complete gospel of salvation. This complete gospel is clearly stated in the True Jesus Church’s ten articles of faith. Let us examine some key points of these articles of faith.

Through the revelation of the Holy Spirit, the True Jesus Church upholds the belief of “One true God” in accordance with the Bible[1]. Furthermore, in terms of the way the True Jesus Church expounds the word of God, her view regarding holy sacraments is aligned with biblical teachings. With the presence of the Holy Spirit, she conducts baptism efficacious for the remission of sins, footwashing sacrament for having a part with the Lord, and Holy Communion for being united with the Lord and for being resurrected on the last day. Moreover, the Holy Spirit has led the True Jesus Church to understand the truth of the Sabbath under grace. Hence, she keeps the commandment of God, and enjoys Sabbath rest with God on earth and in heaven in time to come.

While the True Jesus Church is preaching the truth, the Lord works with her and confirms the word through the accompanying signs and miracles (Mk 16:15–18). From the perspective of the entrustment of the truth of salvation in the end times, the True Jesus Church is the one and only ark in the end times, revealed and built by God.

The True Jesus Church Is Unique Because the Promised Holy Spirit Abides with Her

A scan of all Christian churches worldwide would show that the Lord has given the promised Holy Spirit only to the True Jesus Church. For the church as a whole, the presence of the promised Holy Spirit in the True Jesus Church means that the baptism she conducts has the efficacy of remission of sins: the precious blood of the Lord Jesus washes away the sins of the baptismal candidate during baptism. In addition, the promised Holy Spirit has opened the door of evangelism in the last days so that people will be able to understand the doctrine of salvation and return to the Lord’s flock.

For the individual believer, the promised Holy Spirit is the guarantee of his heavenly inheritance in Christ (Eph 1:13). The Holy Spirit testifies that believers have received the gracious anointing from God, through which they can call out Abba Father, confirming that they are the children of God, “and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Rom 8:17). The promised Holy Spirit is the power that will bring about the resurrection of the glorious body in the future (Rom 8:11; 1 Cor 15:20–23).

Since there is only one God (Deut 6:4) and only one incarnation of this true God (Jn 1:1,14), there can only be one church that has the indwelling of the promised Holy Spirit. Therefore, from the perspective of the abidance of the promised Holy Spirit, the True Jesus Church is the one and only church that can present every man perfect in Christ Jesus (Col 1:28); she is the mother of the believers who are saved, the heavenly Jerusalem (Col 4:26; Heb 12:22).

The place of the True Jesus Church in the history of salvation

From the creation of all things in the book of Genesis (Gen 1:1) until the fulfillment of the kingdom of God in the book of Revelation (Rev 11:15; 16:17), God is manifested in the history of mankind through the process of the “kingdom of God” coming down on earth, which is the plan of salvation. This plan of salvation originated from before creation and will conclude at the end of the world, so where is the True Jesus Church placed in this plan? To address this question, we will pass over the Old Testament and go straight into the apostolic times to examine the position of the True Jesus Church from the perspective of the church in heaven and the church on earth.

The True Jesus Church Is the Continuation of the Apostolic Church

The structural framework of the Acts of the Apostles captured in the following period-based milestones shows how the True Jesus Church continues the spiritual lineage that began from the apostolic church.

A. Jerusalem period—Foundation building (Acts 1–7)

·       Waiting in Jerusalem: the disciples received the promised Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1).

·       Propagation in Jerusalem: the temple in Jerusalem was the starting point of the apostolic church and the place where the early apostolic era reached its peak (Acts 2:46; 5:12–16). Believers at that time also looked upon the holy temple as the center of their faith (Act 2–7). Moreover, in the apostolic era, the Jewish synagogues served as main bases of evangelism.

·       Losing perspective in Jerusalem: believers were unwilling to disperse (Acts 8:1), although they supported the pioneering work in Samaria and Caesarea. The apostles were also constrained by their “Jerusalem complex,” which was influenced by an Old Testamental fixation on geographical factors of salvation.

B. Period of Judea and Samaria—Growth (Acts 8–12)

·       Steven’s martyrdom, the intense persecution of the church, and the consequent dispersion of the believers led to a turning point in evangelism (Acts 8:1–8).

·       Accumulation of experience and increase in human resources: Philip’s evangelism to the Ethiopian eunuch, the calling of Paul, and Peter’s evangelism in the house of Cornelius kick-started the pioneering evangelistic efforts towards the Gentiles.

·       Critical turning point: Peter “departed and went to another place” (Acts 12:17). No longer constrained by the boundaries of Jerusalem, he proceeded towards “the ends of the world” in his evangelistic work. When Paul joined the ministry, they labored together in the work of world evangelism. We know they had worked together because Paul had commented, “Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?” (1 Cor 9:5) Subsequently, Paul toiled alone in the area of evangelism towards the Gentiles, whilst the first generation represented by Peter went to the circumcised (cf. Gal 2:9).

C. Period of preaching to the ends of the earth—Peak and completion (Acts 13–28)

During this period, Paul was the representative evangelist, and the Jewish synagogues were the bases of evangelism (Acts 13:5, 14–15, 42; 14:1; 15:21; 17:1, 10, 17; 18:4, 7–8, 17–19, 26; 19:8). The era began with the prayer group in Antioch (Acts 13:1–3) and ended with the Jerusalem riot such that “immediately the doors (of the temple) were shut” (Acts 21:30). This was then followed by a period of defending the word, which Paul did on four occasions (Acts 22:1; 24:10; 25:8; 26:1). The Acts of the Apostles concludes with Paul receiving and teaching those who came to him while he was under house arrest (Acts 28:30–31).

D. “The hardening of the hearts of the Jewish people”—Conclusion of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 28:23–27)

The Acts of the Apostles concluded with Paul’s carefully designed evangelism work and defense during house arrest (Acts 28:17–28), which is a stark contrast to Peter’s impromptu evangelistic sermon during Pentecost at the beginning of the apostolic period. One took place at the beginning while the other occurred at the end; one was during the rise of the era while the other was at its decline. Together they formed the framework of the history of the kingdom of God during the apostolic times.

When Paul preached and defended the word of God during his house arrest, he continuously spoke about God’s word from morning until night. He exhausted all resources in expounding the laws of Moses and the books of the prophets, testifying of the kingdom of God and Jesus from the Scriptures, but in the end, no one was moved and the people departed because they could not agree.

Just before the people left, Paul quoted the prophesy of Isaiah “…‘Go to this people and say: “Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; [a]nd seeing you will see, and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, [a]nd their eyes they have closed, [l]est they should understand with their hearts and turn, [s]o that I should heal them” (Acts 28:26–27; Isa 6:9–13). This signified a pause in the period for the Jews to receive salvation. In his old age, Paul told the young evangelist Timothy: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Tim 4:3–5).

Paul had made a prophetic proclamation in Romans 9–11 regarding the question of Israelites being forsaken and Gentiles receiving salvation. In fact, the apostolic period concluded with Paul’s prophetic proclamation: “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” (Acts 28:28). This was the last statement spoken by an apostle in the Acts of the Apostles. Paul’s prophecy regarding the beginning of another evangelistic period is fulfilled in our generation. Entering into the end times, God sent the latter rain Holy Spirit to establish the True Jesus Church, which comprises a majority of Gentiles, through whom the ministry of the word is now being carried out.

Table 1 is a brief illustration of the relationship between the structure of the Acts of the Apostles and the Book of Revelation:

Table 1:

Beginning of the Acts of the Apostles	End of the Acts of the Apostles	The fulfillment of the kingdom of God in the last days
Upper room	Rented house	The True Jesus Church attains perfection
120 persons	1 person	TJC
(Acts 1:13–15)	(Acts 28:30)	(Rev 4–22)

 

 

 

In the Plan of Salvation, the True Jesus Church Is the One and Only True Church of the End Times Within Time and Space

At the end of the Acts of the Apostles, the Jews who were the original recipients of grace had quickly become hardhearted and obstinate. According to Paul’s report, they were those “who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost” (1 Thess 2:15–16). The Jewish synagogue, originally the apostles’ evangelism base, had become “a synagogue of Satan” in the eyes of the Lord Jesus by the time Apostle John wrote the book of Revelation (Rev 2:9).

The Holy Spirit of promise established the apostolic church on the day of Pentecost, with Jesus Christ as the church’s corner stone and the apostles and prophets as her foundation (Eph 2:20). However, during the last days of the apostolic period, that is “while men slept,” the devil came and sowed “sons of the wicked one” in the field of God (cf. Mt 13:24–30, 36–42). From then on, the apostolic church that had the truth and the Holy Spirit gradually degenerated.

The departure of the Holy Spirit of promise can be validated by the rise of Montanism. This is universally acknowledged as the first charismatic movement in church history. The advocate of this campaign, Montanus, publicly proclaimed in 156 A.D. that the Holy Spirit had greatly moved him to become a vessel of the Holy Spirit and to reveal the mystery of God; he began to rebuke the Christians of his time and accused them of accepting worldly philosophies, corrupting the church organization, submitting to the schemes of man, going against the guidance of the Holy Spirit, disobeying the holy teachings, and indulging in their own dissipation. He also accused the bishops of being unspiritual, of bringing shame to their office by not performing their duties, and of not being qualified for their holy vocation, as they lacked the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Not long afterwards, he declared that the Helper whom Jesus mentioned in John 14 had come and that this was fulfilled in him.

We shall not discuss the credibility of Montanus’ message here. However, when we read of the circumstance of the church then, and how he advocated the return to “spiritual gifts” that were lost, we know that the promised Holy Spirit had left the Catholic Church before 156 A.D.

From historical records, we can trace the degradation of the historical church in terms of the compromises it made and its alteration of the truth. For example, from second century writings such as “The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles” (The Didache), chapter 7, a record on baptism reads:

But concerning baptism, thus shall ye baptize. Having first recited all these things, baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit in living (running) water. But if thou hast not living water, then baptize in other water; and if thou art not able in cold, then in warm. But if thou hast neither, then pour water on the head thrice in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. But before the baptism let him that baptizeth and him that is baptized fast, and any others also who are able; and thou shalt order him that is baptized to fast a day or two before. [2]

This excerpt shows that the church at that time still preserved part of the original truth, for example: the strict expectation of the baptismal candidate and the administration of baptism in flowing water, similar to Jesus’ baptism in River Jordan (Mt 3:13–17). However, in the apostolic church, baptism was conducted in the name of Jesus (Act 2:38; 8:16; 10:48; 19:5; 22:16), which had been changed to baptizing in the “name of the Father, Son and of the Holy Spirit.” There was another deviation from the original pattern of truth. Instead of insisting on baptizing in living water, they sacrificed the truth for convenience under special circumstances. Words such as “but” and “if” appeared. For example, they had added: “But if thou hast not living water, then baptize in other water; and if thou art not able in cold, then in warm. But if thou hast neither, then pour water on the head….” From here, we see that the truth concerning baptism for the remission of sins was lost.

Following this, man-made religious festivals and speculative lore about piety continuously seeped into the church, appearing in the form of Christmas, worship of Mary, and assimilation of other pagan practices into Christianity. Due to the absence of the Holy Spirit, the degradation of the truth, and pagan influences, the apostolic church went into “Babylonian captivity.”

In the salvation plan of God, the True Jesus Church has inherited the doctrinal orthodoxy of the apostolic period. She has also received the promised Holy Spirit from God, and serves God in Spirit and truth, carrying out the great work of harvesting in the end times (cf. Mt 13:47–50). She is the physical manifestation of the “heavenly church” in the end times, a specific period in God’s salvation plan, and is the one and only true church in this defined time and space.

In the Plan of Salvation, the True Jesus Church Is One with the Heavenly Church Beyond Time and Space

From the perspective of the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places (cf. Eph 1:3), the chosen people of the Old Testament, the saints in the apostolic church, the people of God in the True Jesus Church, which is the ark of the last days, as well as the remnant of Israel who are saved after the gentile numbers are fulfilled form the “heavenly Jerusalem.” They are one body in Christ Jesus through the cross (Eph 2:16). Although appearing at different times in the plan of salvation, they are hidden in the mystery of the salvation in Christ by the omniscient and omnipotent God according to His will; through the fulfillment of the promise of the Holy Spirit, they are all born through the same mother, all belonging to the “heavenly Jerusalem” (Gal 4:26).

Conclusion

The truth is clear when we put together the various bases discussed earlier. The True Jesus Church is the only saved church—not due to external factors, but because of what she is spiritually. She is the ark of the end times, ordained by God. From the perspective of the spiritual characteristics of a church, we know she has the evidence of being established by God—she has received the promised Holy Spirit and revelation of the truth of salvation that presents man perfect before God. She is now carrying out the will of God to accomplish the great work of God’s salvation in the end times.

Therefore, in these last days, the True Jesus Church is the only church of God amongst the multitude of denominational churches. If any one thirsts for the grace of salvation from God, the True Jesus Church is the only church of God, where this grace can be found. She is the “Jerusalem above” that the nations shall go to for blessings of rain (Gal 4:26; Zech 14:16–17).