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THAT’S IN THE BIBLE
Why the Name “Church Of Christ”?
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Should we give any importance to the name of the Church our Lord Jesus Christ built? What is the name? Are there several acceptable names? Are all the names of all the churches the same to our Lord Jesus? Why does it matter what the name of the Church is that you belong to?
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The Bible: the basis of our faith in the Church Of Christ, which answers questions about proper worship, the right relationship with God, and most importantly, salvation. That’s in the Bible.
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: I’m Bob Pellien, and welcome to the program, That’s in the Bible. We receive many questions regarding the name of the Church that Jesus built. Today let’s take a look at one that was sent to us from Camille, she asked:
Acts 20:28 verifies the name of the Church as Church of Christ in the Lamsa translation. Before 1933 there was no Lamsa translation. Are there any other verses used to verify the name of the Church?
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Thank you Camile and to all who have written in to our program concerning the name of the true Church of Christ. Dear friends, it is necessary to understand the importance of the name of the true Church Of Christ. So to help us in our discussion let’s break it down and answer these questions today:
- Is the George M. Lamsa translation the only Bible translation that uses Church Of Christ as the official name of the Church Jesus built?
- Was Gearge Lamsa correct when he translated Acts 20:28 as “Church of Christ”?
- And are there other official church names in the Bible?
So, let’s review these questions and see what the Bible has to say to us. Is the George M. Lamsa translation the only translation that uses Church Of Christ as the official name of the Church that our Lord Jesus Christ built? We can say right at the outset, no! There are other examples. But first, let’s see what the Lamsa translation has to say, since our viewer, Camille, asked about that translation specifically of Acts 20:28. Let’s go ahead and read that together, here’s what it says:
Take heed therefore to yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood
Acts 20:28 George Lamsa Translation
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: So that’s one translation, and there are some people who may think it’s only the George M. Lamsa translation which uses “Church Of Christ” as the official name of the true Church in the Bible. But that is not the case at all. For example, here’s another, Norlie’s Simplified New Testament, I’ll cite here what’s recorded in Ephesians 4:11-12:
And He appointed some to be apostles, others to be prophets; some to be evangelists, others preachers or teachers. The common object of their labor was to bring the Christians maturity, to prepare them for Christian service and the building up of the Church of Christ,
Ephesians 4:11-12 Norlie’s Simplified New Testament
Translated by Olaf M. Norlie. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1961
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Also, here in another translation of the Bible in 1 Corinthians 12:12, this is the Weymouth New Testament, I quote once again:
For just as the human body is one and yet has many parts, and all its parts, many as they are, constitute but one body, so it is with the Church of Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:12 New Testament in Modern Speech, translated by Richard
Weymouth
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Let’s read just one more, and here in the book of Hebrews 12:22-23, this is the Remedy New Testament, I quote:
But you have come into the reality (of which the symbols only pointed to), to Mount Zion, the New Jerusalem—the heavenly city of the living God—and you are part of that city. You have come to join millions upon millions of angels rejoicing in God’s presence, into the heavenly sanctuary—the true church of Christ—whose identities are stored in heaven. …
Hebrews 12:22-23… The Remedy New Testament
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: So clearly it was not only the George M. Lamsa translation that recorded the official name of the Church to be “Church Of Christ.” There were plenty of others, but was George M. Lamsa correct when he translated Acts 20:28 as the Church of Christ? Or did George Lamsa make a mistake? What did George Lamsa himself have to say regarding the reasons he translated it Church Of Christ rather than Church of God or any other name? He wrote the New Testament Commentary: from the Aramaic and the Ancient Eastern Customs, let’s read from it.
Jesus was not called God in those early days. The term generally used by his disciples and their followers was Maran, “our Lord,” and Eshoo, “Jesus.” Peter, on the day of Pentecost, called him “Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs”… (Acts 2:22).
Jewish Christians could not have used the term God, because in their eyes God is spirit, and spirit has no flesh and blood. The term ‘God’ was adopted later when the question of Jesus’ divinity and humanity had become the subject of discussion and debate and Christians took sides on the issue of Christology. It was Jesus of Nazareth who shed his blood on the cross for us, and not God.”
New Testament Commentary from the Aramaic and the Ancient Eastern Customs, pp. 149-150 by George M. Lamsa
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: This was the explanation of George Lamsa himself. He understood that in the ancient original languages the words used when referring to “Christ” and the words used when referring to “God” were different. He knew when the writers used them, and who they were in fact referring to, and why. When they used a word for Christ, that’s when George Lamsa translated it “Christ.”
However we don’t merely take the opinion of any of the translators, so we turn to Christ himself, of course. What did Jesus have to say regarding this? Why is it correct to say, like how George Lamsa translated, that Christ redeemed the church with his blood, not God or anyone else for that matter? What did Jesus say? Let’s quote his words in the book of Luke 24:39, where he said:
Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
Luke 24:39 New King James Version
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: According to Christ, a spirit does not have flesh and bones; it is not made up of matter. Such is the nature of God; He has no blood. It is our Lord Jesus Christ who has blood because He is not a spirit. And according to the apostles as well, whose blood was shed to redeem us? Let’s turn to Apostle Peter, 1 Peter 1:18-19 read this way:
knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
1 Peter 1:18-19 New King James Version
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: So, dear friends, Lamsa renders Acts 20:28 as “… the church Of Christ which He has purchased with His blood”, therefore it is a correct and valid rendition. Because the redeemer is Christ, and what He redeemed was the Church Of Christ, and what was used in redeeming it is the blood of Christ. This is what the Bible teaches, and what the Church of Christ teaches as well. But we know there are still many who believe that it is just not so important an issue. They are convinced that all of the names of churches nowadays are equally acceptable to God.
Are there other official church names in the Bible? There are other appellations, or ways that the Church Of Christ was referred to in the Bible at various moments and in certain circumstances. Why is the Church that Christ built called by various other designations if in fact the official name is Church Of Christ? Here is what one Bible scholar says about that, I quote the book The Church in the Bible, p. 348, it says this:
“In apostolic usage, the church is variously designated. Qualifying phrases, such as ‘of the Gentiles’ (Rom. 16:4); ‘of the saints’ (I Cor. 14:33); ‘of the firstborn’ (Heb. 12:33), indicate the class, or the character of the people making up the churches spoken of.
“‘Of Galatia’, I Cor. 16:1; Gal. 1:2; ‘Asia’, I Cor. 16:19; ‘Thessalonica’, I Thess. 1:1; ‘Ephesus’, Rev. 2:1, etc., and ‘In Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira’, etc., Rev. 2:8-18, are simply place qualifications, designating locality for the churches mentioned.”
The Church in the Bible, p. 348
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Why is the Church that Christ built called by various other designations? Some of these designations indicate the character of the members, as we read for example, Church of the Gentiles indicates they’re non-Jews, church of the saints indicating those that were sanctified or redeemed, church of the firstborn, the first fruits or converts. There are also designations that indicate place or locality, such as, church of Galatia, church of Thessalonica, church of Ephesus, etc. Although the Church is described through various designations, it remains that it has only one official name—Church Of Christ.
Camile, your question is important. Yes there are other translators who understand the name of the true Church to be “Church of Christ”, and translated it that way. But everyone should also consider this, is ANYONE permitted to change the name based on their own opinion? Does changing it, and this is very important too, does changing it have any relevance to one’s salvation? Let’s go the Bible for answer to that question as well, I return to Acts 4:10,12:
let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.
Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:10, 12 New King James Version
BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: The name of the true Church built by our Lord Jesus Christ back in the first century is clearly the Church of Christ. The Bible also makes clear that it is not permitted to change that name for it would jeopardize one’s salvation for there is, as we just read, there is no other name given by which we must be saved.
Dear friends, come be with us here inside the Church Of Christ. Let’s review the questions we began with and see what the Bible has revealed to us in our study.
- Is the George M. Lamsa translation the only Bible translation that uses Church Of Christ as the official name of the Church Jesus built?
We learned, no, it’s not. We read plenty of other versions of the Bible
where the church that Christ built was referred to as the church of Christ.
- Was Gearge Lamsa correct when he translated Acts 20:28 as “Church of Christ”?
Yes, George Lamsa was correct in his translation of Acts 20:28, using the
phrase church of Christ. And while there are other descriptions of the
church, it still only goes by one name consistently: the church of Christ.
- And are there other official church names in the Bible?
There were descriptive designations to congregations in the first century Church but the official name of that church was and still is just one: the Church Of Christ.
We’d like you to continue learning about the teachings of the Bible taught inside the Iglesia Ni Cristo, Church Of Christ. To do so, please visit online and browse the different topics or set up an appointment to meet with a minister of the gospel. If you have any questions about the Bible or salvation, please email them to us. I’m Bob Pellien. Thanks for watching. See you next time on That’s in the Bible!
