Jesus's church - where is it?

[demisheep]

I am on a quest to find Christ's church. In Matt 16:18 Jesus says: And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it

Where is his church? I have been looking at history and cannot seem to find his church. Jesus said the gates of hell will not prevail against it so it should still be around today starting from when Jesus said this and never ceasing to exist.

I do not belive his church to be the Catholic church. The Catholic church has too many things setup against the bible's teaching. One example:

1Ti 3:1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
1Ti 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
1Ti 3:3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
1Ti 3:4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;
1Ti 3:5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
1Ti 3:6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.
1Ti 3:7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Dre

[Kahtar]

You won't find it in a particular denomination. His church is scattered throughout, including the Catholic.I would submit that where you find Christ, THAT is where you will find His church. And Christ can only be found within your own heart, and the hearts of others.

[livingword26]

Mat 16:13-18
(13) When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
(14) And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.
(15) He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
(16) And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
(17) And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
(18) And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The rock that Jesus built the church on was not Peter himself, but Peters faith and belief that Jesus Christ was the messiah. The one true church is not any of the man made denominations, nor is it in any particular kind of building. The church of Jesus Christ exist in those who have recieved Him, His forgiveness, His Holy Spirit, and His Word.

[calidog]

Luk 13:18 Then He said, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?
Luk 13:19It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches."

[demisheep]

But who guides and directs it? That is the biggest argument that Catholics use is that their church has all the rules and is a safe place to be. Where all the thousands of denominations are all divided and continue to do so. In the bible the apostles guided and directed the church and then appointed men worthy to guide and direct local groups. Did so much time pass that this just got all messy? Its full of confusion. I am lost.

[Kahtar]

But who guides and directs it? That is the biggest argument that Catholics use is that their church has all the rules and is a safe place to be. Where all the thousands of denominations are all divided and continue to do so. In the bible the apostles guided and directed the church and then appointed men worthy to guide and direct local groups. Did so much time pass that this just got all messy? Its full of confusion. I am lost.

Worthy men continue to be appointed to guide and direct the local 'church'. It is the Holy Spirit who directs it.
Every time man takes over and begins controling it, the Holy Spirit backs out. Each denomination started out, I believe, following the leading of the Spirit. But then men started organizing and controling it, and you end up with a million denominations being controled and directed by man, and the true church scattered throughout those, who in spite of the denomination continue following the leading of the Holy Spirit.

[AngelAuthor]

But who guides and directs it? That is the biggest argument that Catholics use is that their church has all the rules and is a safe place to be. Where all the thousands of denominations are all divided and continue to do so. In the bible the apostles guided and directed the church and then appointed men worthy to guide and direct local groups. Did so much time pass that this just got all messy? Its full of confusion. I am lost.

Catholics like to try to pretend their church is all organized and in agreement as a way to deceive Christians that they are the true church, but the fact is that their church is almost as splintered as protestant churches...they just don't acknowledge or admit it. If you go to one Catholic priest/and his church in Los Angeles and ask him theological questions and then go to a priest and his church in New York and ask him the same...

Answers won't be the same.

Where's the unity? The way the churches are run aren't the same either. The only thing that is the SAME in the Catholic church is the hierarchal structure of it and the fact that the priests preach the same nonsense day after day year after year no matter what church you go to. But that is not unity, it's repetition and structure.

The book of Acts and the rest of the New Testament shows us what Christ intended his church to be. They were planted...separate...INDEPENDENT of each other all over the Mediterranean Sea and West Asia by Paul and other apostles. They did NOT all report to one leader. They handled things among themselves and often looked for guidance (not control) to the person who started them. Thus the church at Corinth was differently structured and handled differently and had slightly different beliefs than the church at Ephesus, which had different structure and rules than the church at Phillipi. And so on and so forth.

No matter what the Catholics would have you believe these churches did not all look to Peter for anything. They did not all call one man their leader...except Christ.

That is the church, and it is most like the Protestant setup today than the Catholic one.

So, yes, Protestant denominations tend to disagree...on little things. For the most part, they're all in agreement on the thing that matters most. Salvation by faith in Christ alone. That was Peter's statement...that is the rock upon which Christ's TRUE church was built.

The Catholics built their church upon a stone...Peter, thus most of them miss the true church and instead of turning to the rock, they turn to idolatry and pagan ritual for salvation.

To find the Church of Christ, demisheep, simply walk into the Church closest to your house that still follows solid, Biblical teachings at the fundamental level. Don't sweat the "small stuff" like how they take communion or what kind of music they sing or whether they kneel, stand or sit for song services. If they are teaching that Jesus is the son of God who died and was raised and lives forevermore. If they teach that God is three distinct, yet singular persons, if they teach that Hell is real and Jesus is coming back to take His faithful to Heaven someday. If they teach from the Bible alone as the source of Christian authority. If they maintain that the Bible is God's living, breathing Word and just as applicable today as the centuries it was written...

You have found one segment of Christ's church.

[ServantofTruth]

God's church is where the scriptures are respected, taught and lived by and the Holy Spirit guides.

When you accept the perfect life and sacrifice for your sins Of Jesus Christ you become a Christian believer.

When you find others who have done the same and meet together, you have a Church.

Peace, SofTy.

[xSTEADFASTx]

its everywhere.