When was the original church of Christ formed or established? — Section 57
Was the Church of Christ organized before the day of Pentecost?
Representative of a Christian church:
The New Testament makes it clear that the original church of Christ was established by his disciples on the day of Pentecost. This is clearly shown in Acts 1:6-8 and again in Acts chapter 2, where it discusses the arrival of the Comforter. I believe your church teaches that the church was organized before the day of Pentecost. Please explain why.
Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:
Christ declared to Peter, “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church”. The Lord, in this passage, confirmed he would build his church. Then in Matthew 18:17-18, when the Lord was confronted with a problem concerning the law of the Church, his words changed from ‘future tense’ to ‘present tense’. He said, “And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the Church, but if he neglect to hear the Church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.” Here the Lord makes it clear that his church had been established, at least in part. In Luke 17:20-21, Christ told his followers that the Kingdom of God was among them. The passage in Luke 22:18 definitely establishes that the Church had been formed before Pentecost, as it states, “For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom of God shall come.” We read in Acts 10:41-42 that Christ did eat and drink with the apostles after he rose from the dead. This explains why Paul said, “We are built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.” Since the foundation of the church was established with his power, along with the existence of pastors, evangelists, and teachers (Ephesians 4:11) and that they had “power and authority” (Luke 9:1) and won converts, the Kingdom of God was here upon the earth and had been established before the Lord left. Undoubtedly, what the apostles meant in Acts 1:6-8 was that the Kingdom would continue to grow and be restored in its fulness.
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