From time to time I hear of groups that wish to return to the roots of early Church. To the “pure and unadulterated” Church of the Apostles. While on the surface this may sound like a good idea it’s often approached with not only a lack of historical research and content but lack of scriptural content as well. What do I mean by that? We’ll lets look at Christ’s own statement concerning the Church.

Matt 16:18-19
18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

I don’t want to get into the argument concerning who the “rock” refers to; this argument has been covered enough in other blogs and web sites. My concern is simply the statement by Christ “I will build my church”. Christ himself tells us that He himself is the builder, the one doing the building, and it is the Church itself that is being built. As anyone knows a building of size starts with a foundation. That foundation looks little, if at all, like the end result. During the building process the structure slowly takes form, walls are built, windows and doors are installed, a roof is placed upon the structure, and finally the interior and exterior is finished.

If we were to compare pictures of a building at it’s very start and after it’s completion we’d see what looks like two entirely different structures. In reality they are the same building at two different stages of development. So we have to expect that this Church Christ is in the process of building, 2000 years after it’s founding, is probably going to look quite different than what it originally did. We do however, have some clues in scripture, as well as by way of the Early Church Fathers, as to what structural changes were already being put into place that can help us see what this new building might look like today. We see a hierarchy being put into place (Bishops, presbyters (priests), and deacons (St. Paul’s letters to Timothy, Titus, Philippians),  (Epistle of St. James), (Epistle to the Philippians; St. Polycarp A.D. 69-155) to help the Apostles perform the mission given them by Christ, to spread the good news to the ends of the earth. We see a structured form of worship (The First Apology of Justin Martyr A.D. 100-165). Throughout history in the writings of the Early Church Fathers, and even in non-Christian resources, we find a Church that has had to adapt as it grew in order to continue the mission given to it by Christ, yet all the while protecting and holding to the truth that is at her heart for she is the Bulwark and Pillar of Truth (1 Tim 3:15).

So for those who seek to return to the foundation of the Church there is a problem, by attempting to do so they are in essence casting aside the work the builder has already accomplished in search of a Church of their own ideal and making. It is as though they are seeking a foundation upon which they themselves can build upon forgetting that it is Christ who is the builder and not ourselves. They don’t realize that what they are saying is that Christ has failed in his work and we have to start it over again ourselves.

And those who are searching for that “foundational Church” in the world today are like an individual walking around with a 20 year old photo of a baby expecting that they’ll look the same today as they did when the photo was taken. For this group the builder simply has stopped working. He laid a foundation then walked away from the job. In other words Christ has not kept his word.

I applaud both groups for their desire to search for the true Church of Christ but their approach is flawed. Search for the purpose of finding what the early Church taught, how it carried out it’s work, how it had to grow in order to be able to accomplish its mission, but don’t expect the Church to look exactly as it did when it was created. That one Church, established by, and being built by Christ still exists today, she has survived 2000 years and will continue to till the bridegroom returns for her at the end of time.