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A BAPTIST BRIDE
By M. H. Hall
www.baptistpillar.com
To take the
position that all saved persons will be a part of Christ’s Bride is the equivalent of saying, that one church is as
good as another, and that all will receive equal honor at the Marriage Supper
of the Lamb. Beloved, this is just not so. If this be true, then one might as well be a Catholic, or a member of
one of the many other organizations which call themselves New Testament churches, but which, in fact, came into
being fifteen, or sixteen hundred years too late to be able to make claim to New Testament authority. As the writer
of the article from which I have quoted rightly declares, all of the saved will be with the Lord in glory, and will
be present at the wedding supper, but all will not be a part of the Bride, nor have the special honor which will be
accorded to the Bride of our Blessed Lord.
Jesus Established the Church
This Day-of-Pentecost origin of the church is too ridiculous to merit consideration
here. Jesus said that He — not the Holy Spirit — would build His church (Mt. 16:17-18). See Luke 6:12-16 where
Jesus, after all night prayer, called His disciples to Him, and out of them, chose twelve whom He named apostles.
See I Cor. 12:28, where it is stated that the apostles were set in the church first. Time nor space will permit a
full discussion of these things here; however there are too many evidences of the fact that Christ set up the
church while He was on earth to need discussion here.
The Baptist Name
Although Baptists have been called by various names since the days of the origin of
the New Testament church, I believe that the name Baptist, itself, as relating to the church, is scriptural. John
was called “Baptist” in the New Testament. He was sent from God to prepare the material of which Jesus would set up
His church.
I believe that the one true church which Jesus set up was a missionary Baptist
church. We realize that today the name “Baptist” is used promiscuously by many groups which bear little likeness to
the new Testament church in doctrine, practice, organization, etc., etc. True missionary Baptists today preach the
same doctrines, have the same kind of organization, hold to the same ordinances, have the same kind of government,
and recognize Jesus the one only true Head of the New Testament church (Eph. 1:22-23).
The church is also called His body. Now a church, according to the Greek New
Testament can only be a visible assembly. Also the word “body” (Greek: soma), which is used many, many times to
indicate the church, means a visible, organized body. It cannot be invisible, nor universal. Jesus used the human
body to picture the structure of His church. The word is used 18 times in I Cor. 12, and every time has to do with
the church.
The Bride of
Christ
The Bride of Christ will be composed of the aggregation of all true New Testament
churches — of course, minus any unsaved who are members. I believe these true New Testament churches are true
missionary Baptist churches. As to independent churches, we know that all New Testament churches were independent.
There were no Conventions, nor General Organizations.
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