I Christianity the church?
Was there a denomination named the disciples?
Throughout the bible the church has been depicted as a woman, or the pure church a virgin. 2Corinthians:11:2: "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." Ephesians:5:23-27: "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. "
Throughout the bible the church refers to Jews and Gentiles both. The seven churches of Asia in revelation are Gentiles, until Paul converted them.
The poetic book of song of Solomon is all about the church, or God's people. The pharisees were the leaders of God's church when Jesus came.
What I am getting at is that what really constitutes the church? Many are splitting hairs on this point just to prove fallacies. It is like the people who condemn other Christians for pronouncing Jesus Name incorrectly. The church is God's children, who were redeemed back to Him through conversion.
We read in the NT over and over where the church was considered those who were assembled in someone's house Like we read in Colossians:4:15: "Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house."
Or how about the church being the "body of Christ" found in Colossians:1:24: "Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:"
The church certainly will fall away, and has been since they lost their first love revelation 2:4. During the reformation they started to come back, because times were rough. The ONLY time faith in Christ grows is during times of persecution and adversity, never during prosperity! The churches of today might be flourishing monetarily, and overflowing with feelings of well being, but revelation tells of the churches condition today in Revelation:3:15-17: "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:" During times of prosperity the church is in this condition, BUT, and this is HUGE! This church is spued out of the mouth of God. The ONLY way back to God is following the remedy for this condition found in Revelation:3:18: "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." God's people desperately need the golden faith tried in the fire so we have the assurance of complete victory over all sin in our lives before Jesus comes, or we die. We need the righteousness, or the garments that will only cover CONFESSED sins one by one. Not future sins. The most important part of this remedy is to have the anointing of the Holy Ghost to guide us into all truth so we are not deceived, because Jesus Himself said that false Christs will come and IF POSSIBLE deceive the very elect. IF WE ARE NOT THE VERY ELECT WE WILL BE DECEIVED.
COMPARE THE CHURCH TODAY WITH THE FIRST APOSTOLIC CHURCH THAT TRULY CONVERTED 3000 PEOPLE IN ONE DAY! This is the church that Jesus is coming for. He is coming for believers who are united. The kind of unity Paul writes about in 1Corinthians:1:10: "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." Believe this: the truth is NOT popular.