By: Kevin Cauley
Many don’t believe that the “name” of the church matters. In years past, some have rhetorically asked, “What’s in a name?” as if it does not matter. Does the church have a name? “Yes” and “No.” The New Testament never says, “You must name the church this ________.” However, it provides an adequate description of the church so that we may have scriptural authority to distinguish the Lord’s church from other institutions claiming the same identity. So, while there is no clear passage of scripture that says specifically, “This is what the name of the church should be,” there are clear scriptures that authorize a name.
There is no one name to call the church, but there are scriptural and unscriptural names to refer to the church. The apostles and writers of the New Testament referred to the church as the “church of God” eight times in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:13, etc.). It is interesting to note that at least one of these references refers not to God the Father, but to God the Son (Acts 20:28). Local congregations are called “the churches of Christ” in Romans 16:16. The Holy Spirit names individual congregations in the scriptures such as the church of the Thessalonians and the church of Ephesus (1 Thessalonians 1:1; Revelation 2:1). Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, “I will build my church.” It is right, therefore, to call the church the church of Christ! In contrast to these descriptive names, some are condemned as divisive in 1 Corinthians 1:10-12. It is a sin to name a church after men such as Paul, Apollos, Peter, or any other man’s name. It is also sinful to name a church to perpetuate a sectarian spirit. Hence, employing any names that do so are wrong.