The Church Bought by God’s Own Blood

Who Established Your Church?

In every street and city, there are countless churches, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. Their names differ, their doctrines vary, and their practices often contradict one another. Yet nearly every one of them makes the same bold claim: “We are the church established by God.”

Can all these claims be true?

In a world filled with countless churches, how can we identify the one that God Himself established? Should we rely on popularity, history, impressive buildings, or human opinion?

The Bible teaches that God established only one church, and He purchased it with His own blood.

Acts 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

Paul reminds us to be shepherds of a certain church. A shepherd is one who cares for sheep, and in this context, the spiritual sheep belong to the Church of God. What does this reveal?

It reveals that Paul, the other apostles, and the early Christians did not belong to many different churches. They all belonged to one church: the Church of God.

So far, we have identified the name of the church that God purchased with His own blood. Now, let us return to the question we began with.

Look around your neighborhood. Look across your city. Among the countless churches that fill every street, is there a Church of God purchased by God with His own blood?

The answer to this question is not a matter of personal opinion, tradition, popularity, or impressive buildings. It is a matter of biblical truth.

The world is filled with countless churches, each claiming to represent God. Yet the Bible does not say that God purchased many churches with His blood. It speaks of only one. The Church of God is the only true church established by God and purchased with His own blood.

Which Church Did the Apostles Attend?

Now that we know the church purchased with God’s own blood is the Church of God, let us ask another important question: Which church did Paul, the other apostles, and the early Christians attend?

If the apostles were alive today, do you think they would attend any of the thousands of churches that exist around the world? Certainly not. They would attend the very same church that Christ established and purchased with His own blood.

So, which church did the apostles, and the early Christians belong to? Let us turn to the Scriptures and find the answer.

1 Corinthians 1:1-2 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:

When Paul wrote to the early Christians in Corinth, he addressed a specific church. He said, “To the Church of God in Corinth.” Let’s pause and reflect, did he mention thousands of churches in Corinth? No. He wrote directly to the members of the Church of God in Corinth.

If that church had been located in Nairobi, Paul would have written just as clearly: “To the Church of God in Nairobi.” What does this imply? Paul was writing to the members of the very church he himself belonged to: the Church of God.

Now, let us move to another region, Galatia, and see whom Paul was addressing.

Galatians 1:13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.

The “I” in this verse refers to the Apostle Paul (Galatians 1:13). Before his conversion to Christianity, Paul openly admitted that he had persecuted Christians. But notice carefully whom those Christians belonged to. Paul says that he was persecuting the Church of God.

This reveals an important truth. Before receiving salvation, Paul persecuted the Church of God. After his dramatic conversion, he did not join a different church. Instead, he became a member of the very same Church of God that he had once tried to destroy.

This demonstrates that both before and after Paul’s conversion, there was only one church established by God 2000 years ago: the Church of God.

Let us now go back to Corinth and examine another passage from Paul’s writings.

1 Corinthians 11:22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!

In this scene, the Apostle Paul rebukes those who treated the Passover with disrespect and failed to understand its sacred significance. But notice an important question: Which church did these believers belong to?

Paul gives us the answer. He says that by their actions they were despising the Church of God.

This is significant because it shows that the believers in Corinth belonged to the Church of God. During the apostolic age, the church recognized and addressed by the apostles was the Church of God.

Is Being Called the Church of God Really Enough?

The Bible clearly teaches that the church God purchased with His own blood is the Church of God (Acts 20:28). But does this mean that any group simply using the name “Church of God” automatically qualifies as the true church? Certainly not.

Names alone do not guarantee authenticity. What matters is whether the church follows the truth of the Bible and keeps the commands of God.

Let us read the verse again

Acts 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the Church of God, which He bought with His own blood.

What Is God’s Own Blood?

So what is meant by God’s blood? To understand this, we must continue reading Scripture, because all answers are found in the Bible.

Exodus 34:25 Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me [blood of my sacrifice, KJV] along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Festival remain until morning.

Here, God is giving instructions about the Passover. Notice that He calls it “My sacrifice.” The sacrifice was the Passover lamb, and its blood is called “the blood of My sacrifice.”

This is significant. Although the Israelites offered the Passover lamb, God claimed it as His sacrifice. Therefore, the blood of the Passover sacrifice was God’s own sacrificial blood.

To understand the meaning of that statement, we must continue tracing the Bible’s teaching about the Passover and discover how God’s sacrifice was ultimately fulfilled

Matthew 26:26-28 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

This is a scene of Jesus keeping the Passover with his disciples. What does he say? He says, “Take and drink, this is my blood.” Jesus calls the Passover wine His blood.

Brothers and sisters, this is now very clear in the Bible. Now let’s answer the long-awaited question: what is God’s own blood? God’s own blood is the blood of the Passover of the New Covenant.

The church that does not keep the biblical Passover of the New Covenant is actually not the true church that God established, and it is not the church that He bought with His blood.

Therefore, to identify the true Church of God, the name alone is not enough. The true Church must keep the Passover of the new covenant, the very covenant established by Christ through His blood.

Why Did God Purchase the Church With His Own Blood?

God purchased the Church with His own blood because He wanted to grant us the forgiveness of sins.

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.

We can receive the forgiveness of sins only through the blood of Christ. Therefore, God established and purchased the Church of God with His own blood so that those who dwell in it may receive the forgiveness of their sins and ultimately inherit the kingdom of heaven.

God’s Own Blood Is the Blood of the Passover of the New Covenant

To receive the forgiveness of sins, we must partake in the blood of Christ. The blood of Christ is the blood of the Passover of the New Covenant. In a nutshell, the church purchased with God’s own blood must keep the Passover of the New Covenant.

1 Corinthians 10:16-17  Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.

The cup of thanksgiving refers to the cup containing the wine of the Passover of the New Covenant. The apostle Paul teaches that when we partake of it, we participate in the blood of Christ. Therefore, to participate in the blood of Christ, we must keep the Passover of the New Covenant.

Luke 22: 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.’

Jesus kept the Passover of the New Covenant with His disciples, setting the perfect example for us to follow.

In summary, the church established and purchased with God’s own blood should keep the Passover of the New Covenant.

Among the numerous churches, as countless as the sand on the seashore, the only church that satisfies these conditions is the Church of God.

The Church of God Can Never Fail

The church established by God and purchased with His own blood can never fail.

Acts 5:38-39 Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.

The purpose for which the Church of God was established is to grant humankind the forgiveness of sins and lead them into the kingdom of heaven. This is the will of God.

Although many churches have been established, they do not keep the Passover of the New Covenant. Even if they slander the Church of God, it can never fail because it was founded according to God’s will. Therefore, we ought to remain in the Church of God, receive the forgiveness of sins, and enter the kingdom of heaven.

John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

If a person leaves God, he is like a branch that has been cut off from the vine. A branch cannot live by itself once it is separated from the vine. In the same way, when we remain in the Church of God, which keeps the Passover of the New Covenant, we receive the forgiveness of sins and will enter the everlasting kingdom of heaven.

Therefore, let us remain in the Church of God, the only church established and purchased by God with His own blood, so that we may receive the forgiveness of sins, inherit eternal life, and enter the everlasting kingdom of heaven.