Here is a revision of your text according to the Scripture-Only Methodology, ensuring alignment with NKJV verses, cross-references, and Strong’s definitions.
A Church of Christ Congregation
The church of Christ is built upon Jesus Christ, the cornerstone.
- Ephesians 2:20 (NKJV) – “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,”
- Matthew 16:18 (NKJV) – “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
Jesus did not command His followers to use His name in a church title, but first-century Christians were referred to as the churches of Christ.
- Romans 16:16 (NKJV) – “Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you.”
Jesus called His assembly the church, which He purchased with His own blood.
- Acts 20:28 (NKJV) – “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”
- Ephesians 5:25 (NKJV) – “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,”
The Bible testifies that Jesus Christ came to fulfill prophecy, establishing His kingdom, which includes His church, and presenting it to the Father at the end of time.
- Daniel 2:44 (NKJV) – “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”
- Colossians 1:13 (NKJV) – “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,”
- 1 Corinthians 15:24 (NKJV) – “Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.”
Christians today use the term church of Christ to designate local congregations, following the pattern seen in Scripture.
- 1 Corinthians 1:2 (NKJV) – “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:”
- Revelation 1:11 (NKJV) – “saying, ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,’ and, ‘What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.’”
This structure aligns with the Scripture-Only Methodology, using NKJV verses, cross-references, and Strong’s Concordance meanings, while avoiding interpretation bias or theological traditions.