🕊️ Introduction — A Question That Divides the Modern World
In today’s world, Christianity is divided into more than 40,000 denominations, each claiming to be “the true church” or to preach the “pure Gospel.” Yet the Bible itself proclaims the opposite:
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope… one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” — Ephesians 4:4–5
This verse raises an important question:
👉 If there is only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, why do so many groups today perform their own baptisms and create their own churches?
Where did they get that authority? And did God ever command anyone to found their own sect?
This article answers those questions biblically, historically, and theologically — to show that Christ founded only one visible, apostolic, and universal (Catholic) Church.
📖 1. The Biblical Foundation: Unity, Not Division
The “One Body” — The Church of Christ Himself
The “one body” refers to the visible and mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church.
“Now you are the body of Christ, and individually members of it.” — 1 Corinthians 12:27
Christ has only one Body, not thousands of rival bodies. To create a separate “church” apart from the one He founded is to divide Christ Himself — something Scripture condemns:
“Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?” — 1 Corinthians 1:13
Therefore, the true biblical teaching is unity in one body, not diversity of man-made sects.
The “One Baptism” — Entry Into One Church
The Apostle Paul explicitly says there is only one baptism (Ephesians 4:5).
Baptism incorporates a person into the one Church:
“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” — 1 Corinthians 12:13
This means:
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No one can create a new baptism apart from the Church’s apostolic authority.
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A baptism done merely “in the name of a group” or for membership in a denomination has no biblical basis.
🏛️ 2. Apostolic Authority — Who Has the Right to Baptize and Preach?
Christ gave the authority to baptize, teach, and govern the Church only to His apostles, and through them, to their successors (the bishops).
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them… teaching them to observe all I have commanded you.” — Matthew 28:18–20
This authority was not given to ordinary individuals or self-appointed preachers. It was transmitted through Apostolic Succession, which the early Christians considered essential.
Apostolic Succession in the Early Church
| Church Father | Teaching on Apostolic Succession | Source |
|---|---|---|
| St. Irenaeus (AD 180) | “We can enumerate those who were established by the apostles as bishops in the Churches, and their successors down to our time.” | Against Heresies 3.3.3 |
| Tertullian (AD 200) | “The apostles appointed bishops in every Church... from these the other Churches borrowed the tradition.” | Prescription Against Heretics 32 |
| St. Cyprian of Carthage (AD 251) | “He cannot have God as his Father who does not have the Church as his Mother.” | On the Unity of the Catholic Church 6 |
These Fathers affirm that the true Church must trace its leadership and teaching directly back to the apostles — which only the Catholic and Orthodox Churches can historically and theologically demonstrate.
⛪ 3. Church History — The One Church Through the Centuries
| Century | Event / Development | Historical Reality |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Century | Jesus founds His Church on Peter (Matthew 16:18) | One Church under apostolic leadership |
| 2nd–4th Century | Growth of the Catholic (universal) Church across the Empire | One faith, one baptism, one Eucharist |
| 11th Century | East–West Schism (Catholic and Orthodox divide) | Still both apostolic in lineage |
| 16th Century | Protestant Reformation | Thousands of new man-made churches emerge |
| 19th–21st Century | Rise of sects (Adventists, Born-Again, Iglesia ni Cristo, etc.) | Each claims divine origin, none with apostolic continuity |
The early Christians never believed in “many churches” — there was only one Church, visibly united under the bishops in communion with Rome, as recorded by early writers like St. Ignatius of Antioch (AD 107):
“Wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.” — Letter to the Smyrnaeans 8:2
📜 4. The Bible Warned Against Self-Founded Churches
“For the time will come when people will not endure sound teaching… and will turn away from the truth to follow myths.” — 2 Timothy 4:3–4
The Bible foresaw people forming their own groups and teachings outside apostolic authority.
“No prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation.” — 2 Peter 1:20
This means no one may claim the right to “interpret” the Bible independently to found a new “church.”
Only the Church established by Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13) has that authority.
📚 5. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)
“The sole Church of Christ… subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him.” — CCC 816
“Outside the Church there is no salvation… All salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is His Body.” — CCC 846
Thus, according to Scripture and Tradition, there is only one visible and apostolic Church — not many.
⚖️ 6. Comparative Table — The Catholic Church vs. Modern Sects
| Aspect | Catholic Church | Modern Denominations / Sects |
|---|---|---|
| Founder | Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:18) | Human founders (Luther, Smith, Campbell, etc.) |
| Authority to Baptize | From Apostolic Succession | Self-appointed or independent |
| Year Founded | 33 AD (Jerusalem) | 1500s–1900s |
| Teaching Source | Scripture + Apostolic Tradition | Private interpretation of Scripture |
| Unity | One faith, one baptism, one Church | Thousands of conflicting doctrines |
| Continuity | Unbroken since the Apostles | New origins and man-made doctrines |
🧭 7. Apologetic Conclusion
Ephesians 4:4–5 proclaims an eternal truth:
“There is one body and one Spirit… one Lord, one faith, one baptism.”
From Scripture, the Apostolic Fathers, and Church history, we see:
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Christ founded only one Church, not many.
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Authority to baptize comes only from apostolic succession.
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Creating new churches apart from that authority contradicts both Bible and history.
Therefore, all other sects and denominations that claim to be “founded by Christ” but arose centuries later are human inventions, not divine foundations.
As St. Cyprian warned:
“You cannot have God as your Father if you do not have the Church as your Mother.”
✝️ Final Word
Jesus prayed:
“That they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me and I in you.” — John 17:21
True unity is not achieved by creating new groups, but by returning to the one Church Christ founded — the Catholic Church, which has preserved the one faith, one baptism, and one Spirit for 2,000 years.
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