Now, let us ask our third major question: “Can we establish this

​house today?”​ In other words, can the house that Jesus built and

established in the first century—the church about which we read

in the Bible—be established or built today in your community or​

neighborhood? Let us ask one who happens to be both a carpenter

and a preacher.

Churches are a lot like houses. Houses have a design, and there-​

fore a designer. Houses have a foundation and structure. They

have unique characteristics that make them peculiar to the in-

dividual homeowner. And, something else every house has is a

set of blueprints. In building a house, I would not know where

to begin without a set of blueprints or a plan. By following the

blueprints, I can construct a house exactly as the designer or

architect intended. But what is noteworthy is that if I was to take

a set of blueprints, I could build the same house in North or South

America, Australia, Africa, Europe, or Asia. As long as the building

materials were still in existence I could build an identical house

in any one of those places now, or fifty years from now, simply by

following the blueprints.

When it comes to building the Lord’s house, I can do the same

thing. I could take the Bible and use it as a pattern or blueprint,

and build the same church in North or South America, Africa, or

anywhere else. If I followed its instructions exactly in terms of

its organization, its name, and its worship, and if I taught ex-

actly what is revealed in the Bible regarding its terms of entrance

and membership, would it not be the house of God? If I could

take a denominational creed book, study it, and establish a de-

nominational church through its by-laws, why couldn’t I just read

the New Testament of Christ and use it to establish a church of

Christ? Indeed “Christ’s church” and “God’s house” are one and

the same. If I want to establish God’s house in any community,

then I better follow the blueprint found in the New Testament.

Thomas Moore

Minister and House Builder