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