There is only one Christian church on the earth. It is called "the Body of Christ" and Christ is its head. "He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body..." (Ephesians 1:22-23) "He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything." (Colossians 1:18)
Everyone who has accepted Christ as their savior is a member of the Body of Christ. "For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body." (1 Corinthians 12:12)
Individuals may be members of a local congregation and of widely different backgrounds, but they are all part of the Body of Christ. "But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be?" (1 Corinthians 12:18)
"And the eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you'; or again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.' On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it." (1 Corinthians 12:21-27)
The church is made up of people of widely different stages of development. "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil." (Hebrews 5:12-14)
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And "speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:15-16)
Jesus says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35)
