Introduction. My early ideas of the church, its doctrines, and of the teachings of Christ as revealed in the New Testament, were rather general and vague. As is usual, it was chiefly a matter of hereditary traditions. After I found my way back to Christ and to belief in the Word of God, the question naturally arose, which church shall I join, if any? Sectarian divisions had a hand in driving me into infidelity and confusion, and I was now compelled to investigate more closely this strange puzzle. As I have already intimated, what I learned at Meadville about baptism and the teachings of the various religious bodies, had directed my attention to the people generally known as "Disciples of Christ" or "Christians," who are working for Christian union through the restoration of the primitive church. I will now give the result of my study of the model church as revealed in the New Testament. NOTE.--Most of this and the following chapter are taken from my booklet on "The Church of Christ: What It Is, and Why It Exists." THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. The primary meaning of the word _church_ is a local body of Christians organized for work and worship (Acts 14:27). From this its meaning enlarged so as to apply to the members of all the churches (Eph. 3:10), and finally to all the saints in heaven and on earth (Heb. 12:23). _Of Christ_ expresses the church's relationship to Christ. It is Christ's church. He bought it (Eph. 5:25), built it (Matt. 16:18), and is its foundation (1 Cor. 3:11). It is his body (Rom. 12:5), of which he is head (Col. 1:18) and which is so identified with him that it is called Christ (1 Cor. 12:12); it is his kingdom over which he is king (Matt. 16:19); it is a fold of which he is the shepherd (John 10:16); he is a vine of which the members are branches (John 15:5); it is his house (Heb. 3:6); it is his dearly beloved wife (Eph. 5:25; 2 Cor. 11:2). Christ so loves the church and identifies himself with it because of the sweet, loving, spiritual fellowship there is between himself and it; and because it is his visible representative here on earth, and the instrument through which the Holy Spirit's work in the conversion of the world and the sanctification of believers, is carried on. Other names given to the church are "church of God" (I Cor. 1:2), "churches of God" (I Thess. 2:14), "churches of saints" (I Cor. 14: 33), "temple of God and of the Holy Spirit" (I Cor. 3:16), and "the pillar and ground of the truth" (I Tim. 3:15). All these names are Scriptural and proper when used in the proper way. Church-members. The members of the church or churches of Christ are called "Christians" (Acts 11:26; I Pet. 4:14, 16), "disciples" (Acts 9:1), "saints" (Rom. 1:7), "brethren" (I Cor. 15:6), "members" (Rom. 12:5), etc., all of which names are right when used to express the proper idea or relationship.