In the first century, after the Lord’s church was established, there were no denominations like we have today. Of course, there were some who departed from the faith while still holding to a form of religion. A notable example is Diotrophes (3 John 9-11) who took control of a congregation and expelled those who wanted to follow the apostles’ doctrine. But generally, the churches in the first century could be accurately called “churches of Christ” (Romans 16:16) because they submitted to Christ’s authority and not to that of any man.
While the early church generally enjoyed unity by submitting to the authority of Christ alone, Paul warned of a movement that would change all of this. He wrote to the church at Thessalonica about “the apostasy” that was coming. He personified this great apostasy by calling it “the man of lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:3). This “man of lawlessness” was described as one who “opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4). This apostasy would be characterized by certain men exalting themselves among God’s people, claiming to speak for God and exercise authority over their brethren. It is called an apostasy because it would begin with some who were faithful Christians, but they would depart from the faith to follow their own doctrines and practices. This is exactly what denominationalism is. Denominationalism, beginning with the Catholic church, is the great apostasy.
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