GOD’S PLAN FOR
REDEEMING MAN
God’s Eternal Plan for Us As Revealed
in the Word
Lesson 8: The Sects and the
Denominations
SECTS AND DENOMINATIONS NOT IN
GOD’S PLAN FOR SAVING MAN!
Before the foundation of the world, God had a
plan to choose a people of His own, a people
who should be holy and blameless before Him.
 EPHESIANS 1:3-4.
 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with
every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4
even as he chose us in him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy
and blameless before him.”
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Then His Son came and said He would build His
church.
 MATTHEW 16:16-19.
 “Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the
Son of the living God.’ 17 And Jesus answered
him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh
and blood has not revealed this to you, but my
Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you
are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church,
and the powers of death shall not prevail against
it.”
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The church is God’s people whom He
washed, justified and sanctified in Christ.
 1 CORINTHIANS 6:11.
 “But you were washed, you were
sanctified, you were justified in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit
of our God.”
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Since the church is now that people, a
people who have been washed, justified
and sanctified, it follows that the church
has been a part of God’s plan for the ages.
The church was the institution which God
purchased with His own blood.
 ACTS 20:28.
 “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all
the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath
made you overseers, to feed the church of God,
which he hath purchased with his own blood.”
 This means that the crucifixion and death of
Jesus has been a part of God’s plan to choose a
people of His own.
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Through the supervision of the Holy Spirit
who was sent by the Father and the Son
(JOHN 14:26; 15:26; LUKE 24:49),
the house of God—the church—was built
in the city of Jerusalem on that first
Pentecost day after Jesus rose from the
dead.
Preaching the Good News of His death, burial
and resurrection, persuading those who believe
to repent and be baptized in order for their sins
to be remitted—these are all included in God’s
plan.
 LUKE 24:44-47.
 “And he said unto them, These are the words
which I spoke to you, while I was yet with you,
that all things must be fulfilled, which were
written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets,
and in the psalms, concerning me.
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“45 Then opened he their understanding,
that they might understand the scriptures,
46 And said unto them, Thus it is written,
and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and
to rise from the dead the third day: 47
And that repentance and remission of sins
should be preached in his name among all
nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
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Three thousand souls were baptized on that
Pentecost day.
Then was fulfilled God’s purpose to choose a
people, a kingdom, a church of His own.
The church that began in AD 30 has continued
to flourish in our time, ever-multiplying, everconquering, marching victoriously on to the
beat of the Divine Drummer. And this is the
church we are members of.
The church of the Lord came before there
ever were sects and denominations in the
world.
 If God was able to save a people, justify
them, and sanctify them, without starting
a sect or a denomination, what then is the
need for these human institutions?
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PSALM 127:1 says, “Except the LORD
build the house, they labor in vain that
build it.”
 The house of God is the church of the
living God (1 TIM. 3:15). “Except the Lord
builds the church, they labor in vain who
build it.”
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SECTARIAN SPIRIT THE CAUSE
OF RELIGIOUS DIVISION!
Jesus prayed for all believers to be one.
 JOHN 17:20-21.
 “I do not pray for these only, but also for
those who believe in me through their
word, that they may all be one; even as
thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that
they also may be in us, so that the world
may believe that thou hast sent me.”
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The rise of the sects is contrary to God’s
plan. Our plea to achieve religious unity is
for all believers to go back to the Bible as
the basis of our teaching and practice.
 Sectarianism divides, as illustrated in the
religious system we now know as
Catholicism:
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The Catholics in the East (under the patriarch of
Constantinople) and the Catholics in the West
(under the bishop of Rome) had divided over the
filioque issue, anathematizing each other, and
finally separating in AD 1054.
 (1) Eastern Catholics became the “ORTHODOX
CHURCH.”
 (2) Those in the West became the “ROMAN
CATHOLIC CHURCH.”
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(3) Martin Luther’s protest over the abuses
of the Roman Catholic Church led to his
group’s separation from the main Catholic
body, and the founding of the “LUTHERAN
CHURCH” in 1530.
 The Lutherans also call themselves
German Catholics.
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(4) Because the pope would not let him
divorce his Catholic wife, Henry VIII split
from Rome in 1534 and became the head
of the English Catholic church, or the
CHURCH OF ENGLAND.
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(5) Half a million German Catholics, led by
the theologian Johann Joseph Ignaz von
Dollinger, separated from the main Roman
Catholic body over the disagreement on
papal infallibility, in 1871, and became
what is now known as “OLD CATHOLICS.”
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(6) Filipino Catholics, led by Gregorio
Aglipay, separated from the Roman
Catholic Church in 1902 and formed the
“PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENT CATHOLIC
CHURCH.”
Sectarianism divides, and divides again.
 If we all agree to speak where the Bible
speaks, be silent where the Bible is silent,
then we may put an end to this blight in
Christendom.
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LIST OF SOME SECTS FOUNDED
BY MEN
(1) ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
 Also known as the Western Church.
 Head: The “Pope” of Rome
 First “pope”: Boniface VI (607 AD)
 Headquarters: Rome, Italy
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The Roman Catholic Church fulfills this prophecy
of Paul.
 1 TIMOTHY 4:1-3.
 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the
latter times some shall depart from the faith,
giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of
devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their
conscience seared with a hot iron; 3 Forbidding
to marry, and commanding to abstain from
meats, which God hath created to be received
with thanksgiving of them which believe and
know the truth.”
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(2) GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
Also known as the Eastern Church Orthodox
Church
Head: Patriarch of Istanbul
Headquarters: Istanbul, Turkey
Year: 1054.
Cause of separation from the Western Church:
The filioque issue.
For additional info on the sect, visit this site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox_Church
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(3) LUTHERAN CHURCH
Founder: Martin Luther, a former Agustinian
monk
Place: Germany
Year: 1517 was the start of Luther’s
controversy with Rome. His followers began
calling themselves “Lutherans” in 1530.
Cause of separation: The abuses of the Roman
Catholic Church.
For additional info, visit this site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutheranism
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(4) CHURCH OF ENGLAND
Founder: King Henry VIII of England
Head: King or Queen of England
Place: England
Year: 1534
Cause of separation from the Roman Church:
Because the “pope” would not allow him to
divorce his wife and marry another.
For additional info, visit this site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_England
(5) PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
 Founder: John Calvin
 Year: 1535
 Place: Geneva
 Please visit this site for additional info:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbyterianism
(6) CHURCH OF SCOTLAND
 Founder: John Knox
 Year: 1560
 Place: Scotland
 Please visit this site for additional info:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Scotland
(7) BAPTIST CHURCH
 Founder: John Smith
 Year: 1609
 Place: Amsterdam, Holland
 For additional info, please visit this site:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptist_Church
(8) QUAKERS
 Founder: George Fox
 Year: 1647
 Place: England
 For additional info, visit this site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quakers
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(9) METHODIST CHURCH
 Founder: John Wesley
 Year: 1729
 Place: England
 For additional info, visit this site:
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodist
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(10) MORMON CHURCH
 Founder: Joseph Smith
 Year: 1830
 Place: New York
 Visit this site for additional info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormonism
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(11) SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST
CHURCH
 Founder: William Miller
 Year: 1844
 Place: New York
 Additional info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventhday_Adventist_Church
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(12) SALVATION ARMY
 Founder: William Booth
 Year: 1865
 Place: England
 Additional info:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvation_Army
(13) JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES
 Founder: Charles T. Russell and J. F.
Rutherford
 Year: 1872
 Place: Pennsylvania
 Additional info:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah's_Witnesses
(14) CHURCH OF CHRIST-SCIENTIST
 Founder: Mary B. Eddy
 Year: 1879
 Place: Massachusetts
 Additional info:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ,_Scientist
(15) CHURCH OF GOD
 Founder: Richard Spurling
 Year: 1886
 Place: Tennessee
 Additional info:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_God_(Cleveland,
_Tennessee)
(16) THE NAZARENE CHURCH
 Founders: Bresee & Widney
 Year: 1895
 Place: California
 Additional info:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazarene_Church
(17) CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST
 Founders: Jones & Mason
 Year: 1897. Some say 1907.
 Place: Tennessee
 Additional info:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_God_in_
Christ
(18) PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENT
CATHOLIC CHURCH (Aglipayans)
 Founder: Gregorio Aglipay
 Year: 1902
 Place: Philippines
 Additional info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aglipayan
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(19) PENTECOSTAL CHURCH
 Outgrowth of Azusa Street Church
 Year: 1906
 Place: California
 Additional info:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peniel_Mission#Azusa_Stree
t_and_the_Rise_of_Pentecostalism
(20) IGLESIA NI CRISTO - 1914
Founder: Felix Y. Manalo
Year: 1914
Place: Taguig, Philippines
Felix Manalo first became a member of the
Church of Christ (instrumental group). Leaving
the group, he became an Adventist. Leaving the
Adventist he established his own church, first in
Punta, Sta. Ana, Manila.
 Additional info:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iglesia_ni_Cristo
(21) ASSEMBLIES OF GOD
 Founders: Group of Ministers
 Year: 1914
 Place: Arkansas
 Additional info:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assemblies_of_God
_USA
(22) MONCADISTA
 Founder: Hilario Moncado
 Year: 1927
 Place: Philippines
 Some info may be gleaned here:
http://commentary.mindanao.com/2007/0
2/i-finally-satisfied-my-curiosity/
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(23) UNIFICATION CHURCH
 Founder: Sun Myung Moon
 Year: 1946
 Place: South Korea
 Additional info:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_church
(24) UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST IN
THE PHILIPPINES (UCCP)
 Founders: Group of Ministers
 Year: 1948
 Place: Philippines
 Additional info:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Church_of_C
hrist_in_the_Philippines
(25) PHILIPPINE BENEVOLENT
MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION (PBMA)
 Founder: Ruben Ecleo, Sr.
 Year: 1965
 Place: Dinagat Island, Philippines
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(26) “CHILDREN OF GOD”
 Founder: David Berg
 Year: 1968
 Place: California
 Additional info may be had here:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_church
(27) “ANG DATING DAAN” (CHURCH
OF GOD INTERNATIONAL)
 Founder: Eliseo Soriano
 Year: 1977
 Place: Philippines
 Additional info:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ang_dating_daan
END OF LESSON SERIES