Church Established on Pentecost

#Did the Savior Establish His Church on the Day of Pentecost?

Those in the Pentecostal Church feel that the Lord established his Church on the day of Pentecost. As scriptural evidence for this they point to Acts 1:6-8 “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

We believe that the Savior established his Church before his crucifixion. In Matthew 18:17, when confronted with a problem concerning the law of the Church, he said, “And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.” The Savior here refers to his church that contemplates the exercise of the power to judge between brethren offended with each other; to determine wherein the fault lies and to render decision as to what shall be done by the one found in fault, and if he refuse to abide the decision then he is to be cast out of the church – to “become as an heathen man and a publican.”

In Luke 17:20-21 the Savior was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would be established. He replied, “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” Many translations read “the kingdom of God is among you” because the pronoun “you” is plural here in the Greek. Also Joseph Smith rendered this verse in the JST, “. . . has already come unto you.”