The following is one of the verses which Acts 2 dispensationalists quote in order to attempt to prove that the Body of Christ began on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2):

"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls… Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved" (Acts 2:41,47).

The "church" mentioned at Acts 2:47 is in reference to the "church" mentioned by the Lord Jesus here:

"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Mt.16:18).

Acts 2 dispensationalist Lewis Sperry Chafer writes, "The word 'church' appears for the first time in the Bible at Mt. 16:18, and here Jesus speaks of it as a then future thing: 'Upon this rock I will build my church.' An entirely new word is used, it would seem, that there should be no confusion of what this word represents with any Old Testament revelation" (Chafer, The Church Which Is His Body).

Despite Chafer's assertion that "an entirely new word is used" the Greek word translated "church" (ekklesia) can be found in the Greek version of the Old Testament (the LXX).

Alfred Edersheim, a Jewish convert to Christianity and a respected Biblical scholar, wrote: "Nor would the term 'Church' sound strange in Jewish ears. The same Greek word (ekklesia ), as the equivalent of the Hebrew 'Qahal,' 'convocation,' 'the called,' occurs in the LXX. rendering of the Old Testament, and in 'the Wisdom of the Son of Sirach' and was apparently in familiar use at that time. In Hebrew use it referred to Israel, not in their national but in their religious unity" [emphasis added] (Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah [Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. M. Eerdmans Publishing 1971] Book 3, Chapter 37, p.84).

According to Edersheim the Greek word translated "church" was in familiar use and "it referred to Israel…in their religious unity."

William Barclay wrote that "The word that Jesus almost certainly used was 'quahal,' which is the word the Old Testament uses for 'the congregation of Israel,' the gathering of the people of the Lord" [emphasis added] (Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series; The Gospel of Matthew; Volume 2; Revised Edition [Philadelphia, PA: The Westminister Press, 1975], p.142).

Later in the same gospel the Lord Jesus also said: "But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 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.Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Mt.18:16-18).

There can be no doubt that here the Lord Jesus is referring to the same exact "church" of which He spoke of earlier. Notice the words in regard to "bind on earth" at verse 18 and compare those words to the Lord Jesus' earlier reference to the "church":

"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Mt.16:18-19).

Now let us go back to the verses in the eighteenth chapter of Matthew:

"But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 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" (Mt.18:16-17).

The Lord Jesus' instructions concerning "two or three witnesses" are straight from the Old Testament ordinances in regard to Israel:

"One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established" (Deut.19:15).

Even the Acts 2 dispensationalists realize that the Lord Jesus' disciples would have understand that His reference to the "church" at Matthew 18:17 was set in a Jewish context. Writing in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, a publication of Dallas Theological Seminary (Acts 2), Louis A. Barbierii Jr. writes that "the disciples probably would have understood Jesus to mean the matter should be brought before the Jewish assembly" [emphasis added] (Walvoord & Zuck, The Bible Knowledge Commentary; New Testament [Colorado Springs: Chariot Victor Publishing, 1983], p.62).

It should be clear to anyone with an open mind that the reference to the "church" in the second chapter of the book of Acts and in the gospel of Matthew is not in regard to the Body of Christ.