The church in the wilderness was not the church of Jesus Christ. Judas Iscariot hung himself before the church of Jesus Christ came into existence in Luke 24:44-48.
Wrong - the church began as soon as Jesus called Andrew and Peter.
The church of Jesus Christ did not exist until Luke 24:44-48, because his church is built on the gospel of salvation, which the disciples did not understand until Luke 24:44-48.
Wrong again - the church is built upon Peter's confession "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" and Andrew himself reported, "We have found the Messiah".
Judas Iscariot could not have committed apostasy of something he did not understand. The gospel of salvation was not understood by the disciples until Luke 24:44-48.
He understood Jesus was the Christ, was His chosen disciple, partook of Holy Ghost power
which is not available to sinners, and had betrayed "innocent blood".
What other proof do you need that Judas "went out" from the church of Jesus Christ?
Judas Iscariot did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God messiah or else Judas Iscariot would not have betrayed him for thirty pieces of silver.
Since when is acknowledgement of Jesus as the Son of God a barrier to rebellion against Him? Satan knew full well the pre-incarnate Jesus was the Second Person in the Godhead, yet rebelled in spite of it.
Please stop with the subjective reasoning and stick with Scripture, friend.
None of the disciples, including Judas Iscariot, understood the gospel of salvation until after the resurrection and Jesus appearing to them in Luke 24:44-48 to open their minds to understanding it.
I've placed
loads of evidence for why the church began the moment Jesus called Andrew and Peter on one side of the scale and you've placed
only one thing: lack of understanding on the part of disciples.
Now, by your logic, the Bereans weren't church members because they lacked understanding concerning the Holy Spirit, the very Spirit whereby church members are born again to become church members, right?
It should be clear to all who might be reading our discussion that the only "evidence" you've placed on the scale for why the church didn't begin until after the Cross has been disqualified.
By his own words, Andrew knew Jesus was the "Christ" aka "the Messiah" (John 1:41 KJV), the very knowledge upon which Jesus Himself says His church is built in Matthew 16:16-18 KJV.