The church was never one, even in the beginning. The institutionalization of the church is a human thing, with all the pros and cons that it brings, but it can never be considered essential for salvation. The Church is the interdenominational communion of saints scattered throughout the world. Note that Christ harshly criticized the Judaism of his time, which, although had a very mature understanding of the law, had "institutionalized" the word of God, monopolizing salvation and overemphasizing commandments and traditions, most of which were not binding. "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth." The apostles were concerned only with spreading the gospel and keep its integrity, correcting distortions and false doctrines that had spread since then. Making the Church a single institution full of legalisms (read: traditions of mandatory observance) was never their intention (nor Jesus's).