Posted on 06/20/2017 4:12:13 PM PDT by ealgeone
Question: "What is the church?"
Answer: Many people today understand the church as a building. This is not a biblical understanding of the church. The word “church” comes from the Greek word ekklesia which is defined as “an assembly” or “called-out ones.” The root meaning of “church” is not that of a building, but of people. It is ironic that when you ask people what church they attend, they usually identify a building. Romans 16:5 says “… greet the church that is in their house.” Paul refers to the church in their house—not a church building, but a body of believers.
The church is the body of Christ, of which He is the head. Ephesians 1:22-23 says, “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” The body of Christ is made up of all believers in Jesus Christ from the day of Pentecost (Acts chapter 2) until Christ’s return. The body of Christ is comprised of two aspects:
1) The universal church consists of all those who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink” (1 Corinthians 12:13). This verse says that anyone who believes is part of the body of Christ and has received the Spirit of Christ as evidence. The universal church of God is all those who have received salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
2) The local church is described in Galatians 1:1-2: “Paul, an apostle … and all the brothers with me, to the churches in Galatia.” Here we see that in the province of Galatia there were many churches—what we call local churches. A Baptist church, Lutheran church, Catholic church, etc., is not the church, as in the universal church—but rather is a local church, a local body of believers. The universal church is comprised of those who belong to Christ and who have trusted Him for salvation. These members of the universal church should seek fellowship and edification in a local church.
In summary, the church is not a building or a denomination. According to the Bible, the church is the body of Christ—all those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation (John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 12:13). Local churches are gatherings of members of the universal church. The local church is where the members of the universal church can fully apply the “body” principles of 1 Corinthians chapter 12: encouraging, teaching, and building one another up in the knowledge and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
You can disparage the phrase all you want, but it was Jesus who said it first, that one must be born again.
If you don’t like the phrase, take it up with Him.
Do you suppose that the early fathers of the Catholic had access to this information....this church is 2,017 years old, surely they investigated EVERY possible writing that had anything to do with it....
If you are familiar with it, why did you abandon it???
LOL ... ignorance is bliss ... and necessary for good magic thinking. You got the whole package, dude.
Math isn't you strong suit, is it?
And I doubt they investigated EVERY possible writing that had something to do with it.
If they had, they would have published something to support it and if they did, where is it?
I'm not taking the say so of some anonymous internet poster. Back it up with proof, something I NEVER see you do, or your words are exposed for the emptiness they are.
I wasn’t familiar with any Catholic Bible.
I was told that I could not understand it so was not to read it.
That was the job of the nuns and priests who had religious education to understand spiritual matters.
They would read us and tell us what it meant.
So which version of the Catholic Bible is the *correct* Catholic Bible?
I failed to put a border around the two quoted replies, numbers 25 and 26.
Heck; even I got confused when trying to figure out what was going on in this thread!!
BB saw the SECOND #25 and got bamboozled by it's implications.
So Heaven now gives out the Golden EBT cards? Free Passes, no work involved? Sounds like a welfare system. The Apostles got it all wrong. Paul compared his daily struggles to running a race. Some of the others got martyred. Sounds like they should have stayed at home and rode the gravy train. Works won't get you into Heaven but are a result of and demonstration of faith. Which of the Ten Commandment "works" does God snicker at?
BYOB, at least the booze cabinet is safe.
****sigh...................***
When did I ever say NOT to do good works?
Or that works were NOT important?
Yeah and when you are dealing with a guy whose first name is Bipolal...
: > )
and sometimes this from elsie:
Here's what is really interesting Check out the sequence of the numbers of the posts: Thus our one immovable foundation, our one blissful rock of faith, is the confession from Peter's mouth, Thou art the Son of the living God. On it we can base an answer to every objection with which perverted ingenuity or embittered treachery may assail the truth."-- (Hilary of Potier, On the Trinity (Book II), para 23; Philip Schaff, editor, The Nicene & Post Nicene Fathers Series 2, Vol 9.
hey! I saw that. I was in the manic stage, okay? or was it the depressed stage? I don’t know which but I’m out some steaks and charcoal this weekend.
LOL you da’ MAN!
Me: Just trying to help.
You: That’s what Eve told Adam.
See Genesis 3:6
Nothing was recorded of Eve speaking to Adam during the episode of eating the fruit in the Bible.
Your bible may have inserted in a conversation, I use a Holy Spirit translated/inspired Bible
Well, count me in on the works won’t get you to heaven crowd.
Even if they are *added* to Jesus’ finished work on the cross.
But works are the fruit of a changed life, the evidence of it. They bring glory to God and are useful in leading others to Christ. They validate our faith in the sight of others.
Amen.
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