Does the Scripture say that Paul was regenerated before his Baptism?
I wasn't baptized in water until well after my regeneration.
How do you know you were regenerated BEFORE your baptism? Regeneration is a spiritual effect.
In the beginning was the WORD and the WORD was with God and the WORD was God. Not the church.
I never said that the Church is the Word of God. I said that we receive God's Word (His teachings) through the Apostolic Church. CHRIST is the Word who works through His Church. The Chruch makes Christ present today because it does the same thing that He did - it preaches and teaches, and it sanctifies. Through it, God continues to bring His Kingdom to men.
You give far too much credit to the brick and mortar.
I am not talking about the building, but the Apostolic Church, which is a community of believers who continue in the Apostolic succession.
Regards
>>How do you know you were regenerated BEFORE your baptism?<<
By the fruit produced from it. By the fact that my heart was rent and I saw my sin for the first time as the vile and nasty thing it is. By the fact that my desires, opinions, and convictions started coming from a different viewpoint.
I was regenerated in February - I wasn't baptized until August of the following year. My baptism was a public profession of my belief to other believers, it did not save me or convict me.
>>I never said that the Church is the Word of God<<
No, you alluded that Christ did not establish the Bible, he established the Church. I showed you that the Word was alive from the very beginning.
>>I am not talking about the building, but the Apostolic Church, which is a community of believers who continue in the Apostolic succession.<<
Thank you for clarifying, but be sure to note to whom you're giving the credit for not only salvation, but also the fruit that is produced.