-—He never said He was going to FOUND a church, He said He would BUILD it. There’s a difference there.——
Did he ever complete it, or did he fail?
It’s hard to imagine a Perfect Being not fulfilling his promise.
This interpretation of Scripture is also hard to believe because Jesus commands us to take disagreements “to the church.” I assume that:
1) He was referring to His Church.
2) The Church referred to was visible and identifiable. Otherwise Jesus’ claim would have been nonsensical.
So Jesus founded a visible, identifiable church, to which He commanded us to take our disagreements, which Scripture calls, “the pillar and foundation of truth,” and which “the gates of hell” would not prevail against.
Since we know that Jesus founded a visible Church, and since He stated that the gates of hell would not prevail against it, we an only conclude that,
Jesus’ visible Church exists today.
Since God is Truth, His Church cannot teach false doctrine.
History tells us that this Church is Christ’s Universal (Catholic) Church.
STA: Did he ever complete it, or did he fail? It’s hard to imagine a Perfect Being not fulfilling his promise.
You think he's finished? What if He's not done yet? Are you still going to accuse Him of not fulfilling His promise because of how it appears to you?
The body of Christ, His church, is comprised of all believers for all of the church age. Until the church age is completed, the church is still being built.
So, no, it's not done and no, God has not not fulfilled His Promise. He's STILL in the process of fulfilling it. In HIS time, not ours.
This interpretation of Scripture is also hard to believe because Jesus commands us to take disagreements “to the church.” I assume that:
Matthew 18:17 Church = ekklesia: an assembly, a (religious) congregation
http://biblos.com/matthew/18-17.htm
Which does not by default mean the RCC.
More specific definition of ekkelsia.... 1577 ekklesia(from 1537 /ek, "out from and to" and 2564 /kaleo, "to call") – properly, people called out from the world and to God, the outcome being the Church (the mystical body of Christ) – i.e. the universal (total) body of believers whom God calls out from the world and into His eternal kingdom.
[The English word "church" comes from the Greek word kyriakos, "belonging to the Lord" (kyrios). 1577 /ekklesia ("church") is the root of the terms "ecclesiology" and "ecclesiastical."]
Since we know that Jesus founded a visible Church, and since He stated that the gates of hell would not prevail against it, we an only conclude that, Jesus’ visible Church exists today.
The church is not an entity which can speak for itself, as in a being. It's an assembly of believers and is visible only in that people who make it up are visible.
There are people within local assemblies who claim to speak for *the church* but that is only a claim and does not by default mean speaking for God. He did that Himself in Scripture.