What is a church?
- Thread starter wattie
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I would say that a close-to-equivalent term to "Church" would be "Bride of Christ."
Amen my brother I agree. Yeah the word "Church" has kinda changed over the years yet none the less they still gather. There are those that do not which is not God's will for what that person was so blessed with was ALWAYS to give away to other family members "Church". It has never been about self but others.
Right, the bride of all believers..isn't married yet..
It hasn't happened yet. We are engaged to be married as it were ..but are not one body of all believers yet.
That's going to happen as the New Jerusalem..but is not a current entity.
What we have now is the Family of God, with all believers in it. But that is not the body of Christ. They are different entities.
The body ..is local. Every time a coconut in the NT it is local.
Even in the end as the New Jerusalem it will be local. The local body of heaven.
You might want to consider capitalizing "Body". The Body of Christ is also His Bride and His Building. These are spiritual realities. But every person in every local church (even some leaders) may not necessarily be in that Body. Only God knows who is and is is not.
F
FollowingtheWay
Guest
This is really pretty simple. Religion tries making this complicated. The word says what it says pretty plainly.
“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.”
1 Corinthians 12:12-18, 20-31 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.12.12-31.NIV
“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.”
1 Corinthians 12:12-18, 20-31 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.12.12-31.NIV
Sure we are. Why you go to such lengths to be picky and sticky?
Because it's hugely popular to call every believer the body of Christ... but it's highly unscriptural. If it doesn't meet, has no teaching, has no ordinances, it's not a body. It's not assembled. That's why I'm being picky.
A body of all believers maybe some kind of body...but it's not the way the bible defines a body. 1 co 12..is a local body.
F
FollowingtheWay
Guest
‘You’ even in that context is not a divisionary line between church function in Corinth as opposed to church function in America today These man contrived divisions do not exist. The church is still being built. Our work is not done.
There is no reason to assume these do not apply as models of today’s universal church (all believers in Christ) just as much as the individual Church of Corinth. Today we the universal church are still the current body and bride to be presented when the day comes. We as believers are Christs hands and feet today just as the Corinth Church was.
F
FollowingtheWay
Guest
This is really simple. The individual hands and feet, (me and you)make the body of Christ. The body in its entirety meaning all Jesus believing congregations from denominations or non denomination comprise that of the universal church. This is one overal 1 church body, that is Christs church. There is nothing in scripture that says Christ isnt recognizing the universal church or his body ( all believers of Christ ) today which at the end of the age the church will be the bride of Christ. At the marriage supper we celebrate that the two have been made completely one. beautiful fullness of what human marriage was meant to point fourth to on earth.
Really the point of this thread is prioritising the local church.
Many will prioritise an organisation like Cru or Youth for Christ or some other para-church org. But the source is and always has been in the local New Testament church for all teaching and wisdom from Christ.
The other orgs do great work obviously, but it's best if they link people to churches rather than being an entity all of their own.
Many will prioritise an organisation like Cru or Youth for Christ or some other para-church org. But the source is and always has been in the local New Testament church for all teaching and wisdom from Christ.
The other orgs do great work obviously, but it's best if they link people to churches rather than being an entity all of their own.
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FollowingtheWay
Guest
I’m sure local long established congregations could reach out and choose to “partner” with the ministries like CRU most won’t though for they are too afraid of doctrinal differences . The non denominational Church I attend endorses Bethel university from time to time. Nothing wrong with that. See a bunch of these campuses like cru,bethel, asbury etc have worship services and auditoriums and on staff pastors , it’s kingdom training for the youth in a university setting. They are by New Testament definition a functional local Church same as any of the other 60 different denominations down the street. once these kids graduate they do filter out into various long established local churches in your communities.
Yea I was part of CRU as a student. The problem is that clubs that get set up by cru..soon as the starters of the club's move on .. often the club's lose their depth and become social clubs.
Well churches start churches.. so Cru, YFC plus others are not New Testament churches. In fact leaders I know in Cru will say they are no church and emphasise joining a real church.
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FollowingtheWay
Guest
when Bill Bright founded Campus crusade wasn’t he a member of a New Testament Church? Wouldn’t that have technically been a church planting?
Chicago Agreement: Unity in Mission is their affiliation as well as family life.
Bethel has founding in the Mennonite church
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FollowingtheWay
Guest
In 1951, after recruiting several volunteers from Fuller Seminary and Hollywood Presbyterian, Bright started Campus Crusade's first chapter at the University of California, Los Angeles(UCLA).[10]
This is rather confusing. Every born again believer is automatically in the Body of Christ, whether he or she is part of a local assembly or not. Ideally every local assembly should consist of only born again Christians, and every Christian should be within a local church. But that is often not the case. Only God sees who is within the Body and who is not. The NT pattern for every local assembly is provided in Acts 2, and throughout the epistles. Most churches have departed from this pattern and adopted many man-made ideas.