What is a church?
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You need to become teachable. There is absolutely nothing in God's word that states that the gifts have ceased. They will eventually. If what we see now is perfection, then I'm Paddington Bear.
Reality says that gifts have not ended. Abused, confused, misunderstood, yes. And obviously, in some cases, ignored. However, the real does exist and is necessary. A timely word of knowledge can save someone from a world of of hurt. A prophecy can encourage a struggling believer. We had a young couple in our small fellowship. My wife told me that they would be leaving. I was most surprised. They seemed very much committed. A couple of years later, they were gone.
Perhaps you are so mighty in God that you need no one to help you, lead you or guide you. Good for you. Lesser mortals like myself have yet to arrive at perfection in holiness.
I always seek knowledge, but teachable?? I don't think so. I rely on my own abilities to read and understand the word of God.
It's one thing to say that you do not know. You attribute what may well be of God to the devil. You'll have fun explaining that on judgement day.
And that is why you get things so wrong. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to lead us into the truth. Your Bible says that too. Spiritual things are understood spiritually. The intellect is extremely limited.
"And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words." 1 Corinthians 2:13
The next verse explains the difference: "The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.…"
If all you employ is your intellect, you are functioning as a natural man. It's no wonder that you reject the manifestations of the Holy Spirit.
And that is why you get things so wrong. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to lead us into the truth. Your Bible says that too. Spiritual things are understood spiritually. The intellect is extremely limited.
"And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words." 1 Corinthians 2:13
The next verse explains the difference: "The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.…"
If all you employ is your intellect, you are functioning as a natural man. It's no wonder that you reject the manifestations of the Holy Spirit.
“Noah had already found grace in the eyes of the Lord and was a just man who walked with God and a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5) before he built the ark. (Genesis 6:8,9) Noah's obedience was a demonstration of his faith but not the origin of it. Building the ark saved Noah and his family physically from drowning. (Hebrews 11:7)”
It seems like Symantec’s the chicken or the egg by Noah’s faith he did the works and built the ark to the saving of his house. Either way those works needed to be done or he wouldn’t have been saved that story is about the flood and destruction of wicked mankind at the time noah was spared from gods wrath then he and his house . Just as his wrath will come again on a flood of fire our faith can save us and make us hiers as well but the works are part of it what completes and delivers it
"A local church" is composed of many members of "the church" or spiritual body of Christ,
and many "a local" churches comprise "the" catholic/worldwide/whole church/body of Christ.
The word "catholic" with a lower case c simply means universal, relating to all people, as in the Apostles' Creed which says, "I believe in ......the holy catholic Church." It's not talking about the Roman Catholic denomination. We can even say in English things like, "His musical tastes were catholic," meaning that he likes all kinds of music. So "catholic" does not mean "Roman Catholic."
It's all man-made-up unscriptural nonsense as is the apostle's creed which is unscriptural.
The slashed indicate equivalent terms, and catholic was intentionally included
in order to redeem the term from being identified with the Roman Catholic church,
whose teaching regarding church was heretical until Vatican II barely and begrudgingly
acknowledged that Protestants were also Christians and should no longer be killed by the Inquisition.
What is unscriptural or nonsense about using the English word "catholic"? It means "world-wide". Is the church world-wide? Yes, and that is scriptural:
“And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,” (Re 5:9 NKJV)
As I said, "catholic" with a small c has nothing to do with the Roman Catholic denomination.
What is unscriptural about the Apostles' Creed? Here it is - perhaps you could tell us which things it says which are not in the bible:
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
'katholikos' is not in the bible. And the apostle's creed is a writing created after scripture and not part of it although it may simply restate what is in scripture with other subtle inferences intended. Citing or reciting a statement or phrase repetitively is of no value, no different than praying the rosary, or preconceived prayers, all useless and not from the heart: All show, no different than what the Lord criticized the hypocrites of doing, praying in public, vain repetitions, etc. And it's origins are Roman. Small 'c' , capitalized 'c', doesn't matter, still has the inference and reference to the catholic Catholic Church.
Christians use many words and phrases which are not found in the bible. That doesn't automatically make those words and phrases wrong/unscriptural. We don't find words/phrases like tract, Lord's Supper or concordance in the bible, yet we use them, quite rightly.
If the Apostles' Creed restates Scripture, it is wrong to call it unscriptural. I agree with you that merely reciting it is of no value - before I was converted, I was brought up from childhood in a denomination which recited the Apostles' Creed as part of every service, but it meant nothing to me.
The word "catholic" was not coined by the Roman Catholic church. It comes from Greek katholikos, from phrase kath' holou "on the whole, in general," from kata "about" + genitive of holos "whole." Because it now tends to be associated with Roman Catholicism, "catholic" should be used very carefully, and avoided or explained if it is likely to be misunderstood, but that isn't the fault of the word itself.