Today's Excellent Church.

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Benson
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Today's Excellent Church.

Post #1

Post by Benson »

Acts 2 gives the narrative of how the Body of Christ His Church was brought into being by the coming of The Holy Spirit, according to Joel ch. 2 as cited by Apostle Peter.

Today, there are no features within modern Christendom which are a continuation of either Acts ch. 2, Joel ch. 2, The Jerusalem Messianic Church, or the Pauline Gentile Church.

This post remains very short because there is no other information in Scripture to authenticate the state of today's so called "Church." If one thinks the Church does exist today according to the foundation of the Apostles with Christ as the Cornerstone, tell us where on Earth it exists in the hearts of Men before God. No place in Paul's teaching says the Church is some intangibly perceived group of minds set upon faith in Christ.

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Re: Today's Excellent Church.

Post #2

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Benson wrote: Sat Feb 06, 2021 3:37 pm Acts 2 gives the narrative of how the Body of Christ His Church was brought into being by the coming of The Holy Spirit, according to Joel ch. 2 as cited by Apostle Peter.

Today, there are no features within modern Christendom which are a continuation of either Acts ch. 2, Joel ch. 2, The Jerusalem Messianic Church, or the Pauline Gentile Church.

This post remains very short because there is no other information in Scripture to authenticate the state of today's so called "Church." If one thinks the Church does exist today according to the foundation of the Apostles with Christ as the Cornerstone, tell us where on Earth it exists in the hearts of Men before God. No place in Paul's teaching says the Church is some intangibly perceived group of minds set upon faith in Christ.

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Re: Today's Excellent Church.

Post #3

Post by tam »

Peace to you,


[Replying to Benson in post #1]

The Church is the Body of Christ, made of people. Christ is the One who calls and chooses us (anointing us with holy spirit, such as when He breathed holy spirit upon the apostles, or again upon the people at Pentecost, or again upon Cornelius and his household). Christ, the cornerstone, is the Head of the Body, His Bride.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 1 Corinthians 12:27

And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Ephesians 1:22, 23

And He is the head of the body, the church; Colossians 1:18

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Rev 21:2

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:16


**


None of the above is describing a religion. The Church is the people in Christ (who is Himself the Head of the Church, which is His Bride, His Body). Christ is the Leader, the Teacher, the Master, the Head and the Husband of the Church (which is His Body, His Bride).



Peace again to you,
your servant and a slave of Christ,
tammy

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Re: Today's Excellent Church.

Post #4

Post by Benson »

Where are these people when they come together? Paul's Churches and the Churches of Revelations 2 & 3 all had specific geographic locations and group identities. Are there none as such today? Yes? No?

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Re: Today's Excellent Church.

Post #5

Post by tam »

Peace to you,
Benson wrote: Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:04 pm Where are these people when they come together? Paul's Churches and the Churches of Revelations 2 & 3 all had specific geographic locations and group identities. Are there none as such today? Yes? No?
Those locations are just where the people (who are the Church) happened to be. So the Church in Corinth refers to the people who are in Christ, who happened to be in Corinth. There were not multiple churches; there were just multiple places that the one Church (the Body of Christ) happened to be.


Peace again to you,
your servant and a slave of Christ,
tammy

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Re: Today's Excellent Church.

Post #6

Post by Benson »

tam wrote: Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:40 pm Peace to you,
Benson wrote: Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:04 pm Where are these people when they come together? Paul's Churches and the Churches of Revelations 2 & 3 all had specific geographic locations and group identities. Are there none as such today? Yes? No?
Those locations are just where the people (who are the Church) happened to be. So the Church in Corinth refers to the people who are in Christ, who happened to be in Corinth. There were not multiple churches; there were just multiple places that the one Church (the Body of Christ) happened to be.


Peace again to you,
your servant and a slave of Christ,
tammy
What are the names of these places today, and what is the name of your place?

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Re: Today's Excellent Church.

Post #7

Post by Benson »

Benson wrote: Sat Feb 06, 2021 7:11 pm
tam wrote: Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:40 pm Peace to you,
Benson wrote: Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:04 pm Where are these people when they come together? Paul's Churches and the Churches of Revelations 2 & 3 all had specific geographic locations and group identities. Are there none as such today? Yes? No?
Those locations are just where the people (who are the Church) happened to be. So the Church in Corinth refers to the people who are in Christ, who happened to be in Corinth. There were not multiple churches; there were just multiple places that the one Church (the Body of Christ) happened to be.


Peace again to you,
your servant and a slave of Christ,
tammy
What are the names of these places today, and what is the name of your place?

BTW, merely elaborating upon what somebody else has said is not part of "discussion." Consider adding information beyond adjectives and restatements.

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Re: Today's Excellent Church.

Post #8

Post by JehovahsWitness »

The church of Acts was not a building or a place it refered to spirit anointed believers and would be organised into a global phenonema. Jesus indicated such a body would indeed exist during the last days and would be recognizable. Scripture indicates the first century Christians had

1. a name that identified individuals as belonging to the specific group

2. a leadership at a particular location that decided church policy and official church teachings

3. regular meetings for instruction and fellowship

4. Local members that knew each other by name

5. Disaster relief programs to help their membership during time of crisis

6. Centrally appointed men to ensure conformity to church teaching

7. Excluded those that refused to keep to church teaching and standards

8. A tradition that all members (both men and women) preach to strangers about their beliefs

9. Had missionaries that spread their message in far off territories

10. Would be miligned as being a "sect" and ill thought of by the majority of non members

Jesus said his people would be identifiable by the love and unity they display for each other and by their faithfully following his example. He commanded his followers to be public preachers and teachers of the kingdom and to stay loyal to the word of God.

I believe only Jehovah's Witnesses meet the above criteria and can as a body claim to be God's people today.





JW


FURTHER READING How Can I Find the True Religion?
https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/q ... -religion/

To read more please go to other posts related to POSTS RELATED to ...

RELIGION, CHRISTIANITY and ...JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
Last edited by JehovahsWitness on Sun Feb 07, 2021 8:06 am, edited 9 times in total.
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681


"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" -
Romans 14:8

Benson
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Re: Today's Excellent Church.

Post #9

Post by Benson »

JehovahsWitness wrote: Sun Feb 07, 2021 4:24 am The church of Acts was not a building, it refered to spirit anointed believers. Jesus indicated such a body would indeed exist during the last days and would be recognizable. Scripture indicates the first century Christians had

1. a name that identified individuals as belonging to the specific group

2. a leadership at a particular location that decided church policy and official church teachings

3. regular meetings for instruction and fellowship

4. Local member that knew each other by name

5. Disaster relief programs to help their membership during time of crisis

6. appointed men to ensure conformity to church teaching

7. Excluded those that refused to keep to church teaching

8. Had missionaries that spread their message

I have never seen such a group which was not just a wacko cult run by some self appointed looney. Have you ever seen an authentic church like that? (no, not a "building," there is no need to harp on the "church is the people" thing, as if that is a huge conceptual problem for someone to fix).

What was its name?

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Re: Today's Excellent Church.

Post #10

Post by JehovahsWitness »

Benson wrote: Sun Feb 07, 2021 4:36 am
I have never seen such a group which was not just a wacko cult run by some self appointed looney.
Thank you for your input I wanted at least 10 points and your comment promted my memory to add #10.

See edit above



JEHOVAHS WITNESS



ACTS 28:22 - Berean Study Bible

But we consider your views worth hearing, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against this sect.”


To read more please go to other posts related to POSTS RELATED to ...

RELIGION, CHRISTIANITY and ...JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681


"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" -
Romans 14:8

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