United Church Of God

[Left the Bldg]

So I was never part of the "body" the 20 plus years I went there, even though I was saved and doing the things the scripture talks about one does in the body as far as edifying, teaching, etc.?

 

I didn't see you mention any other NT church but IFB.  So I take that as you thinking only IFB is NT church. 

[Left the Bldg]

Nevermind...I saw your post about the sign above the door after I wrote.

[DaveW]

If you understand the meaning of church you will understand there is a difference between being a member of a church and attending a church.

If you wish to infer from my statements that I believe only I f b churches are NT churches then that is your right but it is not what I said.

[DaveW]

Hard when questions and answers get out of sync Isn't it!
:lol:

[Left the Bldg]

I said nevermind.  I wrote that before I read your post.  

 

I must be getting tired or it's your Australian accent.  :-)

[Left the Bldg]

Hard when questions and answers get out of sync Isn't it!

I'll talk to you about it in a PM another time.  Is that ok?

[DaveW]

I said nevermind. I wrote that before I read your post.

I must be getting tired or it's your Australian accent. :-)

And I answered before you said nevermind....

Happy to try to answer questions, bit please remember that I am only a man - I get it wrong sometimes. ;)

[Left the Bldg]

And I answered before you said nevermind....

Happy to try to answer questions, bit please remember that I am only a man - I get it wrong sometimes.

I know.  I'm only human, born to make mistakes....I am just a man.  Oh oh....I'm singing a secular song.

 

I have an assignment for you on your spare time in a PM.  Please.  With sugar on top.  Give me the scriptures of the definition of church.  Thank you.  :-)

[HappyChristian]

Isn't the term "body" getting mixed up with the term "bride" much of the time?    A body of local believers is part of the bride of Christ, correct?  So then, rather than mixing up whether there is universal or local, wouldn't it be a truth to say that all local churches who are individually the body of Christ (those who teach biblically) are collectively His bride?    How's that for putting a wrench in the spokes?  

[Miss Daisy]

uh oh you did it now...here comes confusion

[HappyChristian]

uh oh you did it now...here comes confusion

I already was, so...

[Left the Bldg]

I already was, so...

Good.  I'm not the only one.  The Church, the Body, the Bride of Christ.  I have an appt. with my pastor.  He'll straighten all this out for me.  :-)

[Covenanter]

Let's try ....

 

There is one redeemed people of God, comprising every saved person - every believer - down the ages.

The great promise of the NH&NE is:

Rev. 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

 

Whatever collective term for the redeemed people of God we use - saints, disciples, body, church, bride, Israel, called, elect, etc - we are talking about the same company of people. Those terms however are not exclusive, but may have other meanings that have nothing to do with the redeemed people of God. 

 

When we are saved - repent & trust in the Lord Jesus as our Saviour - that is the work of the Holy Spirit, giving us new life, so we are born again, of the Spirit, from above. By giving us spiritual life, the Holy Spirit has baptised us into Christ as members of his body. We are then in Christ or as Paul puts it:

1 Cor. 12:¹² For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

¹³ For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

The local church is a company of members of the body of Christ, and each local church should be an expression of the invisible body. Our water baptism, by the local church is a sign of our spiritual baptism into the body Christ, with all its significance.

[DaveW]

But 1 Cor 12 - later in the chapter (vs 25-27 for instance) we have terms that strongly appear to relate to interpersonal relationships - only possible face to face. This indicates a local church setting.

Now I am not denying the existence of the wider group of all believers, just the application of the term "body" to that group.

What I do see is the term "body" used in clearly a local church setting, and the possibility of it applying to the wider group, but nowhere I do I see it apply exclusively to the wider group only, and nowhere do I see it applying to the wider group clearly. Those references are vague, not conclusive.

I would suggest that the term "body" can certainly be applied to local churches, and possibly have application to the wider group - but the primary application should be to local churches.

I am inclined to shy away from using it to refer to the wider group as the weight of useage is local.

[John81]

Well, if your church is the body and my church is the body and several other churches here are the body then we are all of the body.

 

Whatever terms we use, we are all one in Christ, and this would be much more clear today if we conducted ourselves according to the scriptural model in Acts and the Epistles where we see not only individuals in the local church fully caring for one another, but we see various churches over a wide geographic area caring for one another, praying for one another, giving to one another, staying connected to one another.