Good news guys: Your answers are in the Bible! The apostle Peter tells us that the Church is not a physical plant, and it is not an organization. It is a living organism. The Church (Ekklesia) is a spiritual house, made with living stones. The Lord Jesus is the cornerstone, the Apostles are the foundation, and every saint is a living stone,built on that foundation. New stones are constantly being added and the Church is growing as we speak. You will find little groups of living stones gathering in buildings that they refer to as churches, but there is only one Church that will last throughout eternity, and Joe Smith can only view it across a great gulf.
Terry ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, December 26, 2002 2:57 AM Subject: Re: [TruthTalk] Is the Bible Complete?--Part 1 > > > David Miller wrote: > > > DaveH wrote: > > > The LDS Church purports to be the 'only true > > > Church' on the earth today. IOW, none of the > > > other churches are sanctioned or recognized as > > > the 'true Church' by the Lord in the opinion of > > > LDS theology. > > > > Have you ever considered that the word "church" as you use it here is not in > > the Bible? The Greek word "ekklesia" which is often translated as "church" > > simply means congregation or assembly. When Jesus said he would build his > > "church," he did not use the more ecclesiastical word "synagoge," > > DAVEH: How do you define "synagoge"? > > > which is > > how you seem to interpret him. Rather, he used the word "ekklesia." In > > other words, Jesus said, "upon this rock I will build my congregation." If > > he had some "true church" in mind, he would have used a different Greek > > word, in my opinion. > > DAVEH: Is there another (perhaps better) term than "synagoge"? My thinking on "synagoge" doesn't seem right to me, but I really don't have a good understanding of how it should be defined. So.....I'll wait for your definition to see how it fits the LDS > perspective. > > > Jesus never pitted HIS TRUE synagogue against the Jewish synagogue. > > DAVEH: I probably shouldn't comment without understanding "synagoge" a bit better. But as I see it, the "True Church" is represented by the priesthood authority. Without the proper authority (priesthood) of God, you can't have a "True Church". And I > think in that sense, Jesus did pit "HIS TRUE synagogue against the Jewish synagogue". >From my perspective, there are many 'churches', but there is only one "True Church" that is recognized by God as having the proper authority to act in his name. That > is why Jesus spoke as he did in Mt 7:21-23. > > > Rather, > > he built a congregation up within the Jewish synagogue, around the Jewish > > synagogue, beside the Jewish synagogue, and in spite of the Jewish > > synagogue. Even today, the congregation of Jesus Christ is established > > within Christian churches, around Christian churches, beside Christian > > churches, and in spite of Christian churches. If you are looking for the > > "TRUE CHURCH," or if you think you have already found the "TRUE CHURCH," > > then you are going to miss recognizing the congregation of Jesus Christ. > > DAVEH: I respectfully disagree. When one finds the proper authority to act in the name of the Lord, one will find the "True Church". That's how I believe. > > > Peace be with you. > > David Miller. > > -- > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Dave Hansen > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://www.langlitz.com > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > > ---------- > "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org > > If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed. > ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.
