That would be fine but the material flowing out seems
heavily loaded with an anti spirit repudiating
the people who probably paid for the property. And "antism" is ok too
unless of course we repudiate "antism."
While the "many" of churches of
Christ make us want to run from what has been made of the name of
Christ as
the Head and Mind or Spirit of His own
Body, it is Biblical and Historical
that to be associated with Christ always brings reproach. Like all
reproach, it is usually produced by young lions and lambs tied up in the same
wineskin trying to see who comes out
alive.
However, when the masses flocked to hear Jesus
He understood their motives and spoke in parables as a judgmental
sign against those with closed their eyes and ears. It was prophesied
that He would not "cry out" or call
assemblies to get everyone thinking
straight. Therefore, to those who cared, He spoke in His quiet way on
the slopes of hills or inner rooms. It seems, according to this new
name, that one can be a Christian without accepting the
only name
for the only bride of the church which is not a family but an
assembly
of people into a local body of brethren and utter strangers.
Therefore, we wonder about those who
run from the name of
Christ while trying to run from some
who blacken the name. Don't they always run to "green pastures" just
over the fence. Can't we read and understand that those on the other
side of the broken down
walls have their own problems? Don't
they all come from trying to make the church into a
denomination.
The word family is used only once
of those people Whom God has added to His universal family. It is not
a term used of a local congregation made up of a few who are true
family members of God:
For this cause I
bow my knees unto the Father
(of our Lord Jesus
Christ), Eph 3:14 NIV,
NAS, NKJV, RSV and LIV omit "our Lord Jesus Christ."
The family of God
does not include unbelievers while the
church includes both wheat and tares: tomatoes and
johnson grass. Each individual is under obligation to associate with
a "church" or assembly of Christ which he or she believes best
conforms to and projects the name and
authority of Lord Jesus Christ.
Yet, not all church attenders are
family
members and we should not, therefore, imply that all of our "family"
belongs to God:
Thomas Campbell asked of baptism: Why is it
translated "in
the name," &c, contrary to the literal and almost universal
translation of the particle eis? In
the name of any dignified character, universally imports,
by the authority of such
a person. Whereas this
is not the proper and obvious meaning of the baptismal institution.
For although it is done by virtue of the divine authority enjoining
it, that is, by the
authority of Christ; yet its proper and primary import is not a mere exhibition of authority on the part of the
institutor, and of submission on the part of the
baptized, though this
is certainly implied in every act of worship; but it is of a much
more consolatory and blissful import, being an expression of faith
and obedience on the part of the baptized; nay, the very
first instituted
act of the obedience of
faith,
in and by which the
believing worshipper is
openly declared to be of the household of faith and of the
family of
God, being
baptized into "the name of the Father,"
of whom the whole redeemed family in heaven and earth is named;
and into the name of the
Redeemer, the Son, and heir of all things, who makes his people free;
and into the name of the Holy Spirit, the sanctifier, the comforter,
and perfecter of the saints; that by virtue of his indwelling and
sanctifying presence,
he, the baptized believer, may be separated to
God, with all
the redeemed, for a habitation of God, through the Spirit.
"The Family of God" usually seeks to be
expansive enough to include all who claim to be believers, whatever
they believe. That is, it is an ecumenical term seeking to identify
the church of God as an earthly institution.
However, in the image of God's Family,
Jeremiah wrote:
Turn, O backsliding
children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take
you one of a city,
and two of a family,
and I will bring you to Zion: Jeremiah 3:14
And I will give you
pastors according to mine heart, which shall
feed you with
knowledge and
understanding. Jeremiah 3:15
The name of the Father is Jesus or Joshua
which means Jehovah-Saves. The word "god" is not a name.
All of the saved belong to the Family of God or
rather The Family of Jesus Christ because that is God's "personal"
name. However, in the local sense we are individually the "Temple" of
God. Collectively, every member of the church universal are members
of the Family of God. However, in the local congregational sense we
are not all family but may be "sheep" working in a family of billy
goats.
Campbell sees to suggest that the "broader
fellowship" is not an ecumenical
movement in which widely divergent
groups are collectively The Family of God.
Rather, it is that invisible
institution which exists in the mind of God.
"Sheep" and "goats" are not of the same family but
are always part of the same fellowship.
Should we imply that every one of us are
members of the family, or a collection of spiritual hitchhikers just
travelling on the same road from time to time? The family is a
universe-wide group:
"Thus a new and
blissful relation to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy
Spirit, is publicly
recognized towards the believer, by an ordinance divinely and
graciously instituted for this purpose.
Being thus openly
and explicitly declared to be of the family of God, through Jesus Christ, by the Spirit, he is declared
free--justified from the guilt, and washed from the pollution of sin,
by this washing of
regeneration and
renewing of the Holy
Ghost, which is the
privilege of all those that believe and thus obey the gospel, by a
worshipful and obediential compliance with this divine
appointment.
His faith corresponding with
every item of the divine testimony, thus exhibited, he joyfully recognizes his new,
justified, sanctified, and filial relation to God [not the institution]; and realizing this, is
filled with peace and joy in believing; and so goes on his way
rejoicing, as well he may. See Acts
viii. 39. So much for the first divinely instituted act of the
worshipful obedience of faith."
Campbell would not recognized those who
have deliberately rejected baptism as a member of the "family."
Therefore, the family is that invisible
ideal and does not every exist in a
given location. Woodmont, on the other hand, seems determined that
about any claim of "family blood" should be recognized as part of the
family. Shouldn't we allow God to do that? He will whether we like it
or not.
At the same time there seems to be
a rejection of water baptism as part of the Divine plan of Lord Jesus
Christ to add individuals to the invisible family. Se submit that the
family status is gained in heaven when Christ adds us.
That God has a Name
According to Zechariah, the whole
family of God would be named after Joshua or Jesus Who is
both King
and Priest
upon the one throne and "there is harmony between them
both."
Joshua means Jehovah-Savior or "Saves." The family does not consist
of a local congregation but of those saved members added to the
fellowship of dead members of the family and the heavenly host of
God's family:
Of whom the whole
family in heaven and
earth is
named, Eph 3:15
The
What: That he would grant you,
according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might
by his Spirit in the
inner
man; Ac 3:16
The How: That Christ may
dwell in your hearts by
faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, Ac 3:17
This whole family consists of
all baptized believers whose baptism followed their actual death to
self, their burial into Christ (as well as water) and a resurrection
to walk where our "citizenship is in heaven." However, only Christ
can determine who is and who is not a member of His family. It is not
likely that denying the full Deity confessed only in the name
Christ
will make you a very close relative.
No human assembly can claim to be that.
Family is:
Patria (g3965) pat-ree-ah'; as if fem. of a
der. of 3962; paternal
descent, i.e. (concr.)
a group of families or a whole race (nation): - family, kindred, lineage.
It is much too presumptuous for us to assume
that we have established the family of
God in a given location. This implies
that we are all members of God's
family and have His "blood" flowing in
our veins
However, an assembly does not demand
this inclusive-exclusive judgmental term. We can be the Elijah in a church of
950 prophets of Baal and Asherah. We can be good, bad and ugly
because we are struggling to present Christ as the image rather than
self as the dominant
model.
Aren't we all "grafted" into the pure stock and
aren't we adopted by Christ to Himself?
Children of Christ
Jesus said that "My Father and I are One." God
as the invisible Father lived in God the visible the Son. This does
not make "two" gods.
As the Son, God gave Himself to
purchase children to Himself under the human image of Jesus Christ
our Lord. Because God the Father is invisible and incomprehensible,
He ordained that we become His Children in His Visible Image as a
human:
Having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will Eph
1:5
While it is generically true
that one can join "the church of God," we should not be ashamed of
the "family name" which is Jesus Christ.
Might it not be better to use the term: "Family
of Christ" and not disavow our visible Father?
Jesus, the Messiah, would be everything we can
every comprehend of God's invisible nature. Jesus would be God in the
flesh and there is no
other:
For unto us a
child is born, unto us a son
is given: and the
government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name
shall be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace. Is.9:6
His name is not
God. His name is Jehovah-Saves or
Jesus Christ. Try introducing your wife as "wife" rather than
Sally!
God The Spirit is manifested as Son and Father.
However, they are not two persons.
Scripture never doubts that Christ is Full
Deity. The Child is the
Father becausel:
For in
Christ all the fullness of
the Deity lives in bodily form, Col.2:9
It is a denial of the entire Biblical record to
to break down the
walls and deny the full Deity of Lord
Jesus Christ as the only God with Whom we can relate. Paul and the
entire Bible make it clear that the many are infidels and the tiny
remnant are not ashamed to be called by His Name:
Be ye not unequally
yoked together with unbelievers: for what
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what
communion hath light with darkness? 2 Cor 6:14
And what
concord hath
Christ with Belial?
or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 6:15
And what agreement hath the
temple of God with idols? for ye are
the temple
of the living
God; as God hath said,
I will dwell in
them, and walk in them;
and I will be their
God, and they shall be
my people. 2 Cor 6:16
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing;
and I will receive you, 2 Cor 6:17
And will be a
Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and
daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
2 Cor 6:18
We are not called upon to be judgmental and
decide that all others are infidels. Our task is to make sure that
we do not
endorse, by our attendance, events with an unclear agenda. Therefore,
To build certain walls and be separate is a fundamental
tenent and possibility for the Christian faith:
Aphorizo (h873) af-or-id'-zo; from 575 and 3724; to
set off by
boundary, i.e. (fig.)
limit, exclude, appoint, etc.: - divide,
separate, sever.
But when
divers were hardened, and believed not, but
spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and
separated the
disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.
Ac.19:9
The "divers" always refused to
listen to Christ who sealed up their blind eyes and deaf ears with
the symbolism of parables. Jesus would not call assemblies because
the divers
never have any interest in His Words but are "rice
christians"-
He shall not
strive, nor cry (call
assemblies); neither
shall any (divers)
man hear his voice in the streets. Mt 12:19
Further, Jesus said that
when they call you to "go out" to find Him do not go because the
kingdom is already within you!
There is only One Lord, God Almighty or
pantokrator, Lord Jesus Christ (one name):
Behold, he cometh
with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which
pierced
him: and all kindreds
of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. Rev 1:7
I am
Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the ending,
saith the Lord, which is, and
which was,
and which is to
come, the Almighty. Rev 1:8
Lord Jesus Christ is the Only One in Whom we can
gather without walls
That in the
dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth;
even in him: Ep.1:10
God is the generic name but that is relly
Jehovah. God who is invisible and immaterial works in the visible
world through His "Arm" or Son. In the material world His name is
Jesus Christ:
And to make all men
see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid
in God, who created
all things by Jesus
Christ: Eph 3:9
To the intent that now unto the
principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the
church the manifold wisdom of God, Eph 3:10
According to the
eternal purpose which he purposed
in Christ Jesus our
Lord (Kurios): Eph 3:11
In whom we have
boldness and access
with confidence by the faith of him. Eph 3:12
Let us therefore
come boldly unto the throne
(seat of
power) of grace, that
we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Heb.4:16
We can come boldly before the throne of
Grace in the mind but that throne is not located in Nashville, Rome
or Seattle:
For ye are
not come unto the mount that might be touched,
and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and
tempest, Heb 12:18
And the sound of
a trumpet, and the
voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the
word should not be
spoken to them any more: Heb 12:19
But ye are come unto mount
Sion, and unto the city of
the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, Heb
12:22
To the general assembly and church
of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the
Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, Heb 12:23
And to
Jesus the
mediator of the new
covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things
than that of Abel. Heb 12:24
Because Jesus Christ is the
only "firstborn" and is the visible image of the invisible God, His
is the only Name God has give to us:
Who hath delivered
us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the
kingdom of his dear Son: Col 1:13
In whom
we have redemption through his
blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Col. 1:14
Who is the image
(visible) of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: Col.1:15
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and
that are in earth, visible
and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for
him: Col. 1:16
And he is before
all things, and by him
all things consist.
Col. 1:17
And he is the
head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the
preeminence. 1:18
Therefore, Paul doesn't honor
some generic "god" but God Whose name is Jesus. You CANNOT be part of
the family of God if you remove the name of CHRIST who is the
knowledge and wisdom of God made flesh:
For this cause I
bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Eph 3:14
Of whom the
whole family in
heaven and earth is named, Eph 3:15
That he would grant you,
according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might
by his Spirit in the inner (eso from eis) man; Eph 3:16
That Christ may
dwell in your hearts (thoughts or feelings) by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in
love, Eph 3:17
Earlier, Paul wrote:
That at that time
ye were without
Christ, being aliens
from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and
without God in the world: Eph 2:12
But now,
in Christ
Jesus, ye who sometimes
were far off are made
nigh by the blood of
Christ. Eph 2:13
For ye
are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Gal 3:26
For as
many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Gal
3:27
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath
broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Eph 2:14
Having abolished in
his flesh the enmity (feminine of Satan), even the law of commandments contained in
ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; Eph 2:15
And that
he might reconcile both (Jew and Gentile) unto God in one body
by the
cross, having slain
the enmity thereby: Eph 2:16
Whatever we call it, what is the motive for
removing the specific name "Jesus Christ" and adding the generic name
"god." Whether one accepts the man Jesus Christ as the image God
wants displayed in the world is the test of whether one honers the
body of Christ, the human assembly while allowing the "family of God"
to consist of those whom He has added without our permission or
knowledge.
One might gather in the name of the
family of god and gather in the name of Zeus or Jupiter. However, to
distinguish the family of the True God from the family of the pagan
Gods He demanded that we gather in His name and by His
authority:
For where two or
three are gathered together in my (Christ's) name, there am I in the midst of them. Mt.18:20
Jesus then decides whether the local assembly
is going to experience His "presence" by whether we assembly in His
name or some generic name of God. The gathering.
Sunago
(g4863) soon-ag'-o; from 4862 and 71; to lead together, i.e.
collect or convene; spec. to entertain (hospitably): - / accompany, assemble (selves, together), bestow, come together, gather
(selves together, up, together), lead into, resort, take in.
The general "congregation" was specificially
excluded as "strangers" from the temple to which loud, noise-making
instruments and "praise" or rejoicing had been added but only after
Israel had repudiated God at Mount Sinai:
But when the
congregation (assembly) is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not
sound an
alarm. Numbers 10:7
Ruwa
(h7321) roo-ah'; a prim. root; to mar (espec. by breaking); fig. to
split the ears (with sound), i. e. shout (for alarm or joy): - blow an alarm, cry (alarm, aloud, out), destroy,
make a joyful
noise, smart, shout
(for joy), sound an alarm, triumph.
This is the same word of which Psalm 41 had God
promising:
By this I know that
thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. Psa
41:11
Judas was the enemy and the Judas bag was for
"carrying the mouthpieces of wind instruments." The word is made up
of "speaking in tongues" and "of the world" or Kosmos. The Komos or
"comedy" was the usually-naked musical worship team of effeminate men
trying to seduce others. Click
here to see how they tried to
triumph over Jesus with music when they should have known that
throughout the Old Testament musical "worship" was telling God "we
won't hear any more from you."
See
Psalm 41 and the musical triumphing-over in the Dead Sea Scrolls
version.
The "congregation" of the Jews along with
Gentiles were strangers and could not participate in the "musical
praise service" which did not exist in the Synagogue nor the
church:
Everyone not of the tribe of Levi (priests or
Levites and others) was a stranger and no longer members of
God's
Covenant family:
To be a memorial unto the children
of Israel, that no stranger, which is
not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the Lord; that he be not as
Korah, and
as his company: as the Lord said to him by the hand of Moses. Numbers
16:40
The gospel preached is the one Spirit or Mind of Christ which is
the "door" or "access" to the Father and Son as full Deity in the
image of a household or "temple." (Body and Spirit always go together
and are not two "persons.")
For through
him we both have access by one
Spirit unto the Father. Eph 2:18
Now therefore ye are no more
strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints,
and of the household of
God; Eph 2:19
And are built upon
the foundation of (laid
by) the apostles and
prophets, Jesus Christ
himself being the chief
corner stone; Eph 2:20
This, again, is not the local congregation but
the entire family of God in heaven and in earth.
The church of the invisible God is the church
of the visible Christ
The following passages show that the church of
God is the church of Christ Who is now our only Lord and
Savior:
For certain men
whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped
in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a
license for immorality
and
deny Jesus
Christ our only Sovereign
and Lord. Jude 1:4 NIV, NAS, RSV, LIV
For our conversation is in
heaven; from whence
also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ: Ph.3:20
You cannot be Family of God
if you remove the name CHRIST from your sign!
Church includes those faithful to Christ who are
called out
from the other
families:
Ekklesia (g1577) ek-klay-see'-ah; from a comp. of 1537 and a
der. of 2564; a calling out, i.e. (concr.) a popular meeting, espec. a religious congregation
(Jewish synagogue, or Chr. community of members on earth or saints in heaven or both): - assembly, church.
As an assembly or church we are called out sinners and
called into an environment which aids our acceptance into the
family of God. If we believe and obey through baptism then Christ
adds us to His family. It is far too judgmental to proclaim that we
accept all others as fellow family members. We have no such authority
but strong delusions can make us feel God-like enough to include when
our local task does not call for such judgment of those outside of
our operating sphere.
God in the flesh purchased the Church as His
New Body
In defining the church of God Paul
identifies God as the
He who hath purchased the church with His own
blood. This was Jesus the Christ Fully
Anointed with Spirit:
Take heed therefore
unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the
Holy
Ghost hath made you
overseers, to feed the church of God, which
he hath purchased with
his own
blood. Ac.20:28KJV
The name of this God is not "God." The name of
this God Who purchased our redemption is Jesus Christ.
The NIV makes it clear that God is "the Lord." There is only
one God, Lord and Spirit and Jesus Christ presented Himself as Lord
Jesus Christ. Peter and the early church demanded that we baptize in
the Post-Pentecost-inclusive name
Jesus Who
is fully Jehovah-Savior who has collected "all authority" of Father, Son and
Holy Spirit into the One God of the universe
who was "manifest in the flesh and justified in
the Spirit." To baptize in the name of Jesus is to baptize in the
name of Father, Son and Spirit.
The NIV reads:
Keep watch over yourselves and
all the flock
of which the Holy
Spirit has made you
overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, [b]
which he bought with his own blood. Ac 20:28NIV
b28
Many manuscripts 'of the
Lord'
This means that God in this passage is not a
generic god but the God Who lives as Jesus christ. Therefore, the
name of the church is "the church of Jesus Christ" or "the church of
Jehovah-Saves."
Jesus Christ is the
Lord:
Unto the
church of
God which is at
Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place
call upon the name of
Jesus Christ
our Lord, both theirs and ours: 1Co 1:2
The church was bought with
the blood of Christ:
Is not the cup of
thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the
blood of
Christ? And is not the
bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?
1Co.10:16
The church which He bought
with His blood is the church or body of Christ:
Who now rejoice in
my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the
afflictions of Christ
in my flesh
for his bodys sake, which is the church: Col.1:24
Therefore, the church is the
church of Christ or "the church which belongs
to Christ." It is not: The family of God because this refuses to give
honor to Christ as the purchaser.
God is glorified only in the
visible Son:
Therefore, when he
was gone out, Jesus
said, Now is the Son of
man glorified,
and God is glorified in
him. Jn 13:31
Jesus said that He had the
Father with Him and Peter 1:11 called the Spirit "the Spirit of
Christ." Therefore, the only way to honor God is to honor Jesus
Christ.
To reject the name "Jesus
Christ" is to reject the only way to glorify the invisible
God.
To receive from the
invisible God we must ask in His visible
Name:
And whatsoever ye
shall ask in my
name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified
in the Son. Jn 14:13
Therefore, shouldn't the
family of God be called the church of Christ?
Lord Jesus Christ is God imaged to
us. He is Man and Spirit-anointed.
He is the Father and Son in another or Spirit form. On
earth, He had the Father with Him and they were One. Father and Son
live in those who keep His commandments. Therefore the family of God
is universal but the church of Christ is the earthly center of
discipleship.
Refusing to Wear the Name of Christ May Deny
His Father-Husband Nature
It seems that disconnecting the church from the
name "Christ" means that we look for a direct connection to the
Spirit God through rituals, music and a lot of noise and the "new
wine in new wineskins" image. However, the real test is whether we
can approach God the
Spirit through God the man Whom the
common people heard gladly but the "doctors of the law" just listened
to long enough to "get the goods" to make sure that they killed out
the Christ influence in their fun and games (for profit) worship. However,
the secret is out:
Be it known unto
you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, whom ye
crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. Ac 4:10
This is the
stone which was set at nought of you
builders, which is become the head of
the corner (capstone or
capital replacing ancient Asherah poles ). Ac 4:11
Salvation is found in
no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be
saved." Ac 4:12
God is a generic term for Deity and it is not a
name: Jesus is a specific name. Christ defines His Deity.
We wear the name of the husband and not "John Doe."
Being a believer means that we confess that
Christ was
in the form of God, that He laid aside His majesty
or privileges, that He inhabited a human body, that the body suffered and died
but the Spirit remained alive and that Christ ascended back to assume
full Deity. Finally, as promised in John 14:18, He came again as
another
Comforter in Spirit form. When the Spirit spoke to Paul it was the
Lord Jesus Christ in Spirit or invisible form speaking the Mind of
His full Deity.
As much as we would like to ascend up to heaven to bring Christ down there is no way. He has descended and ascended to give
us a human model of quiet humility to imitate.
The test is whether we can accept God
as the man
Jesus Christ. The model God wants us to display is not a family of God made up of wildly
divergent views of Scripture. Rather, the model is One Body
whose only "diversity" is God-ordained to make the "unity of the
body" function as God's "person" on Earth. No! Corinth was a model of
"Disunity in Diversity" and Paul said "your assemblies do more harm
than good."
If exclusiveness is judgmental then
inclusiveness is the obverse side of the same coin: it is saying that
"you are ok in spite of your crazy ideas." This is no less
judgmental. By disassociating from the name of Christ the churches of
Christ are judged not spiritual enough to be included within the
family.
Paul made it clear that we are not an inclusive
family but an exclusive
body which we may or not be a part
of--but we try, dear judges:
For the husband is
the head of the wife, even as Christ
is the head of the church:
and he is the saviour of
the body.
Ep.5:23
Therefore as the
church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Ep.5:24
Husbands, love your
wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; Ep.5:25
Your wife is a woman and her
name is Jackie. Now, try calling, "Hey, woman!"
The children of God in His invisible form
belong to the visible God Who was "manifest in the flesh and justified in the
flesh"-
And again, I will put my trust in
him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath
given me.
Heb.2:13
As inspiration is denied, the virgin birth is
questioned, the power of Jesus to "fully ferment" the gospel and
kingdom, and the return to Jubilee as symptomatic of a return back
before Christ to allow Him to "get a better shot," it is no surprise
that the name of Christ is removed from the door post and the name of the
pre-Incarnate God is displayed to the watching world.
Because Scripture makes it clear that the
"masses" or "multitudes" or "crowds" listen for the fun, food and
games, they cannot hear the parables Jesus speaks to them. Only a
tiny remnant can be the bride of Christ and He does not practice
polygamy. When Israel practiced this "unity in diversity movement
with the Canaanites" God called it adultery and so it still is. The
mark of these "unity meetings" was wine and music to tell God to just
shut up.
The
Community Church Parallel
It is not possible to move beyond the Bible
without first claiming a direct, personal, physical indwelling of the
Holy Spirit "person." After this, all things are possible and the
restoration of apostles is necessary to make the changes and sell it, for a
price too high, to the virtually Biblically illiterate
"brethren."
While we have not been "sharpened" by J. E.
Choate's real-life experience with the "uniters" who want to
break down the walls to get at your "pure grapes" while you drink and play
music (Isaiah 5) or to steal your sheep (as at Cane Ridge), we
remember the trauma of trying to get "brethren" to read Don Finto's
very clear, printed "manifesto" of apostleship and listening
to the "don't rock the boat" of "Oh, he does not mean it." Surprise,
surprise, surprise!
Because Rubel Shelly and Randy Harris have
decreed that churches of Christ have a destructive view of Scripture,
the name of church of
Christ has been blackened and rejected
for The Family of God. Because Woodmont Hill's need for a worship
facilitator pastor person to "help bring the worshiper into the
presence of God" they may deny full Deity by minimizing God's
only door
in the human form of Jesus Christ. Christ will not be found in
rituals but clothed in the dirty garb of the hungry soul finding
nothing to fill the hunger and thirst in a theater.
Check ZOE
GROUP support.
You might also want to see how Dr. Rubel Shelly
uses the Exodus as the pattern for a community or
church.
Church Index
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Counter added 12.08.04 10:33 p
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