Where two or more and gathered in my name. I am there in the midst of them.

Submitted by Loutzenhiser on Thu, 2008-10-09 00:09.
Is this the "church" then? A gathering of two or more in his name?
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Where two or more and gathered in my name. I am there in the midst of them.![]() Submitted by Loutzenhiser on Thu, 2008-10-09 00:09.
Is this the "church" then? A gathering of two or more in his name? |
According to some
According to Scofield's commentary, he would answer 'yes' to both of your questions. (Although, other commentaries and theologians will tell you otherwise.)
I think defining exactly what the church is, can be problematic. Its kind of like defining, what is your family? Does it include your grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and distant 5th cousins? Or does it only include you, your spouse, and your children? There are several usages of the term, to broaden your understanding.
For example, I can say the word "spirit" and depending on the context of how I use it, spirit can be defined as: the soul; an angel or demon; feelings; a strong alcoholic liquor; or the third person of the Trinity; etc. Likewise, when the scripture speaks of "church" it can mean: a small disciplinary body (Matt 18:20); all believers in a locale (1 Cor 1:2); or the universal body of Christ (Col 1:18); etc.
With the advances being made in travel, technology, and even ecumenism to an extent, I think more and more Christians are starting to realize that, "the Church is more than just my church."
Back to the natural sense, there are people in my family that I'm not related to. Some are adopted, or related "by marriage." Then there are others who I am related to, but they don't act like I am. Spiritually, the Lord said he would separate the wheat from the tares. That's why defining the Church can be problematic. Not saying any of them are or were wrong, but several have tried, bless their hearts, such as Constantine, and others, to define the Church. Taking Matt 18:20 to a different path, another way of defining a church (with the little 'c') could be as an assembly where you sense the Lord's presence - - I think that's a bit more liberating than saying it has to be limited to 2 or 3; I would view that more as the minimum. I mean, there were other times the the Lord fed 5,000 at once, too (which some have tried to correlate to their modern megachurches. Maybe I'll agree to that definition if they're passing out free fish and bread - - now THAT would make it "more" biblical... ha ha ha)
Grace be with you-
Nate