God has Spoken (A Study of Bible Authority)

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God has Spoken(A Study of Bible Authority)

• What is the Church of Christ?

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Failure to Understand the Church Contributes to

• Denominationalism
• Devaluing of the church
• Choose the church of your choice

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Many in Churches of Christ Do Not
Understand the Church

• Liberal view Whatever the individual can do,
  the local church can do
• Loosing where the Lord has not loosed
• Factious view Whatever the local church cannot
  do, the individual Christian cannot do
• Binding where Lord has not bound

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What is the Church?
ekklesia to call out of the called out ones
Assembly of Saved Called out of darkness by
God, by the gospel 1 Pet. 29-10 2 Ths.
214 The Redeemed Matt. 1618
An Assembly -Israel, Acts 738 -Govt body, Acts
1939 -Riot, Acts 1932, 41
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ChurchthinkPeople Acts 247

• Disciples Acts 61, 7
• Believers Acts 514
• Those of the way Acts 92
• Saints 1 Cor. 12

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Church is a Collective Noun

• Applied geographically, Acts 931 Gal. 12
• Applied of those who compose it, Rom.
  164 Col. 416
• Applied possessively,
  Matt. 1618 1 Cor. 159 Rom. 1616

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CHRIST

In heaven
Baptized into
CHURCH (Universal) Heb. 1223

CHURCH (Local) (elders,
deacons, saints) Ac 1423 Phil. 11
On earth
Local Church Acts 1122
Local Church Rev. 21
Churches of Christ Rom. 1616
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The Universal Church

• Gods people wherever they are found, Matt.
  1618 Eph. 523-27
• Saved added to it by the Lord, Acts 247
• One body of Christ into which one is baptized, 1
  Cor. 1213 Eph. 44
• Family of God into which one is adopted (Gal.
  45) 1 Tim. 315
• Those in fellowship with God, 2 Tim. 219

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The Universal Church

• Relationship with God brethren, but not an
  organization, 2 Cor. 616-18 1 Pet. 217
• No organizational structure oversight on earth
• No organizational work given to it
• No universal treasury to fund it
• Does not act as an organizational unit
• Functions distributively (each Christian living
  for Christ), Eph. 524
• Composed of individual Christians, not local
  churches, Eph. 122-23 523, 30 Acts 247

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Universal Church Churches or Christians?

• The position that the local congregation is not
  a part of the church universal is a weird and
  novel contention, which has never been advanced
  by any Bible scholar, preacher, or commentator of
  any note in the two thousand year history of the
  church so far as I know.
• -Gaston D. Cogdell,
• The Cogdell-Turner Discussion, 18

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Universal Church Churches or Christians?

• So far as we know all brethren have always
  understood that the individual Christian is the
  unit of the church universal. The body is
  Christs, and we are members of it. We were
  unaware that any thought or taught that
  congregations were units of the body of Christ,
  in the sense that individuals are. Congregations
  are nothing more nor less than groups of
  Christians. Groups are not members of the
  church individuals are. We believe the
  scriptures are perfectly clear, and brethren in
  full accord on this point.
• -Reuel Lemmons, Firm Foundation (7731), August
  2, 1960
• cited in The Cogdell-Turner Discussion, p. 19,
  emp. Turners

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Universal Church Churches or Christians?

• In this general sense the church is not a
  denominational institution composed of a
  sisterhood of local churches of the same faith
  and order, but a spiritual body composed of all
  Christians
• -F. D. Srygley, New Testament Church, p. 7
• Published by Gospel Advocate
• cited in The Cogdell-Turner Discussion, p. 19

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The Local Church

• Independent, autonomous congregations of
  Christians, Acts 1122, 26
• A relationship a functioning organization
• A unit with work responsibilities
• Preach the gospel
• Edify the saints
• Relieve needy saints

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The Local Church

• Not regional, national or international
• Local organizational structure, Acts 1423 (Phil.
  11)
• Local oversight, 1 Pet. 51-2 (Acts 2017, 28)
• Local treasury to fund its work, Acts 434-37 1
  Cor. 161-2 2 Cor. 118 (Phil. 415-16)

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The Local Church

• Local church regulates its membership, Acts
  926-28 1827 Rom. 161-2, 17-18 1 Cor. 54-7
• An assembly of saints
• Come together as a church, 1 Cor. 1118
• In the church (assembly), 1 Cor. 1428

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Contrasts

• Universal Church
• Added by Lord, Ac 247
• Entered by baptism, 1 Cor. 1213
• None but the saved, 2 Tim. 219
• Satan cannot prevail against it, Matt. 1618

• Local Church
• Join oneself, Ac 926-28
• Accepted, received, Acts 1827
• Some sick, some sleep 1 Cor. 1130
• Satan can prevail against it, Acts 2029-30

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Contrasts

• Universal Church
• Relationship with Christ, Eph. 122-23
• No functional organization, no oversight, no
  treasury 1 Cor. 1213
• Distributive (individual) action, Eph. 524

• Local Church
• Relationship with fellow Christians, Ac 1522-23
• Functional organization, with oversight
  treasury Acts 2028 1 Cor. 162 1 Pet. 52
• Collective (group) action, Phil. 415

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Denominations

• Subdivide the church into groups that are never
  identified in the Scriptures
• Universal church is all the saved without
  reference to time place (Heb. 1222-23)
• Local church is a specific group of Christians in
  a given location Organization work
• Can cease to be a faithful church of Christ (Rev.
  120 21, 4-5)