Define Church

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Angelina

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Can anyone define what a Church is? is a Church the gathering of Christian believers or a mix of believer's and non- believers? What does the bible say about the God's Church? :huh:
Thanx
 

meshak

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The church is body of Christ. It is made by all Jesus' true followers. It is not church building.

Jesus says if two or three gather in His name, there He will be.
 

HeRoseFromTheDead

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The term translated church is better translated assembly, or congregation. Any assembly is composed of both genuine and fake Christians. In due time, GOD will separate the wheat from the chaff. The chaff appears to be part of GOD's assembly due to its physical presence, and is considered to be so by the world: but it will be removed in the times of cleansing.
 

Rex

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Angelina said:
Can anyone define what a Church is? is a Church the gathering of Christian believers or a mix of believer's and non- believers? What does the bible say about the God's Church? :huh:
Thanx
Well Praise the Lord I'm glad to see you're digging Angelina, I've always had high hopes for you, the truth is the word has gone though a metamorphism threw the ages.

Here's a page that will provide some information
http://www.aggressivechristianity.net/articles/ecclesia.htm

And a C/P from the first couple of paragraphs.

Let's start by defining the word. "Church" comes from the
Old English and German word pronounced "kirche." In Scotland,
it was "kirk."


The following entries are from the Oxford Universal English Dictionary:


Church [Old English cirice, circe; Middle English chereche,
chiriche, chirche;
whence churche, cherche, etc.: -Greek Kuriakon...]


Kirk The Northern English and Scottish form of CHURCH, in all
its senses.


In the earlier Greek It was pronounced "ku-ri-a-kos"
or "ku-ri-a-kon." As you can see, this word doesn't even
resemble the Greek word "ecclesia" whose place it has
usurped. The meaning of "Ku-ri-a-kos" is understood by
its root: "Ku- ri-os," which means "lord."
Thus, "kuriakos" (i.e., "church") means
"pertaining to the lord." It refers to something that pertains
to, or belongs to, a lord. The Greek "kuriakos" eventually
came to be used in Old English form as "cirice" (Kee-ree-ke),
then "churche" (kerke), and eventually "church"
in its traditional pronunciation. A church, then, is correctly something
that "pertains to, or belongs to, a lord."


Now, as you can see, there is a major problem here. The translators
broke the rules in a big way. When they inserted the word "church"
in the English versions, they were not translating the Greek word "kuriakos",
as one might expect. Rather, they were substituting an entirely different
Greek word. This was not honest! The word "church" would
have been an acceptable translation for the Greek word "kuriakos."
However, not by the wildest imagination of the most liberal translator
can it ever be an acceptable translation for the Greek word "ecclesia."
Are you following this? Consider it carefully. This truth will answer
many questions you've had about churches, and the kingdom.

"The
called-out (ones)" [ECC = out; KALEO = call]
 
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biggandyy

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The church building can hold believers and non-believer.

The church body is composed of believers only.

No scripture reference, it is simply a matter of Western convention.
 

Rex

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BiggAndyy said:
The church building can hold believers and non-believer.

The church body is composed of believers only.

No scripture reference, it is simply a matter of Western convention.
As in lord John Calvin I presume LOL :)

The meaning of "Ku-ri-a-kos" is understood by
its root: "Ku- ri-os," which means "lord."


jiggyfly said:
Excellent post Rex. :)
Don't thank me jiggy I'm happy to share a very important English word and it's application
Some people will understand that church as we know it today is the temple or house of a man of old, the upper room where Jesus broke bread was a church, the lord of the house made it available to the Lord. You can keep your churches and every man or lord that provided another earthly temple building with a builders name attached to it, the temple is only made holy by the Lord who is the "temple" or church. When the disciples left these churches, meeting places, just as when Jesus left the upper room just as when the veil of temple was torn and the Lord left it. It's nothing but building. Those who build on Calvin or Spurgeon or any other true man of God will surly tell you, to build on their name is to build on sand. Welcome to the modern church.

"Ecclesia" is an entirely different word with an entirely
different meaning than "kuriakos." In fact, the Greek
word "kuriakos" appears in the New Testament only twice.
It is found once in I Corinthians 11:20 where it refers to "the
Lord's supper,"
and once again in Revelation 1:10 where it refers
to "the Lord's day." In both of those cases, it is translated
"the Lord's..." - not "church.


Explore the base camps, learning from each and consider their way, but in the end the revelation is yours alone. Jer 6:16 and please don't go start another church.

What is interesting to me is how different positions effects the
understanding of other verses, just as standing at different points
around a mountain provides each location a slightly different view of
the task at hand. I'll call these base camps churches. Many people are attempting to summit, somewhere up
there, in each of our lives is a cleft in the rocks that leads to the summit.

So please excuse my post it's really not important, as much as we all
would like to part of the expedition that summits the truth is we
summit alone, by standing on the foundation already laid, or as someone
said, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the sholders of
giants." Just be-aware of who's sholders it is your standing on.
 

afaithfulone4u

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Jesus did not need a building to begin to build the True temple of God, however he did go into the temple made with men's hands to hopefully drag them out and bring them into the temple of God under the new covenant. But in 70 ad God brought destruction on that temple so that concentration could now be focused on the temple which was his body. This is proof that you must be born again through Christ to be saved and that he tore the old temple down for this purpose and for our learning/understanding for it also is referring to us tearing down our old man to build up the new man on the foundation of God's Word/Christ for we are the living stones if you are truly in Christ.
There should be no outsiders in the meetings except those who have been baptized into the body of Christ for what do the unbelievers have to do with believers? We are to go out into the world and bring them the gift of the gospel of the kingdom of God, the if they believe they are to be baptized into Christ and then them come in as sheep who follow Christ and are fed the Word of God to grow on.

We should be meeting in homes so that we can keep our body in line, held accountable for nothing defiled can inherit the kingdom of God and when we join these huge churches that even the ungodly come in we expose the sheep to their leaven such as fornication, and their worldly issues that tempt the sheep to follow them and ruin the whole batch of dough(unleavened Bread).

Have you not noticed that most churches had/have a steeple or pyramid at the top of their building? I wonder what that is all about.
But have you noticed the star of David, how it is built as a pyramid having an upside down pyramid coming down over it to complete the star? God is God of all the earth even Egypt, meaning all ungodly nations.
The 144,000 are the true body of Christ the temple of God.
Rev 21:18
17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
KJV
John 2:19-21
19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body.
KJV

Col 2:9-11
9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
KJV
1 Cor 3:9
9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
KJV
2 Cor 5:1-4
5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
KJV

Job 36:29
29 Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle? KJV

What is behind those clouds?
 

Rex

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Try as I might and to those the Lord has chosen to expose Himself to threw me, I can never pull that which dwells within me and give it to another,
though it be my earnest desire, it just can not be.
 

Rex

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John Zain said:
We had an old blind and deaf dog called Rex who died at age 18.
Anyone here believe in reincarnation?
Gee John what a nice Resurrection message, is this the latest Easter bunny message from the tongue talkers in your part of the woods?

Or are you going to command the spirit of calling BS to come out of me, I would have thought you to be to busy raising the dead today to waste your precious gift on me. Hows that SWM working for ya, have you healed San Diego of leprosy?

Maybe I'll go down to the park and buy some homeless man a beer and a sandwich and see where the Lord leads the conversation.
Maybe a new bag would help him out a bit.
 
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Axehead

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ἐκκλησία
ekklēsia
Church

"Called out ones" The community of Believers, members of His Body, in heaven and on earth.
 

meshak

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Axehead said:
ἐκκλησία
ekklēsia
Church

"Called out ones" The community of Believers, members of His Body, in heaven and on earth.
Yes, that harmonize with Jesus' word too.
 

KCKID

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ChristRoseFromTheDead said:
The term translated church is better translated assembly, or congregation. Any assembly is composed of both genuine and fake Christians. In due time, GOD will separate the wheat from the chaff. The chaff appears to be part of GOD's assembly due to its physical presence, and is considered to be so by the world: but it will be removed in the times of cleansing.
Often but not always ...

wheat=me

chaff=someone else
 

mjrhealth

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Act 7:47 But Solomon built him an house.
Act 7:48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
Act 7:49 Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?
Act 7:50 Hath not my hand made all these things?


ἐκκλησία

ekklēsia

Church



"Called out ones" The community of Believers, members of His Body, in heaven and on earth.

And another +1
 

KCKID

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ChristRoseFromTheDead said:
A tree's known by its fruit. I wouldn't consider someone who is obsessed with justifying their sin wheat.
As long as one continues to sin (There is NONE righteous, no, not one. Romans 3:10) then they obviously justify their sin. Even those who believe in their own righteousness.