• Boundary of Local Assembly

    by Published on 04-20-2017 12:04 AM     Number of Views: 1845 
    1. Categories:
    2. Apostles Set up Churches,
    3. Boundary of Local Assembly,
    4. Unity of the Body of Christ

    I can't be any more simple than this to describe the 7 church periods in Rev. 2 & 3.

    1st century - don't lose your first love (Biblocality)
    2nd century - endure martyrdom
    3rd century - don't marry church and state
    4th century - don't be like the Roman Catholic Church
    16th-19th century - weak revivals filling up a glass with less water each time
    19th century - brotherly love true overcomers (brethren movement, only wanted to be called Christians)
    20th-21st century - neither hot or cold, just lukewarm

    The first 3 church periods are consecutive, they came and past (their teaching is still true though).

    The last 4 church periods stay with us (RCC, Reformed/Calvinist, Brethren, and Emergent/Pentecostal).

    The RCC, Reformed/Calvinist and Pentecostal/Emergent are corruptions of the Church. Most people in these 3 groups are not born-again. They are going to Hell.

    The correct Church has these 5 characteristics: 1) OSAS Arminian; 2) Biblocality; 3) Partial Rapture; 4) Gap Restoration; 5) Dividing of Spirit, Soul and Body.

    http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/7churches.htm
    by Published on 07-29-2013 01:46 PM     Number of Views: 3388 
    1. Categories:
    2. Apostles Set up Churches,
    3. Boundary of Local Assembly,
    4. Elders

    What happens if you don't get the right understanding of the Church and how the Church is organized?

    Aristotle wrote, "The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold." In other words, a small lie at the beginning may lead to a complete break with reality somewhere down the line.

    Satan, therefore, tries to plant a small lie and over time lets it grow all the while man thinks he is doing the right thing or managing the problem as best he can when in reality the paradigm must shift and go back to the way it was originally intended.

    The Church is defined in two ways: (a) universal born-again body of believers; (b) according to locality, e.g. church of Houston in the churches of Texas or the church of Antioch in the churches of Syria. Such is the account of every instance of the word "church" in the Scriptures.

    It is not defined as a congregation of some denomination (denominations are outlawed in Scripture, for don't say "I of Cephas" or "I of Apollos" and don't even say "I of Christ" for that divides the body falsely also), nor is it defined even as an independent body of believers of some congregation. Congregationalism is most certainly false.

    If someone asks you what church you belong to, tell them the church of your locality and give the name of your locality you reside in. You could further respond by saying you fellowship at a particular meeting place at someone's house, and provide the Elder of that meeting place as well as the Elder of your locality who approved of the Elder of your meeting place.

    Do you know who the Apostle(s) - directly chosen by God - are for the churches of your state or region and the Apostle who appointed the Elder of your church locality? And are you aware whether or not the Elder of your meeting place has been approved by the Elder of your locality?
    by Published on 10-18-2010 04:53 AM     Number of Views: 2119 
    1. Categories:
    2. Boundary of Local Assembly,
    3. Elders

    The Elders of Each Church Locality are Responsible

    The Bible usually takes a city, the smallest executive governmental area, as the boundary of a local assembly. A local assembly is the unit of the Church in God’s word. It does not join with other assemblies and make the resulting larger church a central church. In other words, in the eyes of God, He has not made Rome as the central church. He never makes any local assembly the center of the churches to be in control of other assemblies. There is no center on earth in God’s government. Even Jerusalem was not a center to the early churches.
    by Published on 10-18-2010 03:20 AM     Number of Views: 2245 
    1. Categories:
    2. Boundary of Local Assembly

    What Is Authority in the Church?

    How is divine authority in the Church delegated? The authorities which God sets in the Church are the elders and the apostles. God appoints the first in a local assembly, He appoints the second in the midst of many assemblies. The authority of an apostle is over various assemblies, whereas the authority of an elder is in the local assembly. In order to manifest His authority in the Church, God sets up elders in local assemblies to represent His authority. Hence the other name used in Scripture for elder is "bishop," which carries within its meaning the sense of authority in his "overseership." The Bible instructs us to submit to the elders because they have authority. And because all authorities initiated by God are representative in character, so the authority of the elders is also representative—to manifest the authority of God. Irrespective of how well the elders represent divine authority, a Christian must nonetheless learn to submit to them because all authorities are of God.

    At the inauguration of any gathering of believers in a locality, there are no elders. But gradually some people who commence to function like elders will begin to be manifested within the group. As was mentioned already, elder and bishop are different names for the same office. The term elder points to the person, while bishop points to the service. Furthermore, the elders in the Bible are always plural and never singular in number. For things are less likely to go wrong when the spirits of two, three, or more persons are receiving the same guidance. Individualism is never a biblical principle; it can easily lead to error.
    by Published on 12-15-2009 07:56 AM     Number of Views: 1948 
    1. Categories:
    2. Boundary of Local Assembly


    We will now deal with the subject of the boundary of the local assembly—that is to say, how far-reaching is the sphere of a local assembly?

    The authority of the elders, which we have mentioned before, is to be exercised within the local assembly, because elders are established for the local assembly. Their position and function are all related to the local assembly. Elders in Shanghai are not elders in Nanking or Peking. Whereas the gifts of God are for the whole Church, the offices are for the local assembly. There are no super elders who can control assemblies other than their local one. Elders can only govern a local assembly.

    How extensive is the border of a local assembly? How large a place is required to form a local assembly? Please note that the Bible never divides the Church according to region, nor does it even place several churches under a regional church. Although there are seven churches in Asia being mentioned in Revelation, we do not find in God’s word that Ephesus or Philadelphia had been chosen to control the other six churches. We only see seven churches represented by seven golden lampstands. In the Old Testament record there is mentioned the one lampstand with seven branches; but here in Revelation are seven lampstands—not one with seven branches but seven lampstands representing seven separate churches, each emitting light and each bearing responsibility directly to Christ. Whichever church it may be, it accepts the rule of Christ and not the control of other churches. Each lampstand is independent in government, without it being managed by other lampstands. Each is responsible to its high priest, the Son of man who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. None of them is subject to any of the other churches. Though they are seven churches, they do not join to form a united church and make themselves answerable to a regional or annual conference. We may say that each is a “congregation” which takes a locality as its limit.

    The Bible usually takes a city, the smallest executive governmental area, as the boundary of a local assembly. A local assembly is the unit of the Church in God’s word. It does not join with other assemblies and make the resulting larger church a central church. In other words, in the eyes of God, He has not made Rome as the central church. He never makes any local assembly the center of the churches to be in control of other assemblies. There is no center on earth in God’s government. Even Jerusalem was not a center to the early churches.

    This did not rule out the existence of regions in the biblical record. Some places were so similar in conditions and needs that they would receive the same treatment in the record. For instance, it is said of Paul that he “passed through the upper country” (Acts 19.1); again, “from Jerusalem, and round about even unto Illyricum” (Rom. 15.19). ...