Quote:
Originally Posted by aron
When Jesus said to go forth into all the world and preach the Good News He wasn't sanctioning divisions. When He sent out seventy before Himself, they weren't creating seventy divisions. They were simultaneously going forth, or as you put it "stepping out", and they were also abiding in Him, in His word, and in His commands. So the increase in assemblies, even within one geographic area (city or whatever) can be arguably "multiplication" rather than "division". The Lord's Recovery local churches concede this practical point with their various assemblies, designated as "Meeting Halls", sharing urban space.
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I can look at this in a couple of different ways. Or even both at the same time. And it makes it hard to know how to reply.
But I think that one thing would be to say that I generally do not think of more assemblies as simply divisions. In fact, even among the established groups that have notable doctrinal differences between them, I think that the "divisive" aspects of the group are way overblown by those who would insist upon their division as being the only "non-division."
I like the view on the sending out of the 70. (And I have tended of late to note that the "go ye therefore into all the world" bit was not spoken to everyone, but to those he took aside. Not saying. But once again there is a context that is generally ignored.)
And people went out and assemblies sprang up as people responded to the gospel. It wasn't just Paul and a few select others. And Barnabas was still one of them.
(BTW. I hate the modern use of the word "organic." All my food is organic. I'm just not into inorganic food. It doesn't nourish. And I have yet to find any organization of man — or even God — to be growing because of the presence of carbon molecules. I wish people would find a more meaningful way to say things "Organic" is just a hip/cool new way to elevate one thing over another. And even if you are talking about real farms, I'm not entirely sold on the "organic" version as being so much better.)