Quote:
Originally Posted by aron
When you think about it, really, there were no "local churches". Ever. If they were truly local, why did the Corinthians receive the extra-local letter from Paul? Why should Paul tell the Colossians to read the letter to the Laodiceans (4:16), and vice versa? Why should the Colossians care about something outside their location? Because they weren't local. None of them were. If Paul were local, he'd only care for those in his location. But he didn't, nor did anyone else.
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According to the teaching of Nee/Lee, the church administration (eldership etc) is local, but the ministry is extra-local. Paul set up local administrations in each city, but his ministry was extra-local. I don't want to discuss the rights and wrongs of this doctrine, this is not the place for that, just pointing out to you that according to Lee/Nee, Paul's ministry (and hence his letters) was extra-local.