Local Church Discussions - View Single Post - What is the New Testament Definition of a Church

Evangelical · 12-07-2016, 05:53 PM

Yes, not so local that they could not distribute Paul's messages. It's as simple as this - the church is local and the ministry is global. Distribution of Paul's letters among the churches was his global ministry. The same with Lee/Nee. It was not breaking any rule against churches being local. Notice how Paul never said to distribute writings of the local church elders. Suppose an elder in one church wrote letters and distributed them to all the churches with instructions from him for them. That elder would be violating the principle of church locality. Paul however, as an apostle with a ministry to the churches but outside the churches, did not violate anything.

12-07-2016, 05:53 PM	#41
Evangelical Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 3,965	What is the New Testament Definition of a Churuch Yes, not so local that they could not distribute Paul's messages. It's as simple as this - the church is local and the ministry is global. Distribution of Paul's letters among the churches was his global ministry. The same with Lee/Nee. It was not breaking any rule against churches being local. Notice how Paul never said to distribute writings of the local church elders. Suppose an elder in one church wrote letters and distributed them to all the churches with instructions from him for them. That elder would be violating the principle of church locality. Paul however, as an apostle with a ministry to the churches but outside the churches, did not violate anything.