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

ZNPaaneah · 12-09-2016, 04:28 AM

I was just struck by the use of "illegitimate church" by Evangelical in the thread on degraded Christianity.

Illegitimate refers to a child born out of wedlock. Something that is not authorized by the law. Outside of the accepted rules.

Clearly the "legitimate" birth of the church was at Jesus crucifixion and resurrection. You can point to the first Lord's table as the conception, though to be fair I am not that clear as to when the legitimate church appeared first (when Jesus breathed into the disciples?)

So then, by illegitimate I think he is referring to the fact that a man, other than Jesus, formed his own special fellowship. These men would be equivalent to what Paul refers to as "super apostles", those who are puffed up. You would expect to see evil and adulterous behavior associated with these men.

But then it gets thorny. Can you really say that Martin Luther "formed his own special fellowship" or stood for righteousness and refused to tolerate Jezebel? Perhaps it was those that followed Martin Luther, the ones who had been blended with him, that really made it a special fellowship of a man.

But if you carefully consider this you would realize that the one who would be most vocal in calling Martin Luther illegitimate would be the Jezebels in the Catholic church. The word Jezebel means "chaste". This is her MO, she wears the disguise of someone who is chaste while condemning others for being "illegitimate". She wields the law as a tool to abuse, usurp, defame, and swindle others.

What is it that gives me legitimacy? It is the name of Jesus.

But according to Jezebel what makes the churches illegitimate is not that they don't lift up Jesus as Lord, but that they don't lift her up as Lord.

I think there would not be any objection to Witness Lee if it wasn't for the fact that he lifted himself up as Lord and condemned every single group of Christians that did not recognize him as such.

Once again we can return to Ephesians 4 to see that the definition of the church is the 7 ones. If we have Jesus as the one Lord then we are legitimate. If we lift up any other man whether it be Watchman Nee, or Witness Lee or the Blendeds then we are illegitimate.

12-09-2016, 04:28 AM	#513
ZNPaaneah Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 7,105	Re: What is an illegitimate church I was just struck by the use of "illegitimate church" by Evangelical in the thread on degraded Christianity. Illegitimate refers to a child born out of wedlock. Something that is not authorized by the law. Outside of the accepted rules. Clearly the "legitimate" birth of the church was at Jesus crucifixion and resurrection. You can point to the first Lord's table as the conception, though to be fair I am not that clear as to when the legitimate church appeared first (when Jesus breathed into the disciples?) So then, by illegitimate I think he is referring to the fact that a man, other than Jesus, formed his own special fellowship. These men would be equivalent to what Paul refers to as "super apostles", those who are puffed up. You would expect to see evil and adulterous behavior associated with these men. But then it gets thorny. Can you really say that Martin Luther "formed his own special fellowship" or stood for righteousness and refused to tolerate Jezebel? Perhaps it was those that followed Martin Luther, the ones who had been blended with him, that really made it a special fellowship of a man. But if you carefully consider this you would realize that the one who would be most vocal in calling Martin Luther illegitimate would be the Jezebels in the Catholic church. The word Jezebel means "chaste". This is her MO, she wears the disguise of someone who is chaste while condemning others for being "illegitimate". She wields the law as a tool to abuse, usurp, defame, and swindle others. What is it that gives me legitimacy? It is the name of Jesus. But according to Jezebel what makes the churches illegitimate is not that they don't lift up Jesus as Lord, but that they don't lift her up as Lord. I think there would not be any objection to Witness Lee if it wasn't for the fact that he lifted himself up as Lord and condemned every single group of Christians that did not recognize him as such. Once again we can return to Ephesians 4 to see that the definition of the church is the 7 ones. If we have Jesus as the one Lord then we are legitimate. If we lift up any other man whether it be Watchman Nee, or Witness Lee or the Blendeds then we are illegitimate.