Quote:
Originally Posted by Igzy
Paul wrote to the church in a city. By definition that means he wrote to every Christian in a city.
Exactly what that meant--whether he was writing to some "proper church" subset which represented the church (the LCM view), or to the church at large (my view)--WE CANNOT KNOW. You don't know for sure, nor do I. I have my opinion, you have yours. But that's all we have--opinions.
And since we cannot know, your and the LCM's insistence on adhering to the stricter interpretation is unreasonable, and even irrational. When you don't know for sure you must give way to the more general denominator. Anything else is sectarian and divisive.
|
Romans
7To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:
This is clearly the church at large.
1Corinth
2To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:
Again, this is clearly the church at large.
2Corinth
To the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:
Perhaps this is closer to being written to some "proper church" while also being written to the "church at large".
Galatians
To the churches in Galatia:
This is the closest to being written to some "proper churches" but then it is also plural.
Ephesians
To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
This is clearly written to the "church at large"