Quote:
Originally Posted by ZNPaaneah
But that feeds into Igzy's complaint that "unique" move of God means that you alone are the beloved of God.
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I think you are getting lost in nuances or something like that. I am saying that church is church. It is not simply an assembly. Nor is it some special assembly or group of assemblies to the exclusion of others for any reason (other than not being an assembly of believers).
The church is the body of Christ. There are no qualifiers put on that other than to be "Christian," meaning those who believe in Jesus, the Son of God (within the meaning of "believe" as used in John 3:16). Whether they are the only assembly in town, or can't even quantify the number of assemblies is irrelevant. Whether all assemblies in a particular city are under a single unified set of elders is not written as a qualification.
All attempts to invalidate other assemblies is evidence of a sectarian mind that is seeking something other than Christ and should make their status as meeting as Christian suspect.
In that environment, "unique" would be an irrelevant word. God is unique. But he works in multifarious ways. To over-define, or over-restrict God's ways with terms like "unique" is evidence of a lack of knowledge of God. It surely does not evidence a special status with God. The most clear example of such a mindset was found in Revelation chapter 3 in the letter to Laodicea. The church that claimed the most while Christ was on the outside knocking to get in.