Quote:
Originally Posted by Drake
Researched. Well said. Factual.
I would only modify that the extension to earth from the heavenly is permitted.... We are partakers of the divine nature, there is a shape of the local churches, and they all shine forth the Spirit.... or rather should..... when we come to Revelation 2 & 3 we see big differences but those are mostly negative.... even in one case the Lord threatens to remove the lampstand....
Drake
|
Yes, on the divine side the extension from heavenly to earthly is permitted.
1. Nature - do all the churches have the Lord's life/divine nature? Yes.
2. Shape - are they all lampstands? You bet!
3. Purpose - do they shine forth the Lord in a dark place? Yes.
But again, these are not physical attributes and are thus in the divine realm. All these criteria can be met, and met fully, in the divine realm without requiring that the churches have no individual distinction in the earthly realm. In the context of this discussion I do not see the grounds for applying "no distinction" to the churches in the earthly realm.
(For example, let me go hyper-Biblical myself and let's pretend for a second that you and I, as people, are each a lampstand:
1. Do Drake and Trapped both have the Lord's life? Yep!
2. Are we both believers? Yep!
3. Do we shine forth the Lord in a dark place? Yep! [okay, ideally, right?]
But is there individual distinction between Drake and Trapped? You better believe it! Thus, we can both be fully lampstands with the same nature, shape, and purpose, but still have individual distinction.)
Nee said it correctly: in the divine realm the lampstands are identical in nature, shape, and purpose. In the earthly realm there are positive and negative differences from one to another and each has its own earthly appearance.
Lee took it too far/angled into a wrong direction: in the divine realm the lampstands are identical in nature, shape, and purpose. In the earthly realm there is no individual distinction and any distinctions are negative and failures. (We know this is not true, as Ohio mentioned, because the churches were individually commended for their own positive attributes).