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Originally Posted by Sons to Glory!
Thanks. But can we remove all the LC taint from the idea? That is, I agree the LC makes this into some big law, which is clearly an error! The thing is, I see churches in various localities mentioned in the NT, as well as churches (ekklesia - gatherings) in certain one's homes. There is little mention of anything else, other than Paul's admonition of not dividing and saying we are of so & so, or even Christ (if meant in a fleshly way, is also divisive).
We don't have to make a law of OCOC, it's just that I see no other principle called out. And no, we are not told to follow OCOC. It's just a simple thing that the apostles called believers according to the location they were in. Pretty simple, right?
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byHisMercy has a good point, StG. My question is; why even focus energy on this ideal? It's not a concept that's explicitly commanded of us to fulfill in scripture but rather the condition of early church fellowship was simply an acknowledgement of the reality in Paul's time. It's not that way anymore, denominations are here to stay.
Will perfecting a concept change the hearts of men? Just as byHisMercy suggested, we need to focus on the purity of our faith in Jesus individually first then maybe one day we'll be witnesses of the perfected OCOC vision in glory. Taking a bottom-up approach will only serve as a yoke and a distraction for believers.