Quote:
Originally Posted by Trapped
If you have two gatherings in a city, both of which consider themselves to be the genuine church and all other gatherings in that city NOT the genuine church, which one is the genuine church (regardless of what they think of themselves)?
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I think we can tell by knowing which was there first. So which one was there first? The church established by Witness Lee or the church which Sons to Glory now claims is the genuine church in the city? which seems more like a faction of the original church established.
If someone leaves a group and then creates their own group, can they really claim to be the genuine first church in the city?
There are only a few possibilities here:
*all the groups that say they are churches are genuine churches. Unlikely given that any sect who claims to be a church is then automatically one just because they say they are.
* a genuine church is one which is the first following the biblical pattern of one church per city is the genuine church - most likely in my opinion.
*a church which splinters from the genuine church of one church per city is the genuine church - unlikely given that it is an off-shoot. The bible is silent about churches splintering and the one which splinters being called genuine. I believe the correct term for that is a sect or faction.