The attentive reader will notice two items about the New Testament, as he comes to the end of it. For one thing, there is no book of church order, laying down a code of rules for the worship and organization of the communities: [there is] no book corresponding to the Book of Leviticus. The other thing is that the writings are all meant for communities, not for individuals: they reflect and presuppose the life of a society or fellowship. Even the private notes of Paul to Philemon and of the presbyter John to Gaius are addressed to these individuals as members of the church; and Luke's two volumes are intended primarily--but only primarily--for the Christian education of his friend and patron Theophilus.
~James Moffatt (1870-1944)

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It is true that the New Testament uses the term ekklesia for the spiritual reality of the body of Christ and also for the assembly, in which the genuineness of the spiritual reality of every individual professing member cannot be known. To this extent, the exact membership of any individual church and the universal church at large cannot be known and is thereby invisible. But even this invisible membership is very visible in the reality of life. As for membership in an invisible church without fellowship with any local assembly, this concept is never contemplated in the New Testament. The universal church was the universal fellowship of believers who met visibly in local assemblies.
~Robert L. Saucy, The Church in God's Program

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While the local church is not the total body of Christ, it must be seen to be [that body's] particular expression in its worship, ministry, and mission. It has authority to preach the gospel and administer the sacraments, but does not possess that authority in isolation, only as part of the total catholic Church. The authority of the local church can never, therefore, be absolute or autonomous, for, if it [asserts such authority], it denies that it is a part of the larger body and confuses the Church of God with its particular expression in the local church. It therefore requires a structure which allows it to act with the authority of the Church of God--because it must be Christ to its local community--while, at the same time, demonstrating that it possesses such authority only because it is part of the total Church of God, whose authority is derived from its organic relationship with Christ, its Head.
~Ian P. M. Cundy, "The Church as Community"

Again, these quotes are shared to spark discussion, whether in agreement or disagreement.

| posted by #Debi | 12:05 PM | |