Watch the video below, or you can read below too... :)
When we look around our city, we see several churches with different names. The reason behind this, as one pastor told me some time ago, was that there are churches for different purposes.
But that is not at all what Paul says. The REAL reason is because people interpret the bible differently and do not really like to believe that it tells us we need to have all things in common...
Some pastors say that we are allowed to take different views when it comes to the bible. Others say that Paul says we can do this because "each person has an interpretation".
We are not to have different views, or a different understanding when it comes to biblical subjects. Paul says that we are to speak the same things, and have all things the same, and understand what is written.
We were given the tools need to have church services the same all over the globe. We simply refuse to follow these guidelines because of pride. This is important for the longevity of the congregation.
Some pastors say that Pauls talk on the body having different parts gives us the right to have different denominations. This too is utter nonsense. This is about the ability of the believers. Each individual believer. Not the actual church itself.
We need to do things the same in each church. ALL things in COMMON...
:)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the word @codymac40
The Holy Spirit guides our understanding if we will just listen :-)
Blessings.
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Yes it will.
Thanks for your reply.
😊
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Interesting, but how do you purpose to settle the differences when interpretation varies?
I think the main problem is that Jesus didn't leave behind an organization, but we humans just can't stop telling each other what to do. All the denominations are arguing about who is right in their interpretation of disputed passages, but in doing so they ignore indisputable truths Jesus have is, like love one another.
If He wanted to, God could have given us a systematic theology textbook, but instead he gave us a collection of literature that is so complex a man could spend his whole life studying it and never fully understand it. I think that's because He wanted to give us something to study, learn, and talk to each other about.
I don't think any denomination has the "fullness of the truth." Perhaps we would do better listening to one another and discussing differences.
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To answer this we look at joseph, and what he did when he was second in command. He established the congregation that worked and was followed by the disciples.
We see that there was a famine and Joseph ordered the people to sell their lands, animals, and eventually themselves to keep from dying.
The same things took place that established the first century "church".
The pattern is actually the same and one that we all need to read and follow.
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So, you think we should sell ourselves into slavery to the government?
I don't understand what you're saying here.
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That is not what I am saying...
Lets look at it for a second.
First, who are we?
Are we followers of the worldly governments, or the followers of a heavenly gov.?
We are no longer slaves to sin (worldliness) we are sons who have a joint right to everlasting life.
Joseph was second in command, and was a Yashua type. He brought the children of Israel into the land and they had the best of it.
Once the famine was bad enough, the people willfully gave themselves over to him.
What did they say? They were now "owned" by Pharaoh, and in this biblical truth, this man represented the Almighty.
This is the pattern, and everything we own belongs to the Almighty. We are subject to the Yashua administration, and see the life lived in Acts chapter 2 that followed Genesis chapter 47.
These two chapters are very important when it comes to understanding how we are to live from the first century until today.
:)
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Okay, I get that Joseph was a "Type" of Messiah or Christ but it seems like you're forcing parallels here. Joseph bought the land, property, and freedom of all the people in Egypt, not just the Israelites. Oh, I forgot, the pagan priests were allowed to keep their property.
Pharaoh is typologically usually an antagonist to the God of Israel in the bible, and Egypt is generally considered a bad place.
Also, Jesus, or Yeshua if you prefer, is sitting at the right hand of the father, and it's His to Judge the living and the dead. Hardly second in command.
What I see in the new Testament, particularly Acts, is a group of people who voluntarily sold possessions to help one another "whenever they had need." Not because they were starving and about to die.
I see Joseph as a prefigurement of Christ in that he suffered greatly, but in the end it was to save lives.
Similarly, the "Son of man came to save that which was lost." I don't see anything in the New Testament describing civil authority for the church. Jesus said the Pagans lorded it over each other, but it wasn't to be so among His followers. Hence, we shouldn't be trying to establish a system of political authority, which is what the "church" these days is constantly seeking to do.
We are basically citizens of a Kingdom not of this world. We're living behind enemy lines, waiting for our King's return... That King is Jesus.
Not the Pope.
Not the Archbishop of Canterbury .
Not the Patriarch of the Orthodox church.
Not the President of the Southern Baptist Association.
Jesus.
Or, Yeshua if you prefer.
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Political authority is not anything I was referring to.
Also, there are a lot of issues that need to be addressed but the church refuses to address them.
The folks in Acts sold their possessions to give to those who had need. That is true. "Not because they were starving and about to die". I do not understand what you are meaning by this.
Did the believers stop needing things after they were given what was needed in the daily distribution?
Yashua said that the poor and needy would always be with them/us. Even until today. He would not always be with them/us. We have the spirit of truth, scripture, to lean on in times of need.
No. People need to eat, wear clothing, and drink , as fresh as possible, water, and have shelter.
This is not "lording" anything over anything or anyone. There is to be one overseer in each city, and 7 deacons, or helpers of the congregation, in each city.
There is a serious disconnect between how we as believers are to live, and how we do live.
He returned with vengeance when Titus destroyed the city and burned the temple to the ground. That was 40 years after his death.
Just like there were 40 years after the Egyptian passover until Yashua entered the land of Canaan with the children of Israel after Moses died. That is correct, his name was Yashua, the son of Nun. He was to be a "type" of the NT Yashua.
Something missing in each city is overseer and 7 deacons.
It isnt something I prefer in calling him "Yashua". It is out of respect and how his name is pronounced.
His name is not Jesus. That is bastardized from Iesus, from Yashua. Hebrew to Latin to English. Not needed.
He was a Hebrew from the line of Yehudah and his name was Yashua.
But this is what people focus on when there are more important topics to tackle like what was stated before...
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When I said political authority it was because you said that Joseph's situation is what we should pattern the church after. Joseph was obviously in political power. It was the Egyptians I was referring to as Starving, you misunderstood me there.
I think you're reading way too much into the deacons and overseers here. Paul's letters were written to address specific people in a specific situation. He gave instructions to them that sometimes wouldn't apply to us. There is not any clear instructions for all Christians to organize a certain way no matter what. He was giving those people practical advise on how to organize, seeing as they lacked the skill themselves.
Also, I think you make too big of a deal on the pronunciation of Yeshua. Actually scholars disagree with your pronunciation, as well.
http://drmsh.com/what-was-the-hebrew-name-of-jesus/
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The presence of so many denominations is the fulfillment of what Jesus said in his parable of the wheat and tares documented in Matthew 13.
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I have to disagree.
The parable was all about the condition of a person's heart.
How we receive the word and what we do with it...
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That is the first parable in the chapter. I'm referring to the second one.
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