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In the book of Revelation there are seven
letters addressed to Pastors in Churches of Asia Minor. Each
letter begins with the words, “To the Angel of the
Church at”: 2:1 Ephesus, 2:8 Smyrna, 2:12 Pergamum,
2:18 Thyatira, 3:1 Sardis, 3:7 Philadelphia, and 3:14
Laodicea.
The root Greek word translated as “angel”,
means messenger. The letters were sent to individuals charged
with delivering Christ’s message to the Churches. The
addressees were messengers to the Churches of that day.
Like the Angels of Revelation, the Angel
of the Church blog is a messenger. Notice that the
Revelation was sent to Churches not
denominations.
Denominationalism is part of our
speech. Church people talk about "other church
denomination(s)." The problem with seeing Christ
Body as a collective of other church denomination(s)
is that it's false. Usually when something is
framed as "other", it implies less than.
According to scripture, no part of the Body is
less than another (1st Corinthians Chapter 12).
"For just as the body is a unity and
yet has many parts, and all the parts, though many, form
(only) one body, so it is with Christ (the Messiah, the
Anointed One)."
Seeing the Church in denominations perpetuates
the view of the Body as a "Church religious
organization." The Corinthian passage
clearly pictures the Church as a body. More to the
point the Church is not any old body. It’s the body of Christ
that exists everywhere, in every time, and in eternity.
Since the Church is Christ's body; it can not be an
or-ga-ni-za-tion. The life which energizes the Church is the
Life of Christ! And Christ is not a Church religious
organization, He is a living organism!
The Angel of the Church blog/Commentary invites your
comment on this and any other contemporary issue and
religion.
The Angel of the
Church Blog & Commentary
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