A case study to point out what I am saying: here is a quote from our dear friend and brother Untohim taken from the Bone of My Bone thread on the main page
Quote:
Originally Posted by UntoHim
Well since none of the verses you posted say that the church is Christ, I would think that it is off the mark to say that the church is Christ based on those verses.
Taking metaphors too far can lead to serious error. One day we are teaching and believing that "the church is Christ" and the next day we might find ourselves teaching and believing that "the church is the fourth part of the Trinity".
And you're right, StG, this is related to Witness Lee's modalistic teaching of the Trinity. Just as no reputable, orthodox teacher or scholar has ever taught that Jesus Christ became the Holy Spirit, no reputable, orthodox teacher or scholar has ever taught that the church is the fourth part of the Trinity. Again, with this kind of nonsensical teaching, we see the dangers in freeing ourselves from the obligation to stay within the bounds and restrictions of orthodoxy handed down to us down though the ages.
Well any Christian who doesn't have a very full picture of what the ekklesia is really called into is probably not reading their Bible...at least not paying good attention. All the things you list are right there in the Bible. No need for any external source to tell us the church is going to be the Bride of Christ - it's right there in the Bible! No need for some enlightened guru to tell us the church is the Body of Christ - it's right there in the Bible! And the fact that these wonderful truths are right there for us in the Scriptures is the most amazing thing ever.
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Notice how he speaks of orthodoxy passed down, and trinity as a scriptural truth. Yet, the discussion is from 1Cor and Eph. Yes, orthodoxy was passed down from the 3rd and 4th century, but God being a trinity has no place in scripture, and certainly not in the thinking and writing of Paul. Dare I point out Paul’s words such as “ you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s “, or the head of the man is Christ and the head of Christ is God, or to you there is but one God, the Father? No, I dare not upset Untohim or that whole thread with such profound scriptural pronouncements, it would only upset Untohim, because it does not match his orthodoxy. So that discussion will lack truth an clarity and will stay muddled in the 4th century, mingled with the thoughts of WL, who filled the LCs with his theology which did not result in a foundational church, but in a 4th century edifice.