And yet I see

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And yet I see

Forum: Theological Expressions
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Helping My friend RTC to see. (frank)
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Something for Frank (RTC)
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How big should one house church grow to, before a new one should be started?
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Life decides size (RTC)
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Nonsense!!!!
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Rebutting your nonsense (RTC)
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Refutting your errors!
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Now refuting your errors (RTC)
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RTC doesn't know how to read the Bible!!?!!
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You don't seem to fare any better either (RTC)
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You read the commentary, I read my Bible,
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I read my Bible and my commentary (RTC)
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Can misread Bible, can also choose only the commentary you want.
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And that applies to you as well (RTC)
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The commentary you quoted doesn't even support your housechurch theory.
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You can't even read the commentary properly (RTC)
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Which dumb commentator will tell you that the local church is...
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Ah so I am vindicated! (RTC)
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Ah so you're still so blind!
Date: 2001, May 04
From: RTC

We are discussing the theory that you have that churches must be small (which you thought the NT housechurches were) in order to meet in a family setting in homes, not whether they have one large building to meet in or not. ++I said that the gatherings of believers in their homes are small in size, with archaeological evidence suggesting that the average size of a house accommodating about 15 – 20 people. Certainly the church in any location like Colossae is many in terms of believers (I am not disputing that) but you cannot deny that the church met in many homes of believers and each house where the people gathered in are known as the church too. I did not say that the church must be small (see how this “must” thing spreads, Christopher?). I say that the meetings of the church in the house is naturally kept to a size conducive to intimacy and interaction. I already said the early Church need not necessarily meet in tiny assemblies all over one city. ++Have I disputed that in any way? The house in Acts 1 already can take 120 people and that's just indoors. When the Day of Pentecost arrived, the church spill into the streets. They met then in public places (the Temple grounds b4 the persecution by Saul):- ++The upper room is certainly an exception. And just because the church grew does not mean that the IC existed there and then. The church grew in numbers, and many homes were open for church meetings too. Meeting in public places and in temple grounds must not be construed as IC in operation or justifying the existence of the IC. (THIS IS YOUR CONFUSION : you mistook the main activity is round the Lord's Supper and all other parts of the church service revolve around a dinner table) in one another's homes and 'broke bread' in accordance with their Master's precedent. ++Are you sure that is my confusion? You quoted FF Bruce who said “Their community was probably organized along the lines of the voluntary type of organisation called a haburah, a CENTRAL FEATURE (emphasis mine) of which was the common meal. The common meal could not conveniently be eaten in the temple precints, so they ate 'by the households' (as the Greek phrase may be translated)”. What do you think he meant by the word central? And what do you think is the central feature of the IC services today, the Lord’s Supper or the Pastor’s sermon? When persecution arose, they then met in large private homes. ++No, even before persecution was there they met from house to house. Acts had given us 2 houses with gates and one 3 storeys high. So how small must the housechurches of Judea or the surrounding Mediterranean regions be??? ++What do you think? Yet these housechurches do not function as independent churches of each other but as the groupings of the local church in the city. But they are one church not many churches. That's why Paul's epistles are always to the ONE LOCAL church of the city. ++Have I ever disputed that? It has always been my contention that the local church expresses itself in many house churches.