Matt 18
15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
Whoops! There goes that one!
"2) ..."The church, with believers as the body and Christ as the head, did not exist until after Christ ascended to become its head. And it could not become a functioning entity until after the Holy Spirit provided the necessary spiritual gifts (Eph. 4:7-11)" (117). "
See above. Oh, and btw, Eph 4 does not claim that the church could not "become a functioning entity until after the Holy Spirit provided the necessary spiritual gifts "
"3) "The third evidence is the mystery character of the church (117)." A mystery in the Bible is a hidden truth not revealed until the New Testament (Eph. 3:3-5, 9; Col. 1:26-27). "
The 'mystery' is not 'the church', but the message of the gospel which was hidden but now is revealed! It was the truth of which "Moses and the Prophets" made known (Luke 24:13-27,32)
"4) "The fourth evidence that the church is distinct from Israel is the unique relationship between Jews and the Gentiles, called one new man in Ephesians 2:15" "
"5) "The fifth evidence for the distinction between Israel and the church is found in Galatians 6:16"
Paul makes no such distinction! In fact, as I have already pointed out, he ~ELIMINATES~ the distinction (Gal 3:28, Col 3:11)
"6) "In the book of Acts, both Israel and the church exist simultaneously. The term Israel is used twenty time and ekklesia (church) nineteen times, yet the two groups are always kept distinct" "
Acts 7
37 This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.
38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:
x, guess what the 'church in the wilderness' is? It's Isreal! Oh, and notice the 'Greek' word used here is 'ekklesia'.
Whoops! There goes that one, too!
Sorry, x, I'm not impressed. I'll stick with the Scriptures!
Jean