What is a church?
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So.... looking at the Col 1:18...
'The dog'
Is that one universal dog?
'The horse'
Is that one universal horse?
'The wife'
Is that one universal wife?
Col 1:18...This is English grammar of singular standing for plural..where 'the church' is referring to the local church unit in general..not specific to one church.
Going to 1 Corinthians 12:
The body is described in terms of unity, togetherness, where one member suffers all suffer with it..etc..
With the same kind of unity language described in Ephesians.
That's describing the local church. 'Ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular '... Paul is saying the church at Corinth is the body of Christ.
'The dog'
Is that one universal dog?
'The horse'
Is that one universal horse?
'The wife'
Is that one universal wife?
Col 1:18...This is English grammar of singular standing for plural..where 'the church' is referring to the local church unit in general..not specific to one church.
Going to 1 Corinthians 12:
The body is described in terms of unity, togetherness, where one member suffers all suffer with it..etc..
With the same kind of unity language described in Ephesians.
That's describing the local church. 'Ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular '... Paul is saying the church at Corinth is the body of Christ.
You do not get out much, do you. You do not know what prophecy is. Amazing miracles of healing take place continually. The dead have been raised. As John Wesley observed, it is doubt and unbelief that quenches the Holy Spirit, so limiting the power of God.
The fact that there are false manifestations does not mean that there are no true manifestations. Sure, it is not right to have everyone speaking in tongues in a meeting. I've pulled out of places where that was normal practice. The so-called Toronto Blessing and similar "signs" are an abomination. Jesus warned us that such things would happen. And yes, the elect can be deceived.
I have many testimonies of fulfilled prophecies that seemed impossible at the time. Just one:
We were led to start a Bible school. My wife said that the Lord had shown her where we were to be. It was a run down building but was being refurbished. It had been converted into studios for artists. There was no way that we could lease a space. We were told by the letting agent that there was caveat on the property. The owner had specifically stated that it was for artists only.
That was enough for me. I looked elsewhere. My wife said no, we were promised that site. So we kept in touch with the management of the building. One day, I went there to inquire again. The people told me that they had been evicted. The building had been sold and was to be demolished. The owner had died and the family wanted to sell.
I discovered that the site was owned by an accounting firm. It "just so happened" that I had used the accountants for years to do my taxes. We were able to secure first right of refusal even before the building was completed.
We were there for two years, the length of time that my wife saw in the Spirit. There is no such thing as coincidence.
The fact that there are false manifestations does not mean that there are no true manifestations. Sure, it is not right to have everyone speaking in tongues in a meeting. I've pulled out of places where that was normal practice. The so-called Toronto Blessing and similar "signs" are an abomination. Jesus warned us that such things would happen. And yes, the elect can be deceived.
I have many testimonies of fulfilled prophecies that seemed impossible at the time. Just one:
We were led to start a Bible school. My wife said that the Lord had shown her where we were to be. It was a run down building but was being refurbished. It had been converted into studios for artists. There was no way that we could lease a space. We were told by the letting agent that there was caveat on the property. The owner had specifically stated that it was for artists only.
That was enough for me. I looked elsewhere. My wife said no, we were promised that site. So we kept in touch with the management of the building. One day, I went there to inquire again. The people told me that they had been evicted. The building had been sold and was to be demolished. The owner had died and the family wanted to sell.
I discovered that the site was owned by an accounting firm. It "just so happened" that I had used the accountants for years to do my taxes. We were able to secure first right of refusal even before the building was completed.
We were there for two years, the length of time that my wife saw in the Spirit. There is no such thing as coincidence.
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Why should it have a direct connection to Easter? The thread if entitled, "What is a Church?" Now of course, without the resurrection, there would be no Christianity, (1 Corinthians 15), and thus no church, but that surely doesn't mean that every discussion on Christian Chat must be directly connected to the resurrection of the Saviour.
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I don't know what you mean by "ministry gifts", but if it falls into the category of 1corinthians 12:8-10, it ain't happening. No man has power from God today to do by his own doing, anything of a miraculous nature. There are strange, unexplainable things done all the time by virtue of the devil, like those done in voodoo, but not of God.