"through the church"
Paul understands that it is God's intention to work through the church. I don't believe God is speaking of the institution, for the church was not old enough at the point Paul wrote this to be a large institution with a great deal of structure. I believe that Paul is referring to the gathering of people. As the church has grown over the centuries God does work through the institution but I believe that God's intention is to work through the people. God does not work exclusively through the church, but that is the way God usually works.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I've occasionally read and heard it said that "You can't be a Christian without going to church." I appreciate Ken's comment on this reminder that there were not many organized churches when this passage was written. This reminds me of the children's song, "We are the church; you are the church." I've seen people who do attend church but who don't seem to be serving God - and some who don't attend be wonderful servants of His. However, it seems that so many more almost-miraculous things happen with people working together in the church!
ReplyDelete