Terry wrote:
> I think that when He said, "Church", He meant
> Church. If He had meant churches, He would
> have said churches.
I agree. He meant church. The question is, did he have a
specific church in mind, or did he have a huge worldwide organization
in mind like Roman Catholicism or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints? A few chapters later, in Mat. 18, Jesus uses the word
church in the singular there also. Does he have in mind there some
gigantic worldwide metaphysical church or does he have in mind a local
church? It seems to me in Mat. 18, we can infer from context that he
has in mind a local church. The problem in Mat. 16 is that there isn't
much context from which to make a determination. Most people assume a
worldwide assembly, but I think that comes more from culture than from
illumination from the Holy Spirit.
If we translate the word "church" here as "congregation," like
Tyndale's translation did, would you read it differently? If Jesus
said, "upon this rock I will build my congregation...," does it make it
easier for you to see how the local congregation might be what Jesus
has in mind? Was Jesus really trying to indicate his intent to build
an empire, a global church, or was he keenly interested in a quality
congregation in Jerusalem, knowing in the back of his mind that at some
point he would replicate this and also build other churches?
Peace be with you.
David Miller
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