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Hi Mr Vinson:
In some of the audios you mention that the”church is the world”. I listened to your tape on what is the world. and it brought no clarity to me. I went to my concordance, and it shows 288 verses for the word world in both new and old testament. There are also 80 verses translated ‘church’ in the new testament. After reading through all of these verses I don’t come to the conclusion that the world and the church are the same, at least as they are listed in scripture. The church is the ekklesia, the called out ones or those called to assemble. Jesus goes through this numerous times. That’s why I need help. If the ekklesia (church) is the world (kosmos), what are these people called out of as Jesus said. And who would the gates of hades not prevail against? Now if you are saying that the institution that is called the church is of the world, I can see that. I just don’t see that the ekklesia as Jesus defines it is the world. Am I missing something? Please clarify for me or refer me to any resources on the website that would claify this issue. Be patient with me as I am not the sharpest tack in the box.
Thanks for your help and clarification in advance. In Christ,
R____
Hi R____,
Thank you for your question and for the humble spirit in which you pose this question.
I have no way of knowing how much of the iswasandwillbe. com website you have listened to or read, but I do know that if you continue to listen to the audios, the videos, and read the articles and e- mails, you will see that we clearly teach that Christ’s disciples come out of this world, even as they are living in this world. We find this principle right here in the words of our Lord Himself:
Joh 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
Yet earlier we see our Lord telling us that He has called us “out of the world”.
Joh 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Joh 17:6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
We live in this world, but we have been chosen “out of the world”.
The apostle Paul reiterates our Lord’s words with these inspired words:
1Co 5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
1Co 5:10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
1Co 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
Here we are commanded against allowing “any man that is called a brother”, who is living in fornication, to be a part of our gatherings after we confront them with their fornication; “with such and one no not to eat”.
There are very few churches who do this as it relates to physical fornication, and there are even fewer churches who obey this commandment as it relates to spiritual ‘fornication’ and heresies in the body of Christ.
But this commandment is addressed only to those who claim that they have “come out of the world” and are “called a brother” even as they continue to live as if they had not come out of the world at all.
You said:
Now if you are saying that the institution that is called the church is of the world, I can see that.
If you continue to read this website you will see that is exactly what we say throughout.
You also mentioned using your concordance.
I listened to your tape on what is the world and it brought no clarity to me. I went to my concordance, and it shows 288 verses for the word world in both new and old testament. There are also 80 verses translated ‘church’ in the new testament.
I encourage you to download the e- sword module to your computer and to use it along with or instead of your concordance. I say this because e- sword is an electronic bible study tool with a concordance which will give you the Hebrew and Greek words which are behind Strong’s numbers, thereby allowing you to see how the holy spirit uses those words, as opposed to how various translators want you to understand the words of scripture. The e- sword link is on the right side of the homepage, and it is completely free. Using your concordance is fine, but the e- sword, or any of the other complete bible study tools that are available on the internet, do save a lot of page turning.
I hope these verses of scripture have served to demonstrate that we are indeed called out of this world, even as we are said to be living “in the world”, and that we do indeed believe that the church system is not at all “out of the world”, but is rather an integral part of this world.
Your brother in Christ,
Mike