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When did the Church begin?

Do you believe the Church began on the day of Pentecost?

  • Yes

    Votes: 11 61.1%
  • No

    Votes: 5 27.8%
  • Other.

    Votes: 2 11.1%

  • Total voters
    18

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So as I write that in regard to the word.
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness

So as John wrote "in the beginning was the word" as in 1john He must be referring to Jesus as the "word of life" for we were created in His image and likeness. Which I read as form. A body with head and hair, eyes, arms, legs mouth torso etc..- as also the one sitting on the throne was described as having a figure of a man. Different kinds of bodies for sure but the same figure (form) as Father and Son - the us in the beginning.

Gods firstborn would be a being not a people or word and such a being would make such a statement, "before Abraham was born I am"
 
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. Matthew 16:13-20


  • And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.


What is the church?

What is the requirement to be a part of the Church?

When did the Church begin?




JLB
I think the answer to this is to define what Jesus meant by this

15 "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"
Mark 1:15

31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
Luke 21:31

20 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation,
21 nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."
Luke 17:20-21

28 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
Matthew 16:28

The church has longed to put their finger on the point at which the Holy Spirit fell on the apostles.
Jesus gave some clues. The washing of the disciples through hearing the word Jesus preached.
The fulfilment of Jesus being the atoning sacrifice for sin, and finally Jesus ascending to heaven so that the Holy Spirit could come and dwell in the disciples.

But as with all complex layered issues all are needed to start the next level of communion with the disciples of Jesus.
Like a living person we need water, food, air, a heart and all the function of the body working to be alive. If one major system fails, no life. The fall of Israel and the temple, are the major end of one era of communion and fellowship and the church the next.

In the world we desire definition, reductionism, certainty, while in real life all things have to be in place to obtain fulfilment. God bless you
 
the n.t church started at Pentecost all though Jesus told peter upon this ROCK i will build my church ..what rock ?peter replied after asked who do you say i am peter said though art the Christ . so his church was in the making before Pentecost which was the icing on the cake.
 
When people started using words like “church” or “christian” really doesn’t make any difference. Scientists over time have discovered new species. Those creatures did not start to exist the day they were given a name.

The church, as a body of believers bound together with those peculiar characteristics of love and commitment to one another, started at Pentecost. After that day they were one. And they weren’t afraid. What’s more, they took upon themselves the mantle of spreading the good news….
 
the n.t church started at Pentecost all though Jesus told peter upon this ROCK i will build my church ..what rock ?peter replied after asked who do you say i am peter said though art the Christ . so his church was in the making before Pentecost which was the icing on the cake.
This could also be said except for the church being built on Peter. It was built in Jesus being the Christ. Peter wasn’t even the head of the church. But that’s off topic.
 
There are 7,000 posts on this thread. I don't have the time or desire to read all of them, so pardon me if I repeat something already said.

The question is when did the Church begin. The problem is that the English translators translated the word Ekklesia with the word Church. That is where all the trouble is.

When Jesus said I will build my Church, the word in Greek is ekklesia. Jesus did not invent a new word. He used a word that was already in use in the Greek old testament. Stephen used this word for those in the wilderness:

Act_7:38 This is he, that was in the church (ekklesia) 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:

So, it seems that the Church existed long before you guys want it to.
 
There are 7,000 posts on this thread. I don't have the time or desire to read all of them, so pardon me if I repeat something already said.

The question is when did the Church begin. The problem is that the English translators translated the word Ekklesia with the word Church. That is where all the trouble is.

When Jesus said I will build my Church, the word in Greek is ekklesia. Jesus did not invent a new word. He used a word that was already in use in the Greek old testament. Stephen used this word for those in the wilderness:

Act_7:38 This is he, that was in the church (ekklesia) 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:

So, it seems that the Church existed long before you guys want it to.
Amen, a few views


Walter
 
About the English word Church. (this is what I found, I am not an expert)

The word church ultimately traces its origin to a Greek term, kūrikón, which was related to kurios, “lord.” The phrase kūrikón oikía meant “the Lord’s house.” In the Middle Ages, the Greek term for “house of worship” was shortened to kūrkón. And that’s the word that was loaned to West Germanic as kirika and eventually to Old English as cirice.

Old Norse borrowed the Old English word cirice to form kirkja, and that’s where the Scottish word kirk came from. During the Middle English period, the word kirk was borrowed from the Scots, so now Modern English has both church and kirk as synonyms.

Many English words, especially those related to Christianity, came from Greek and passed through early German dialects. The word church is one of those words. Other English ecclesiastical words that share a Greek origin include Christ, angel, evangelism, baptize, episcopal, apostle, Presbyterian, and charismatic.

In 1557 the Geneva New Testament, produced by William Whittingham, was the first English translation to translate “ekklesia” as “church.”

The Geneva Bible was the Bible that the Pilgrims brought to America. The King James came later.
 
This is irrelevant because they were the church long before they were called Christians.
I agree, but this thought was in line with whom I was responding at the time. (post #17)
And being called Christians was a name given to them by unbelievers as a sign of mocking.
Though I can't attest to your "mocking" motives, they were truly the church by Christ Jesus (Eph 3:21) well before they gained the "Christian" moniker.
 
This is irrelevant because they were the church long before they were called Christians. And being called Christians was a name given to them by unbelievers as a sign of mocking.
yes and until Christ told peter upon this rock i will build my church. this is first time Church word was used. Christ is the corner stone the foundation the Rock . when he said the gates of hell will not prevail .. nothing would stop His Church being built. - from acts chapter 2 we see the Church exploding in growth. the Church is the local assembly aka the Body of Christ .

the church is not perfect if it was we would have no need for Christ. :cross
 
About the English word Church. (this is what I found, I am not an expert)

The word church ultimately traces its origin to a Greek term, kūrikón, which was related to kurios, “lord.” The phrase kūrikón oikía meant “the Lord’s house.” In the Middle Ages, the Greek term for “house of worship” was shortened to kūrkón. And that’s the word that was loaned to West Germanic as kirika and eventually to Old English as cirice.

Old Norse borrowed the Old English word cirice to form kirkja, and that’s where the Scottish word kirk came from. During the Middle English period, the word kirk was borrowed from the Scots, so now Modern English has both church and kirk as synonyms.

Many English words, especially those related to Christianity, came from Greek and passed through early German dialects. The word church is one of those words. Other English ecclesiastical words that share a Greek origin include Christ, angel, evangelism, baptize, episcopal, apostle, Presbyterian, and charismatic.

In 1557 the Geneva New Testament, produced by William Whittingham, was the first English translation to translate “ekklesia” as “church.”

The Geneva Bible was the Bible that the Pilgrims brought to America. The King James came later.
just the fact we can have Bibles is a great thing. Men were burnt at the stake for translating the Bible William Tyndale was an English biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the Protestant Reformation in the years leading up to his execution. He is well known as a translator of the Bible into English, and was influenced by the works of prominent Protestant Reformers such as Martin Luther.
 
Amen, a few views


Walter
Adding to your excellent post Acts 2:42-47 tells us they met daily in the temple and broke bread from house to house.

(42) And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
(43) And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
(44) And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
(45) And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
(46) And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
(47) Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
.
 
William Tyndale
Here is a little about him:
William Tyndale could speak seven languages and was proficient in ancient Hebrew and Greek. He was a priest whose intellectual gifts and disciplined life could have taken him a long way in the church—had he not had one compulsion: to teach English men and women the good news of justification by faith.

Tyndale had discovered this doctrine when he read Erasmus's Greek edition of the New Testament. What better way to share this message with his countrymen than to put an English version of the New Testament into their hands? This, in fact, became Tyndale's life passion, aptly summed up in the words of his mentor, Erasmus: "Christ desires his mysteries to be published abroad as widely as possible. I would that [the Gospels and the epistles of Paul] were translated into all languages, of all Christian people, and that they might be read and known."
 
Here is a little about him:
William Tyndale could speak seven languages and was proficient in ancient Hebrew and Greek. He was a priest whose intellectual gifts and disciplined life could have taken him a long way in the church—had he not had one compulsion: to teach English men and women the good news of justification by faith.

Tyndale had discovered this doctrine when he read Erasmus's Greek edition of the New Testament. What better way to share this message with his countrymen than to put an English version of the New Testament into their hands? This, in fact, became Tyndale's life passion, aptly summed up in the words of his mentor, Erasmus: "Christ desires his mysteries to be published abroad as widely as possible. I would that [the Gospels and the epistles of Paul] were translated into all languages, of all Christian people, and that they might be read and known."
Soon after Christ died, say about 20 or 30 years after Jesus conquered sin and death, the religion of the day, Judaism, split three ways. Some became Christians, some remained Jews, and others sat on the fence. Jesus said no man can serve two masters. Well, some did. The Pharisees and scribes were a powerful force in the Temple. They were in charge, and they devised a works based religion, similar to Judaism, that had one of its own people at the head, namely Peter, who they made the head of the church. This after killing the disciples, with the scribes and Pharisees still holding onto their offices, and there we see the beginnings of Catholicism.
.
 
Hi,

What does it mean He died before the foundation of the world?

I don't really know the answer...
But my opinion is....

WHEN MEN BEGIN TO CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD.

DID ADAM AND EVE EVER CALL UPON GOD BEFORE THEY ATE OFF THE TREE?
 
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