Israel, the Church, an the Parable of the Olive Tree

[not an echo]

On 9/22/2021 at 7:29 PM, Marilyn C said:

On 8/10/2021 at 7:57 PM, not an echo said:

Hello all,

 

on can be thought of as a church, and a church can be thought of as a nation.  On the one hand, Stephen referred to those of the Nation of Israel as "the Church in the wilderness" (Acts 7:38).  On the other hand, Peter referred to those of the Christian Church as "an Holy Nation" (I Pet. 2:9).

 

Finally, God has not forgot those old natural branches of His Olive Tree.  He certainly hasn't forgot the trunk and root (His promise to Abraham). 

Hi not an echo,

Some more detail...

 

Next the `root` of the Olive tree in Rom. 11: 17 refers to the Lord for only He is -

- holy,

- gives nourishment -fatness of the olive tree.

 

Israel or Abraham could never be that.

Hello Marilyn,

I'm reminded of what Paul said in Colossians 2:

  6   As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him:

  7   ROOTED and built up IN HIM, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

I'm kinda hoping that in my last sentence above you noticed that I indicated concerning the root that it was "(His promise to Abraham)."  But also, in accord with what you said, this refers to the Lord.  Said another way, I believe God's covenant promise to Abraham was rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ, "before the foundation of the world"!

[Marilyn C]

On 9/23/2021 at 5:47 AM, not an echo said:

Hello abcdef,

I can see some of what you are saying, but personally, I would be very disinclined to avoid using the word "church" for such reasons and much more inclined to just keep putting forth a proper understanding of it.  I think of the word "home".  If the wife and I have been out of town for the weekend, it would be a common thing for me to ask her if she is ready to go home.  Yet, we have long understood that she and I constitute the home.  If we were to get back to the house and find that it had burned down, our home would remain.  Now, my dad, because he was a stickler to such details, was always careful to say, "Are you ready to go to the house."  So, while we understand these things, the subject might still come up at times, especially if we are wanting to teach the concept to children, or those young in the Lord.

Of course, it is a good thing to reinforce what the Church actually is, for we do not come out of our mother's womb understanding these things.  It's like our ABC's and 123's.  While the "brick and mortar" edifice is not the church (similar as with the home), the steepled buildings that dot the earth do represent something, and we often talk about "going to church."  But, if we arrive to find that the church building has burned down, the church would remain, as the people (the saved) constitute the church.  Something that is common with me is to reinforce that our local church is a little "c" church and that we are a part of something much, much bigger---the capital "C" Church.  It is the capital "C" Church that Jesus was speaking of when He said that the "gates of hell would not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18).  I would be reluctant to avoid using the word "church" just because of aggravating elements related to the RCC.  I could see Satan delighting over such a thing.  Interestingly, the Church is spoken of as "the body" of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23;  4:12), over which Christ is the Head (Eph. 5:23).  Moreover, and in accord with your concern, the Church is certainly made up of Jew and Gentile alike (Gal. 3:26-29;  I Cor. 12:12-13).

Hi not an echo,

Thank you for clarifying that. In our group we like to say the `public meeting,` (run by an organisation), for that is what it is. As you said if the building was burnt down then the Church/people would still be there. 

However, we as the Body of Christ meet in all sorts of settings, but somehow the word `Church` in most people`s understanding is the public meeting. Thus we don`t want to limit our understanding or other people`s understanding, so we call it for what it actually is - a public meeting, (run by an organisation).