The purpose of togetherness is the benefit of mutual encouragement. That this became the reason for their meetings is clear from 1 Corinthians 14:26. It reads, “When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening…
(1) “The church of Ephesus” in Revelation 2:1 is referred to as “the saints … at Ephesus” in Ephesians 1:1. Again, here is a local church (individual saints), but not a local church organization. If someone asked, “Is there a local church in that town?,” Paul would say, “Yes, there are saints living there.” They…
Some propose the idea that a universal church is nowhere taught in the Bible so that every reference to the church (assembly) is a reference to the physical gathering of people. Abrams writes, “However, it can be argued that Matthew 16:18 is referring to Christ founding the institution of local churches, not to the establishment…