Mt 16: >18 I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Strong's Greek: 1577. ἐκκλησία (ekklésia) — 114 Occurrences

BDAG:
① a regularly summoned legislative body, assembly
② a casual gathering of people, an assemblage, gathering
③ people with shared belief, community, congregation
ⓐ of OT Israelites assembly, congregation
ⓑ of Christians in a specific place or area
α. of a specific Christian group assembly, gathering ordinarily involving worship and discussion of matters of concern to the community
β. congregation or church as the totality of Christians living and meeting in a particular locality or larger geographical area, but not necessarily limited to one meeting place: Ac 5:11; 8:3; 9:31, 11:26; 12:5; 15:3; 18:22; 20:17; cp. 12:1; 1 Cor 4:17; Phil 4:15; 1 Ti 5:16
ⓒ the global community of Christians, (universal) church, Mt 16:18

In the New Testament and earliest Christian usage, ἐκκλησία referred to the assembly/community rather than a dedicated church building. The term "local church" was not in the Bible.

According to BDAG, Jesus in Mt 16:18 was talking about the universal church (③ⓒ).

There were other levels (meanings) of ekklésia-assembly-church.

Ro 16: >5 Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia.

Greet the believers assembled in their house. Rome was a megacity in Paul's time. It had nearly a million inhabitants. There were other assemblies of believers (local churches) elsewhere in Rome.

Paul opened his letter to the Corinthians, addressing the network of assemblies (churches). 1Co 1: >1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God that is in Corinth,

The church of God in Corinth wasn't a single local church building. Paul was talking about the network of Christian assemblies in the city of Corinth:

>to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.

Paul connected the church of God in Corinth and every place where Christian assemblies existed. He was talking about a network of assemblies.

1Co 14: >23 If the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues,

Occasionally, the house churches gathered together publicly.

>and some who are uninstructed or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your minds? 24 But if an unbeliever or uninstructed person comes in while everyone is prophesying, he will be convicted and called to account by all, 25 and the secrets of his heart will be made known. So he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, “God is truly among you!

Unbelievers could observe this big gathering of believers.

Paul closed his letter mentioning other churches, 1Co 16: >19 The churches of Asia send you greetings.

Asia was a Roman province. Paul mentioned the network of churches in this province.

> Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.

Aquia and Prisca hosted a house ekklésia (assembly-church) in Ephesus, where Paul wrote his letter to the Corinthian ekklésia (assembly-church).

There were other examples of house assemblies/churches.

Acts 12: >12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.

This did not explicitly say “church,” but it described Christians assembling in a private home in Jerusalem.

Col 4: >15 Greet the brothers in Laodicea, as well as Nympha and the church that meets at her house.

Philemon 1:1–2 >1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker, 2 to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets at your house:

These passages indicate that the earliest Christians normally met in homes rather than dedicated religious buildings. Dedicated church buildings do not appear in the historical record until much later, especially after Christianity became legally tolerated in the 4th century under Constantine the Great.

There were different levels (meanings) of ekklēsia-assembly-church:

1. global universal church
2. provincial (regional) churches (Asia)
3. city-wide network of house churches
4. house church

The term “local church” did not appear in the Bible. The concept of local church in the NT involved house churches in a city. A city could have multiple house ekklēsia (assembly) churches. Occasionally, these house churches gather together publicly. There was no single church building housing the so-called "genuine local church" in a given city.

See also

• Define local churches

The doctrine of original sin teaches that humanity came under the influence of sin through Adam, and as a result, human beings either inherited Adam’s sin or had their nature fundamentally corrupted. Likewise, justification by faith teaches that a person is justified before God not through works, but through faith. The church combined the doctrines of original sin and justification by faith to construct an integrated system of salvation. Because human nature itself is believed to be corrupted and imperfect, it is considered inevitable that people will continue committing sins to some degree throughout life. Consequently, a doctrine of salvation was developed in which merely confessing Jesus as Lord grants an immediate ticket to heaven, allowing one to board the train of righteousness accomplished by Jesus on the cross. In effect, this became a product even more advanced than the indulgences sold by the medieval church.

From the perspective of political stability and system maintenance, such a framework proved economical and efficient, which is why evangelical theology became dominant within Christianity. The explanation that human beings are totally depraved, incapable of performing righteousness on their own, and therefore must depend entirely on Christ’s substitutionary atonement on the cross for salvation was something most denominations could affirm without much difficulty. By adding the qualification that believers should nevertheless strive to live holy lives even though their entrance into heaven is already secured, the system could also defend itself against moral criticism.

However, this way of thinking itself arose because people, being of the world, distorted God’s word. God clearly said that He shows no partiality and repays each person according to their deeds. Yet people who have departed from God do not understand sin itself as separation from God; instead, they treat it as an unavoidable loss. In other words, because righteousness is viewed in this world as something accumulated like wealth, people assume that if they have done many righteous acts, committing one or two sins is not a serious problem. They regard it as merely a small loss from a large reserve of moral assets. The church, based on this understanding of sin, developed the doctrines of original sin and justification by faith in order to justify it.

But Jesus said that the world does not even know what sin is according to God the Father, and so He compared the forgiveness of sins to the cancellation of debt. The cancellation of debt refers not to part of it, but to all of it. In the same way, when a person abides in righteousness—that is, abides in God—former sins are remembered no more. Likewise, no matter how righteously a person may have lived, the moment one commits even a single sin, righteousness is gone, and death comes through that sin. This is what God means when He says that He repays according to one’s deeds. Excuses such as “I did my best” carry no weight.

The righteousness and sin of which God speaks are life and death. No matter how long a fish has lived in water, once it leaves the water, it will soon die. No matter how desperately a fish struggles and gasps outside the water, the moment it returns to the water, it lives again. But what does the world do? Those who have gained a reputation for doing many righteous deeds are praised as virtuous people, and people say that committing one or two minor sins was merely a mistake that can be overlooked. Those who have gained a reputation for committing many sins, however, are branded as hopeless sinners and prevented from escaping that label, even if they repent and try to live rightly. In this way, the world has separated life from righteousness and separated death from sin.

But the one who has died with Jesus on the cross, received eternal life, and been born again is at the same time righteous. Whoever repents and returns to God is cleansed completely, as though their former sins had never existed.

I keep seeing this verse on a gym shirt last week and it finally clicked why it bother me so much.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” People put it on graduation cards, locker room walls, motivational posters. But have people actually read the two verses right before it?

Paul is in prison. He’s talking about being hungry. About being in need. About being abased. So, the “all things” he’s talking about is enduring hardship, not crushing your goals. He’s saying he can be content in any circumstance because of Christ. So when someone quotes it before a big game/ a job interview, they’re kind of saying the opposite of what Paul meant one could say.

He wasn’t promising success. He was promising peace in suffering.

Do you think this kind of misuse actually matters, or am I being too picky about it? 😬😬

Hi everyone, I am a Korean man currently living in the US where my faith has grown tremendously and I have built a deep, meaningful Christian community. I am facing mandatory South Korean military conscription soon, and the thought of going back is causing me immense dread and anxiety.

I deeply dislike the military environment, and I am terrified of hitting the brakes on my career, youth, and losing the spiritual community I have built here. And again all of my friends (including followers of Christ) and my dad and uncle all said if I can escape it, I should do it due to the inherently negative experience of Korean military.

Because I have no immediately clear legal alternative, I’ I’ve been thinking about loopholes to safely evade the service and even seriously considered illegally evading the draft and not returning to the country, even though it means criminal charges, losing my passport.

I am struggling deeply with the theology here. Is evading a mandatory civic law explicitly a sin if the system is rigid and offers no realistic alternative? Am I violating God’s desires by wanting to protect my career and my current faith environment through illegal evasion, or is it understandable to walk away from an institution I morally object to?

Like I’m just so anxious and unsure of even praying about this because i overthink a lot due to childhood trauma and have been used to not disappointing people and sometimes including God - I feel everyone judges me negatively so i try to please everyone.

I would appreciate biblical counsel on this. Thank you so much.

u/AceThaGreat123, u/supremekimilsung

The term immaculate conception is not in the Scripture. I prefer to adhere to Scripture's wording when it comes to doctrines. I put little weight on it when others use it in an argument. People who like to generalize tend to overgeneralize. More precisely, I know this. I don't use the term in my argumentation. I am not encouraging or stopping anyone from believing in this doctrine. It is not my place to do so.

Is the doctrine blasphemous?

I have no authority to say one way or the other.

u/VentiArchon7: Is it OK for me to pray to Mary or believe in the Immaculate Conception?

That's up to you, but for me, I don't see any need.

See also

• Should we pray to the saints?

I want to study the Bible in the original languages. Can anyone suggest a Hebrew-Greek-English Interlinear Bible? Can I only purchase one online? Are there any bookstores in the Dallas area that might have one I can look at in person? Are there any other resources you recommend to study and understand the Bible in its original Hebrew & Greek?

Recently, I’ve been diving deep into a theory of mine that I didn’t realize was a real ideology.

Does anyone have arguments books or any knowledge I can get on hopeful inclusivism/anonymous Christianity

What is heretical about saying Jesus has two separate natures? If Jesus has two distinct natures than it would make sense why he is able to die (since his divine nature wouldn’t die only his human) and why he has to learn things (since his human mind isn’t all-knowing).

I'm thinking it was only a vision and encounter from his own letters, and even Acts describes it simply as a light.

I can’t help but wonder about God’s reasoning for giving us such a high sex drive during puberty if premarital sex is a sin.

My partner (20M) and I (20F) have been struggling with sexual/physical intimacy, but I have been greatly blessed by his obedience to God in leading our relationship in a way that doesn’t cross too much boundaries. However, after a recent incident, I feel disgusted and gross with myself for having these strong urges, and needing him to draw the line during an intimate moment— ever since then, I can’t help but question why God created us with such a high sex drive at the age of teens to young adults, when He could have given us this desire later into our years so that we wouldn’t have to struggle with lust and participating in premarital sex.

I also acknowledge that in the earlier days, people do get married way earlier (like 16-17), ages where the sexual drive usually starts to grow. But even though that is factual, wouldn’t it also be suggesting that God did not consider those far into the future, where people choose to get married later?

For what Ham did that’s an awfully harsh punishment Noah gave… over something minuscule, unless there’s more context that I missed?

2nd question: nimrod who started the kingdom of babel, is it the same babel as the tower the people were trying to build?

Are there instructions in the Bible as to how exactly we can be filled with the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues?

BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION

You've Been Reading

Jesus Wrong

A fresh look at some of the most misunderstood teachings in the Gospels — and the communal key that unlocks their true meaning.

Scripture: World English Bible (WEB)Topic: Ebionite Interpretation~7 min read

A lot of Jesus's most famous words get misunderstood today — not because people aren't paying attention, but because they're reading them through the wrong lens. We instinctively apply his teachings to ourselves as individuals, asking: What does this mean for me, in my life, in my situation? But that framework is a modern habit, and it simply didn't exist when Jesus was speaking.

There is an early Jewish-Christian community called the Ebionites whose way of reading these teachings brings the original meaning back to life. Their key insight? Jesus was not giving personal self-help advice. He was laying down the rules for a community — a people trying to live together in a way that reflected God's character to the world.

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."

1 PETER 2:9 — WEB

The Problem: We're Reading It Wrong

When most people today encounter Jesus's teachings, they picture a single person trying to follow the advice in their own daily life. This "me and my choices" approach is so deeply ingrained that we don't even notice we're doing it.

Take the famous command to "turn the other cheek." Applied individually and universally, it sounds absurd — even dangerous. Would you let someone keep attacking you? Of course not. And when a teaching sounds that impractical, we tend to either dismiss it or twist it into something manageable.

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you, don't resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also."

MATTHEW 5:38–39 — WEB

But the fact that this sounds absurd is actually a clue. It tells us we're reading it in a context it was never meant for. The absurdity is not in the teaching — it's in our misapplication of it.

"The problem isn't the teaching. It's the lens we're using to read it."

The Fix: Think Community, Not Individual

The Ebionites understood Jesus's teachings as a blueprint for a specific kind of community — a tight-knit group of people bound together by covenant, mutual responsibility, and a shared calling to demonstrate God's way of living to the surrounding world.

This wasn't just a social club. It was meant to be a model society — a living, breathing alternative to the oppressive Roman and Temple-State systems of the day. As the prophet Micah put it, the standard was clear:

"He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"

MICAH 6:8 — WEB

The brotherhood was to be built on four core principles:

🤝

Compassion

Treating each other's wellbeing as your own concern — not as a bonus, but as a basic obligation.

🕊️

Reconciliation

Working through conflict directly and peaceably rather than letting it fester and divide.

🌿

Mutual Help & Forgiveness

Supporting each other materially and spiritually, and extending forgiveness to keep the peace.

⚖️

Justice & Mercy

The prophetic ideals from Israel's tradition — the ethical bedrock beneath everything else.

"Turn the Other Cheek" — What It Actually Means

With that communal lens in place, the teaching clicks into focus. It was not a blanket rule for responding to violence from strangers. Its scope, the Ebionites insisted, was "quite limited" — it applied specifically to conflict happening within the community, between members of the brotherhood.

The logic goes like this: when a fellow member wrongs you, instead of retaliating and escalating, you absorb it. You give the other person a chance to stop, reflect, and recognize what they did wrong. It's a tool for de-escalation — a way of prioritizing the health of the community over your own pride in the moment.

"If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother."

MATTHEW 18:15 — WEB

Jesus reinforced this priority elsewhere, famously teaching that reconciliation with a fellow member should come before religious observance:

"If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift."

MATTHEW 5:23–24 — WEB

The community's unity was not secondary to worship. It was an act of worship. Keeping the brotherhood intact was the prerequisite for everything else.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God."

MATTHEW 5:9 — WEB

Why It Mattered So Much: The Stakes Were Everything

This wasn't just about being nice to each other. In the Ebionite view, the fate of the entire people depended on whether this community succeeded or failed. The stakes were covenantal — meaning they were tied to God's promise and judgment over the nation.

THE TWO OUTCOMES

✓ SUCCESS

A community living in genuine reconciliation, justice, and mercy could count on God's protection and deliverance — including from Roman occupation. Righteousness would draw divine intervention.

✗ FAILURE

Internal conflict, injustice, and broken relationships would not go unnoticed. The failure of the brotherhood meant divine punishment — not as an abstraction, but as real national consequences.

This is why Jesus hammered on reconciliation, forgiveness, and mercy so relentlessly. These weren't suggestions for personal character development. They were the non-negotiable conditions for national survival. The community's internal life was a matter of life and death.

The Bottom Line

The teachings of Jesus make far more sense when you stop asking "how does this apply to me as an individual?" and start asking "how does this help a community stay together and reflect God's character?"

"Turn the other cheek" isn't about being a doormat. It's about refusing to let a personal offense destroy something much bigger and more important than your pride. When you see the community as the stage, the commands stop sounding naive and start sounding essential.

The Ebionites didn't invent this reading — they preserved it. And recovering it today doesn't just resolve interpretive puzzles. It offers a challenge: to consider whether any community we belong to is being shaped by these same principles of reconciliation, mercy, and faithfulness.

"He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"

MICAH 6:8 — WEB

I often hear that having a relationship with God is more than just reading and studying the bible and continuing on your day. I hear about quiet time often, thanking Him, talking to Him, etc. My problem is being intentional with doing these things and whether or not being intentional can come off at unauthentic. I just can't help but think that if I were to be sitting there daily, thanking or talking to God about various things, then it's going to be something I have to remind myself to do. Which to me means it's not genuine cause true thankfulness and stuff should come naturally...right? I get like that sometimes, where my thankfulness comes naturally. But not all the time. I just dont want my time with God to be un authentic, but with every new habit comes with being intentional, and to me, intentional means forcing yourself. I dont like that I feel like im forcing myself, especially since I've been a believer for years.

Yeah so do you think this guy truly believes what he is saying and preaching?

Do you think he knows that when he dies many many people are gonna be saying good and he's in hell now?

Do you think he knows he has done more to destroying what the gospels stand for than anything else?

Just some questions i had on him, i know noone can truly answers these but i'm just wondering what everyone elses opinions were about him. Thanks and God bless you all!