r/BibleVerseCommentary

u/Wildbiscon, u/MilesBeyond250, u/EverOnAndUpward

Ga 3:

>28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

The central theological dispute is not whether men and women have equal value before God. Both positions affirm that. The question is whether Scripture assigns men and women different authority and leadership roles.

1T 2:

>12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.

Summary Table:

Issue	Egalitarianism	Complementarianism
Men and women	Equal dignity and authority	Equal dignity, distinct roles ✓
Church leadership	Women may serve as pastors and elders ✓	Pastoral or elder offices reserved for qualified men
Marriage	Mutual submission and shared leadership	Husband has a distinct headship responsibility ✓
Galatians 3:28	Supports equality in Christ, with implications for roles	Establishes equal standing in salvation, not identical roles ✓
1 Timothy 2:12	Often interpreted as addressing a specific situation ✓	Often interpreted as a general restriction on women's teaching authority

Ticks mark my positions.

u/Certain-Support-9090, u/New-Reputation681, u/likefenton

RcV, Mt 16: >18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this brock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Notes: > The Lord’s building of His church began on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4, 41-42). Yet the Lord’s prophecy here still has not been fulfilled, even up to the twentieth century. The Lord is not building His church in Christendom, which is composed of the apostate Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant denominations. This prophecy is being fulfilled through the Lord’s recovery, in which the building of the genuine church is being accomplished.

Bold added.

According to Witness Lee, the Roman Catholic Church is an apostate church, and his so-called Lord's recovery is the only genuine church, while all other denominations are not.

He elaborated in RcV, Rv 3: >8 I know your works; behold, I have put before you an opened door which no one can shut, because you have a little power and have kept My word and have not denied My name.

Notes: > The apostate church has deviated from the Lord’s word and become heretical.

Bold added. Roman Catholic Church is heretical.

>The reformed church, though recovered to the Lord’s word to some extent, has denied the Lord’s name by denominating herself, taking many other names, such as Lutheran, Wesleyan, Anglican, Presbyterian, Baptist, etc.

A church that takes a name other than Christ's commits spiritual fornication. Basically, naming a church is wrong?!

>The recovered church not only has returned in a full way to the Lord’s word but also has abandoned all names other than that of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lee attached great significance to the superficial names.

>The recovered church belongs to the Lord absolutely, having nothing to do with any denominations (any names). To deviate from the Lord’s word is apostasy, and to denominate the church by taking any name other than the Lord’s is spiritual fornication.

Lee thought denominating a church with a name like Luther, Wesley, Baptist, etc. was spiritual fornication.

>The church, as the pure virgin espoused to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2), should have no name other than her Husband’s. All other names are an abomination in the eyes of God. In the recovered church life there are no teachings of Balaam (2:14), no teachings of the Nicolaitans (2:15), no teachings of Jezebel (2:20), and no mysterious doctrines of Satan (2:24); there is only the pure word of the Lord. The recovered church has no denominations (names); it has only the unique name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The deviation from the word to heresies and the exalting of many names other than that of Christ are the most striking signs of degraded Christianity. The return to the pure word from all heresies and traditions and the exalting of the Lord’s name by abandoning every other name constitute the most inspiring testimony in the recovered church. This is why the church in the Lord’s recovery has the revelation and presence of the Lord and expresses the Lord in a living way, full of light and with the riches of life.

Witness Lee's recovered church is the only genuine church. His logic was naive. He was not first-order logical.

Lee is too subjective and overgeneralized. Well, I take a more balanced approach. I don't mind denominations at all. They have advantages and disadvantages.

Is naming a church as Wesleyan spiritual fornication?

I wouldn't put it that way but I certainly would not like any church named after me.

See also

• Why are there so many denominations within Christianity?
• Is the Local Church non-denominational?
• Spiritual Fornication or Biblical Fidelity? A Response to Witness Lee’s Condemnation of Christian Denominations

u/ConstructionWhole237

Paul used this metaphor in 2C 2: >14 Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.

The setting drew on the imagery of a Roman triumph, a ceremonial procession celebrating a military victory. The victorious general (Christ) led the procession, while captives and others followed. Incense accompanied such public ceremonies.

Paul had once opposed Christ. Christ conquered him. Now the former enemy was publicly led about as an instrument proclaiming Christ's victory.

We Christians carry the fragrance to spread the gospel everywhere.

>15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God

The aroma of Christ emanates from a life transformed by the Christ of God. We have this pleasing aroma.

>among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.

The meanings of "fragrance" and "aroma" overlap and are interchangeable here.

To those being saved, it is the fragrance of life. For those who embrace the gospel, the believer's witness is a sweet, life-giving scent that points to salvation and victory in Christ.

To those perishing, it smells like death. For those who reject the message, the same witness serves as a stark reminder of judgment and impending spiritual death.

>Who is sufficient for these things?

We are with the fragrance of Christ.

>17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

We are not commercial manipulators (peddlers) of God's word. We give off Christ's fragrance through sincere speech.

The controlling metaphor in this passage is Christ's fragrance spreading through Christian witness, producing two opposite responses: life to those being saved and death to those who are perishing.

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