Quote:
Originally Posted by Aquila
...
Believer’s Bible Commentary, Pgs. 1590-1591 Thoughts??? |
Yeah. About a ton.
The Believers Bible Commentary is the product of the Plymouth Brethren sect and thus, reflects the views and opinions that are generally associated with that group: Dispensationalism, Fundamentalism and a sometimes rather harsh view of any sort of hierarchy involving mutual accountability.
Also, while the first century Christian movement did lack a lot of it's own structure in its early years, it benefited from the existence of a whole network of communal structures and associations throughout the Mediterranean world - especially the structure of the Jewish community in diaspora.
Then, as the Christian church grew, it planted its own ecclesiastical structures and hierarchies (See
Titus 1:5-7 & etc. for example). Believers within these communities weren't just shuttled off to their own "house" or "mini-mission field." They were integrated with the larger community and served under the supervision of elders and bishops. The Greek word
episkopos or "bishop" mean literally, an overseer. "epi" means "over" or above and "skopos" means "to see or look."
Threaded Mode
