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Robert Turner & Dan Shipley
The following are articles by Robert Turner originally published in his little paper called Plain Talk. (In a few cases, the articles were written by other men, including Dan Shipley, who contributed to Plain Talk at various points in its twenty-year history.) These short essays are perceptive and pointed. Read them carefully and ponder their significance; they are no less relevant now than when they were first published. — Gary Henry
The Lord’s Church: Means or Result of Salvation?
When followers of Christ are likened to a physical body, Christ is the head and the saints are the members of that body, the church (Ephesians 1:22,23). All who are in Christ are, by this figure, considered members of His body. We ignore priorities if we say one…
Nature of the Church: Importance of Proper ‘Church’ Concepts
Practically all church historians relate the development of the Papal system (Universal Bishop) with a much earlier “metropolitan system” and the diocesan concept of church government. Pragmatically, it is an enlarged concept of structure that demands an…
Two ‘Fellowships’
In 1 John 1 John describes his fellowship with God as one dependent upon his walking “in the light” of God’s truth. He had learned of Christ, first hand, and then wrote this truth for our benefit; so that we may have the same kind of fellowship he…
The New Testament ‘Church’
When Paul wrote to the church in Philippi (4:15) he addressed “all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons” (l:1). Saints are “set apart” people, who have come “out of darkness into His marvelous…
What Did God ‘Establish’?
World scholars seem to agree that the church was established in Jerusalem, the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ. Acts 2 gives the record, and only a few with some creed to defend offer objection. But WHAT was established when the church was…