{"id":897,"date":"2024-08-07T08:06:54","date_gmt":"2024-08-07T14:06:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/?p=897"},"modified":"2024-08-07T08:07:15","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T14:07:15","slug":"where-two-or-three-are-gathered-to-witness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2024\/08\/07\/where-two-or-three-are-gathered-to-witness\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Two or Three are Gathered to Witness"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

We have all heard people say, \u201cWhere two or three are gathered in my name, I will be with them\u201d (Matthew 18:20). We have all most likely said it in our lifetime. \u201cFather, I know you\u2019re here because you said where two or three are gathered\u2026\u201d Having said that, I have rarely, if ever, heard this verse quoted in its correct context. I have been guilty of misquoting it myself. I think we all have. But learning to read the Bible in context helped me with many things I was struggling to understand. Think about it, if it takes two or three, does this mean God isn\u2019t there until then? So when I\u2019m by myself, God doesn\u2019t show up? I can easily find verses that say He is there when I\u2019m by myself. So that would be contradictory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This verse is mostly used to imply that when two or three people are gathered, you now get to enjoy the presence of God. It is also used to justify \u201cforsaking the assembly, as so many are in the habit of doing.\u201d Yes, they justify not being part of a local church with this verse, taken completely out of context. In order to get the true context, we must read Matthew chapter 18, verses 15-20. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, these verses have absolutely nothing to do with the church. He does use the word Ekklesia<\/em>, but He is not referring to the \u201ctwo or three\u201d people mentioned later. The church was only mentioned as a way of handling conflict. So \u201ctwo or three\u201d is not referring to a local church or a church gathering of any type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, it is not referring to the presence of God. The presence of God is ever-present, according to Psalm 46:1. So you don\u2019t need two or three in order for God to be present. He is omnipresent, according to Psalm 139:7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This leaves us with what Jesus is actually talking about. He is referring to conflict and discipline. It is a very practical matter for a practical people. His audience was most likely people who understood the Torah, because he was referring to it. Jesus says that if someone sins or falls, we are to go to them and point it out to them. Now wait, I thought we were to never judge? Another misconception. We are only to never judge non-believers. But other fellow believers, we are certainly to judge each other, according to this verse and many others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus then continues and says that if they won\u2019t listen, take one or two others along so that every word that is said is said in the presence of witnesses. This was very practical and not new to the listeners. Again, Jesus was quoting the Torah. The passage is from Deuteronomy 19:15. This was the law handed down by Moses. It was put in place to prevent someone from being prosecuted by one person. It would be unfair and unjust for one person to hand down judgment. So they put this practice in place to prevent an unjust prosecution from happening and Jesus was echoing this law. Jesus then says that if they still won\u2019t listen, take them to the Ekklesia<\/em> (derived from two words meaning called<\/em> and out of<\/em>, the gathered people of God- the church) and if they still refuse, treat them as a tax collector (or someone who just does not know God).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing to keep in mind in all of this, treating someone as if they do not know God means, according to Jesus\u2019 other teachings, that we are to love them, accept them where they are, teach them through our example of living, but not allow them to be in leadership positions. That\u2019s how non-believers were to be treated. They are to be taught and loved but not to teach in the church. This is important because recently, someone took to social media to chastise a church for not letting them be in a leadership position because they were knowingly living in a life of consistent sin and not letting the very verses we are discussing play out. She was told of her sin. She has chosen to deny that she is living in such sin. The Bible then teaches that we are to treat them as thought they do not know God. They can no longer be in a position of leadership or authority. When this church did exactly what the Bible teaches, she took offense. And many came to her defense. The real problem was that she was already in this place of leadership and they recently decided to remove her. And for that, this church was wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So after Jesus says all of this about pointing out sin, taking it to them, then with two or three witnesses, per the Torah, then to the Ekklesia<\/em>, then treated as a tax collector, Jesus then says that \u201cwhatever they agree on and ask for, It will be done for them\u201d, meaning that the conflict at hand has been resolved. He then says, \u201cWhere two or three gather in my name, I am with them.\u201d The two or three Jesus is speaking of are the witnesses to the conflict and discipline. Jesus is basically saying, \u201cFollow the Torah. This law is good. Once you have followed what God has commanded, I will be there to deal with the consequences, whether positive (\u201cthey agree on\u201d) or negative (\u201cThey still won\u2019t listen\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that we know the context of this, it makes sense with the description of the church in Acts 2, Ephesians 4, Hebrews 10, and Hebrews 13. It also makes sense with the verses in Psalm 46 and Psalm 139. It all fits. But only in context. And it teaches a good lesson on how to deal with conflict and discipline with love<\/u><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So next time someone says, \u201cWhere two or three are gathered\u2026\u201d, you can respond by asking what they witnessed. Stay informed. Read the bible in context. Taking scripture out of context only hurts us and those around us. In context, it displays truth, and the \u201cTruth shall set you free.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay Classy GP!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grainger<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We have all heard people say, \u201cWhere two or three are gathered in my name, I will be with them\u201d (Matthew 18:20). We have all most likely said it in our lifetime. \u201cFather, I know you\u2019re here because you said where two or three are gathered\u2026\u201d Having said that, I have rarely, if ever, heard … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Where Two or Three are Gathered to Witness”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0},"categories":[12,6,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=897"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":899,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897\/revisions\/899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}