Question 3
I was told that according to Matthew 18:20, all that is required for a church to exist is two or three people gathered together in Jesus’ name. Is that the teaching of this passage?
No. This is a misunderstanding, the result of not paying careful attention to the context of this verse. In context, the concern under discussion is church discipline (Matt. 18:15–20), not the number of people required to be considered a church. And in the context of church discipline, the Lord Jesus says His blessing is on all congregations, even on small ones, when they exercise church discipline according to the Word of God.
BY Dr. Winfred O. Neely
Dr. Winfred Neely is Vice President and Dean of Moody Theological Seminary and Graduate School. An ordained minister, Winfred has served churches across the city of Chicago, the near west suburbs, and Senegal, West Africa. He is the author of How to Overcome Worry (Moody Publishers) and a contributor to the Moody Bible Commentary and Moody Handbook of Preaching. Winfred and his wife Stephne have been married for forty years and have four adult children and nine grandchildren.