The Ekklesia of God

Recently, having had more time to think, I have become aware of assumptions that I had previously made. Many of our views and opinions we borrow from others, assuming their ideas to be correct. When we start to think for ourselves, we may discover that, along with others, we have accepted a myth.

You can't change the world single-handed. And of course even Jesus Christ himself never tried to do that. In fact he warned that, when it has served its purpose, the world will be discarded, which will come as rather a shock to those who are still trying to save it.

But if you cannot change the world, you can develop your understanding of it by reference to the clear information laid out by God in Old and New Testaments.

Recently I turned my attention to the subject of the 'church'. It came as a surprise to me to discover by reference to the 'Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words' by W E Vine, that 'church' translates a number of words that would be better translated individually rather than being mixed together like a stew that no longer tastes of any of its constituent vegetables.

What is 'church'. We all use the word freely, but do you have any idea what it really means? In the New Testament, the Greek word translated 'church' is 'ekklesia' from where we get our word 'ecclesiastical'. 'Ekklesia' means 'called out', so the 'ekklesia' are those who have been 'called out'. So should we read through the New Testament substituting 'those called out' wherever we hit the word 'ekklesia/church'? Try it to see what it reads like!

So if God is speaking of those who have been called out, from what are they called out? Out of the world? What is the world, and how can anyone be called out from it? Because no one has gone anywhere; everyone is still here.

Before I go any further, it is important to note that the whole emphasis in the New Testament is on personal dealings with God. People are called individually by God, and although in some cultures a group decision may be made, if God 'calls' us out of the world, it is something that will affect each person individually because we hear individually (surprise-surprise). It cannot be a shared call, and a person hears and has to respond to the call individually, however it may appear culturally. Therefore I am not happy to jump straight to ekklesia = assembly or congregation. I have to stay with 'ekklesia' = 'called out' and try to think things through from there.

In the bible the 'world', or 'kosmos' in the Greek, refers to the entire framework or arrangement in which we live. It is used to refer to the heavenly bodies, the earth, and all the structures both social and material that exist on the earth and which we inhabit in the process of living our lives from day to day.

Many aspects of the world are very beautiful because they have been made by God, and the stamp of God's workmanship and His abundant love for us are everywhere to be seen. From raspberries that are good to eat, and lakes that are good to swim in on a hot day, to beautiful buildings, music or a good book by a fireside in winter there are countless beautiful things in the world.

But because there is an enemy operating in the world, and because man is fallen, in everything in the world there are also traps for the unwary. So we read the warning in 1 John 2.15 to "love not the world, neither the things in the world" because in becoming absorbed in the creation we will begin to forget the Creator, to forget His love for us, and to neglect the imperative to grow daily in our relationship with, and our dependence upon, Him.

So we understand that, living in this world, at the same time as we continue to fulfil our proper responsibilities to people and to institutions in our society, God calls us out from involvement in sin and the devil's agenda in the world. So we speak of being 'in' the world, but not being 'of' the world.

Now, God made the world originally and expects everyone born into it to live in it until they die, just as He did in the person of Jesus Christ.  But he also calls everyone to live as He did when he was on the earth, denying selfish desire and obeying God.  And he has given his Holy Spirit to make all this possible for us. Without the Holy Spirit living inside us, this is a forlorn hope, because we lack the required internal guidance system which will make us able to live in this way.

It is quite amazing to read John 16 and 17 as Jesus tells his disciples that He is going to shortly leave them and return to the Father. He makes constant references to the world in his high-priestly prayer:

John 16

8.   when the Holy Spirit is come, He will reprove the world

28. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father

33. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world

John 17

6.   Father, you gave me men out of the world

8.   I pray for them; I do not pray for the world

11. and now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world

12. while I was with them in the world, I guarded them

13. these things I speak in the world

14. the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world

15. I pray not that you should take them out of the world, but that you should guard them from the evil

16. they are not of the world even as I am not of the world

18. as you have sent me into the world so have I sent them into the world

21. that they may be one in us that the world may believe that you have sent me

23. that the world may know that you have sent me

25. Father, the world has not known thee, but I have known thee

 

As we all know we enter the world when we are born, and subsequently become one of God's 'called out ones'. We do not become part of any organisation or anything else thing that can be seen.  We are strictly identifiable only by a radical life style of obedience to a pure, holy and loving God. "By their fruits you shall know them".

So what is this 'Church' that we hear about and that even has members in Parliament?  And in what sense can it claim to represent God on the earth?  There may be some difficulty understanding how it fits in. However, if people want to set up an organisation to represent their concerns to government, they are perfectly free to do so. But it is then a political organisation, not God's church, even though many of the people in the organisation may also be members of God's ekklesia.

Likewise the scriptures encourage God's ekklesia to organise themselves for their own welfare, social relief, advance in learning, godliness and general progress, meeting regularly together whenever an opportunity presents itself and people feel that it will be useful. In the process, as they turn their hearts to God, looking to Him for daily direction and feeding, and thanking him for daily provision, how naturally they will open their hearts to him in songs and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody to Him as they love and worship Him.

They will recognise the need for constant adjustment in patterns and situations as they respond to changes in the world around them. They will be sensitive to the ease with which human nature slides towards comfort, habit or protectionism (including monasticism and ghetto mentality). They will be exercised regularly and uncomfortably to meet the needs of people all around them who are either on the same pilgrimage, or perhaps are about to step out on it.

In any town of an size in the UK, in the context of the ekklesia, there is any amount of scope for gatherings that will focus on the needs of, for example:

• middle class people struggling with mid-life crises
• working people who regularly end up with the short economic straw and are least able to cope with it
• doctors and nurses with irregular shifts who need to resolve medical ethical dilemmas
• people who cannot manage their own finances
• students from overseas living in the UK

There is opportunity to arrange:

• counselling sessions for people with more personal needs
• Alpha meetings to lay down Christian basics and to help people to begin to engage with God
• Bible teaching for people ready to understand more of God's plan for their lives
• mission meetings to direct vision more broadly into gospel opportunities in the world
• groups to focus on the challenges of keeping pure in commerce, or coping with the temptations of international travel
• teach-ins about the bringing up children
• social contact and support for those recovering from depression
• lunchtime gatherings for Christians who work in the same company
• business lunches for businessmen to take associates to
• relaxation with others over a coffee while shopping in town
• Friday lunch together with office friends who don't want to go down to the pub with the others
• for students from overseas - coach trips to places of especial interest and hospitality in Christian homes

There are so many different ways to meet the needs of of our ekklesia friends who, frankly, find some of the demands and temptations of their life in the world quite overpowering.

Is there a place therefore for the monolithic bandwagons that we casually call churches? The answer is Yes and No. Where a 'church' has  become so unresponsive to genuine need, hopefully people will gradually desert it, the dinosaur starving to death and it's shell being used to store furniture or to make someone a nice house.

The problem lies more in the middle area where the bandwagon is no longer as relevant as it used to be. It either needs to become more relevant or to be shut down if those responsible for it have become too entrenched to adapt. People easily become traditional, denominational or entrenched, even as they cry "we are not traditional, we are not a denomination, we are not entrenched!" They may continue to bash on about the Holy Spirit being in control, but if the needs of the ekklesia are not being met, the Holy Spirit is not in control, because His will is to meet the needs of people. "'When He is come, He will lead you into all truth." There's no wriggling. "By their works you shall know them." Jesus said so.