The Ekklesia of Christ
Jesus identified Himself as being the builder of the ekklesia, or, as it has been translated, the “church.” Today we are told that there are over 38,000 “Christian” denominations, which gives some indication of the diversity of opinion on what the Bible teaches. We are seeing the fulfillment of Peter's declaration that there will be false teachers among us (2 Peter 2:1); within this proliferation of ideologies, you will find everything from the liberal to the fundamental, from the staid to the energetic, from the liturgical to the ridiculous. Is this all part of what Jesus is building? These denominations typically spring from one man (or woman) who teaches a particular doctrine and gains a following, but is that really how Jesus is building His ekklesia? Jesus said, “I will build My ekklesia”; do we see His hand at work within the denominations today? Or, have we substituted organization, complete with budgets, programs, facilities and high-sounding statements of faith, for the organism that Scripture refers to as the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27)? Has God given us glimpses of what this ekklesia is to look like and how it is to function?
The difficulty with a study into the ekklesia, which Jesus is building, is that we all bring a boatload of baggage to the table; our traditions have dealt us a considerable handicap when it comes to looking into this subject. Even the fundamentalist, who prides himself on adhering carefully to what the Scriptures teach, will find himself dragging traditions along, which do not come from the Scriptures. May this study whet your appetite for the work that Jesus is doing for you, and may we all be prepared to re-evaluate our traditions under the spotlight of God's Holy Word.
Updated July 2014
The difficulty with a study into the ekklesia, which Jesus is building, is that we all bring a boatload of baggage to the table; our traditions have dealt us a considerable handicap when it comes to looking into this subject. Even the fundamentalist, who prides himself on adhering carefully to what the Scriptures teach, will find himself dragging traditions along, which do not come from the Scriptures. May this study whet your appetite for the work that Jesus is doing for you, and may we all be prepared to re-evaluate our traditions under the spotlight of God's Holy Word.
Updated July 2014