New Covenant History of ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ

Saul hence maltreated the ekklesia, according the homes, entering, dragging beside men and women, committing them into the guardhouse. [Acts 8:3]

Local expression of ekklesia became an early target for persecution of the risen body of Christ. The Adversary, coming against the ekklesia as if she were the Head Himself. However, boldness of the assault proved enough to effectively strengthen the faith of some, while checking the faith of others. 'There is our protection from above', alongside 'Where is our protection from above?'. The 'Simon' temptation [John 18:10-11] to take up a man-made defense and prepare to use it... at first, largely subdued until a time to come of chasing heresy and of inquisitioning. Yet, a door being opened in the minds of some, for a defense from the flesh.

It would be the ekkelsia to call upon God, to receive His wisdom & remedy; His λογος. The remedy for Saul became a light and kenesis from above, halting Saul; even blinding him (for a time) along the road to Damascus. [Acts 9]

trembling besides and being awed, he said, "What would You have me to do?" And the Master, to accommodate him, "Be standing and be coming into the city, and it shall be told to you anything that is binding upon you to be doing. [Acts 9:3]

What was needful and binding upon Saul would begin to meet him in a house on a street called "Straight".

Saul was coming into Jerusalem, and he tried to be joined with the disciples, and all feared him -- not believing that he is a disciple. Barnabas hence taking-hold of him, led toward the apostles and relates to them how, along the way he perceives the Master and that He talks to him; and how he is bold in the name of Jesus. [Acts 9:27-28]

Getting Paul turned around was an administrative action & course, empowered & coordinated from above. The accounts continue to flow into the present day, of the present age. Acts 15 being most notable.

Bringing Forward ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ

1. abundant fruit of the Spirit and of Light [Galatians 5:22-24; Ephesians 5:9-10]
2. shared, steadfast, concomitant petition [Acts 9:27-28]
3. devoted to the Master, Messiah-Christ [Luke 16:13]
4. resolution in full consensus [Acts 15:22,25]
5. competency [II Corinthians 3:5-6]
6. conciliation & deference [I Corinthians 4:13; Hebrews 12:9]
7. dependence upon power of God in Christ [I Corinthians 2:5]

Saul's/Paul's appeal [Acts 20:27-28]

For I did not keep back from declaring to you all the council of the God. Take heed to yourselves and to the entire flocklet of God, in which of y'all, the Holy Spirit placed on-noters, to be shepherding the ekklesia of God which He procures thru His own blood.

For a flocklet (as at Corinth, Ephesus, Smyrna...), God has provided, and He provisions some among them to function as on-noters (aka, overseers, shepherds,...) That is, the apostle or evangelist [sent ones] who worked to establish you together, having been sent, ought not need linger or find necessity to afterward return to you in sorrow because y'all are not embracing the graces given among you by the Holy Spirit. Neither certain need for another to be sent (ref: Timothy, Titus) so as to appoint or restore. ekklesia assists the congregation/assembly and the community surrounding; to knowledge and consensus across time & space of this present age. The Kingdom of God among us, administered from above.

Gradual turning away from the out-call of ekklesia, so left a vacancy that, after ~250 years, ancient Rome would attempt to fill. Christian leaders had given up being in lead; some had become people-managers. Fear drove that management environ, which eventually fell to men such as Constantine the Great... political men attempting to manage lingering troubles & issues between Christians. Absent ekklesia, interest moved from life of the new creation in Christ, toward what is believed about God. The legacy of Rome has since maintained a disabling grip upon Christendom onto the present day.

Prayer for the life of the saints in Christ around the world, in assembly, in ekklesia, in community and in His Kingdom.

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Deeper Dive in Digest

To be honest... We've settled for a primary format of gathering that continues to obscure the function of ekklesia that Jesus communicates to His disciples.

The Greek word ekklesia (ecclesia in Latin) is a compound of two words: ek, meaning out of' and kaleō, meaning to call. In the first century, ekklesia was not a religious term. In fact, it was and is an administrative term that refers to those called out of a large group to serve as a civil body or an executive arm.

In ancient Greece, the ekklesia was a group of selected individuals who would assemble on-call to deliberate and determine for matters of civil policy. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, 'Assemblies of this sort existed in most Greek city-states, continuing to function throughout the Hellenistic and Roman periods.' To example: Luke records of events in Ephesus: an ad hoc civic assembly, ekklesia, convened to restore order during a marketplace uproar. [Acts 19:32, 39, 41] It simply describes a recognized civil body, as it had for centuries, called together to deliberate and make determinations on behalf of the city.

I will build My ekklesia, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth as having been bound shall forth to be as attended in the heavens; and whatever you loose on earth as having been loosed shall forth to be as attended in the heavens. [Matthew 16:18–19]

If from this, we don't hear Jesus saying something like, "I will build My administrative function' or, 'I will build My governing arm', we haven't yet understood the word εκκλεσια or the remarkable truth revealed from His declaration. In His work of the Spirit, we're entrusted with true, life-giving authority: "the keys of the Kingdom". Seemingly ordinary people, like Simon Peter the fisherman, could release the resources of heaven to advance Christ's rule and remedy on earth. Authority of Christ that sets people free, presenting more of the Kingdom's redeeming power. We might define the ekklesia as the King's Executive Body. Together, we're called to serve as His representatives on this earth and to serve in and alongside His authority. Paul used the word "ambassadors" [II Corinthians 5:20], another socio-political administrative term. Representing and presiding on His behalf involves loving and serving people, not controlling or lording them. Jesus reminded us frequently, in word and action, that we're called to serve.

Therewith, Jesus also envisions a prevailing ekklesia, against whom even the "gates of Hades" would not prevail. The phrase "gates of Hades" referred principally to the entryway and power of death.

Thus, in Matthew 16, Jesus could be simply stating that even death is now a non-issue. In Paul's only usage of the word Hades, he declared just this point: "O' Death, where is your sting? O' Hades, where is your victory?" [1 Corinthians 15:55]

Jesus unveils the vision of a victorious executive body that would not only trump oppressive and exploitative authority structures, but model a new way of Spirit-led being, thinking and living that would bring liberty to those under the thumb of man's systems & failures.

The prophet Isaiah captured this incredible idea, declaring "the government" to rests on His shoulder and that "of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end." [Isaiah 9:6, 7]

Jesus nested the term ekklesia, an often political term, in the context of the Kingdom of God. He anchored it on the foundation of the Father's heart, and directly contrasted it with religion.

It's this term that speaks to our collective mandate as the redeemed alongside and participant with an executive body through whom He advances His Kingdom. Likewise, when Paul used the term ekklesia, it had nothing to do with some denominational affiliation or a brick-and-mortar building, nor was it the meeting that took place on certain day of the week.

The King of King's Executive Body

The Ekklesia Universal

The word ekklesia was used in the universal sense to express God's original intent manifested through Christ's body on earth. Here's an example:

He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the ekklesia, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all ... to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the ekklesia to the principalities and powers in heavenly places, according to the purpose of the ages which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord." [Ephesians 1:22–23; 3:10–11]

The Ekklesia Geographical

The word ekklesia was used in a geographical sense, referring to same encompassing all the believers in a town, city or region. Here are two examples—the first to believers in the city of Corinth; the second to believers in the province of Galatia:

To the ekklesia of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place as attended the surname of Jesus Christ our Lord..." [I Corinthians 1:2]

Paul, an apostle -- not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead, and all the brethren who are with me, to the ekklesia of Galatia..." [Galatians 1:1–2]

The Ekklesia Historic

Have you ever found yourselves facing a conflict or difference of understanding about the Moses covenant Law? The ekklesia of Acts chapter 15 has more than once made a difference when we convene to clarify or resolve these type of questions. It is almost as-if we are with them in Jerusalem, even though the actual meeting occurred so long ago.

The Ekklesia Communal

The word ekklesia was used in referring to a specific group of believers who shared communal life together:

Likewise greet the ekklesia that is in their house. [Romans 16:5]
Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea and Nymphas and the ekklesia that is in his house. [Colossians 4:15]

Another word that Paul uses for the saints functioning within the (larger) one family, would be the koine Greek word οικος (oikos), which means 'household'; Paul referring to a spiritual house. To Timothy, he wrote:

If I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's oikos, which is the ekklesia of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth." [I Timothy 3:15]

In all its dimensions, ekklesia implies a function of administration, not a formatted or formal gathering.

Together, as One Body, as local believers in a region, city or town, and as a Kingdom community of faith, we're to advance the Kingdom of God throughout our collective sphere of influence, knowing our Christ-centered relationships, expressions of Christ in community and the good works in us to serve as a witness of the "pillar and foundation of the truth". [I Timothy 3:15; Colossians 2:2–3]

Yes, as believers we'll may meet often and in various places. Yet our meetings don't define or restrict us; such meetings are to be an overflow of who we are in Christ: of the King of King's executive administration, in His love as also for one another, therewith demonstrating His love to the world.

To an issue at hand:
The use of the word church in our English translations reflects one of the more obvious errors in English translation of the Bible.

In the New Testament, the Greek word kuriakon, meaning 'of the Lord', appears only twice. [I Corinthians 11:20; Revelation 1:10] As believers gathered on the "Lord's Day", or around the "Lord's Supper". Over time, kuriakon began to be applied beyond scope of a day or an activity. What originally described something belonging to the Lord, gradually drifted from its scriptural usage; became to describe people who gathered in His name -- the Lord's people. From this usage, kuriakon gave rise to the Old English ċiriċe; the Old Norse kirkja; the Scottish kirk, which eventually developed into the now-familiar English word, church.

When translators then used the contemporary word 'church' in place of ekklesia, this usage in effect obscured the function of governance beneath an assembly present for service to God. Conflating ekklesia with a religious meeting (or, a dedicated building) redirects us away from understanding the fullness of Christ in our Kingdom identity and role.

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