What is church and
what is the Body of Christ?
A physical church mostly denotes to a building, very few
speak of the people who form the church.
Man has jurisdiction over the physical church. Even the State or the
government has jurisdiction over the church or the organization.
What Christ intended to build is not a physical church. Christ referred to it as “Ekklesia”
In Matthew 16:18, "…And I (Jesus Christ) say unto thee,
That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church (Greek -
ekklesia)…"
One study says “The Greek word "ekklesia," is used
115 times in the New Testament, and in most Bibles, it is always translated as
"church" (except in Acts 19:32,39,41, where it is properly translated
as "assembly").
The first complete English Bible, Tyndale Bible (in about
1524 AD ) did not use the word "church" anywhere in its pages, it
used the word "congregation." Sometime after this Bible, they started
replacing the word "congregation" with the word "church."
What does Ekklesia
mean?
Greek word Ekklesia means “to be called out.” Ek means “out
of” klesis means “a calling” So, Christ was telling Peter - upon this
revelation that I am the Christ, Son of the Living God, I will build “those who
are called out.”
Are you getting it? Those who are saved are the ones who
acknowledge that Christ is the Son of the Living God, the savior of mankind and
that Christ is their Lord over their lives.
As they come into this revelation, they are taken out of the world and
translated into the Kingdom
of God’s Dear Son, The Christ,
and He is beginning to build them. This
Ekklesia has no boundaries. This is
universal. Man or the government of this
world has no jurisdiction over this, but CHRIST
is the Ruler and He is the Head of this “Ekklesia” the Body of Christ.
How does Christ
build this Ekklesia?
God saves people by exercising His Divine Will and brings
them into this entity called “ekklesia” even if they do not attend any local
church, they are brought into this “invisible entity” called the body of
Christ. They are brought into the Kingdom of God. They become God’s own. However, those
who are isolated are deprived of the privilege which I will mention below.
Now, those who have access to be part of the group or an assembly
of the “called out ones” or those who are brought into this entity “ekklesia” have
several privileges. This “ekklesia or
the assembly” is built up upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with
Christ Jesus as the Chief Cornerstone by the Holy Spirit. The master builder is the Holy Spirit. People need not worry about building this
“ekkelsia,” they need to be simply cooperating with the Holy Spirit. He is the one who is in-charge.
Please see the verses here
Ephesians 2: 22 In Him [and in fellowship with one another]
you yourselves also are being built up [into this structure] with the rest, to
form a fixed abode (dwelling place) of God in (by, through) the Spirit
Ephesians 2
9 Therefore you are no longer outsiders (exiles, migrants, and aliens, excluded from the rights of citizens), but you now share citizenship with the saints (God’s own people, consecrated and set apart for Himself); and you belong to God’s [own] household.
9 Therefore you are no longer outsiders (exiles, migrants, and aliens, excluded from the rights of citizens), but you now share citizenship with the saints (God’s own people, consecrated and set apart for Himself); and you belong to God’s [own] household.
20 You are built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets with Christ Jesus Himself the Chief Cornerstone.
21 In Him the whole structure is joined (bound, welded)
together harmoniously, and it continues to rise (grow, increase) into a holy
temple in the Lord [a sanctuary dedicated, consecrated, and sacred to the
presence of the Lord].
22 In Him [and in fellowship with one another] you
yourselves also are being built up [into this structure] with the rest, to form
a fixed abode (dwelling place) of God in (by, through) the Spirit.
Body of Christ
built on the Foundation of Apostles and Prophets:
Ephesians 2
20 You are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself the Chief Cornerstone.
20 You are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself the Chief Cornerstone.
God is much, much concerned about building His
“Ekklesia.” He is the master manager and
the most able administrator. He
chooses people even before they are formed in their mother’s wombs and
designates them, trains, and forms them for His work. Apostles normally go through a lot of
affliction. They are the special
messengers of God and they can handle all the functions and so the training is
very, very rigorous. They hear directly from God.
Prophets also form the foundation of the Body of Christ. Like the Apostles, they can hear directly
from God regarding the Body of Christ.
They are the mouthpiece of God.
Because there are real ones, there will be counterfeits also. We need to identify the counterfeits by
discerning, with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Even if we are able to identify the real authentic ones of the Lord, we
need to be discerning every time that the Lord is speaking to us. This is possible when we are also led
completely by the Lord. One Holy Spirit is
working throughout the Body of Christ.
He is the connecting media and is communicating to all in the Spirit frequency
and signals. When we are tuned in
properly our receptors will grasp the right signals and receive Divine
Directions and Instructions from the Lord.
One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is discerning of the Spirits. This is not only discerning whether the person
is the right one or not, but also whether the right person is speaking under the
unction of the Holy Spirit or not. Best Example
is from the life of our Lord Jesus Christ in His interaction with Peter. Matthew 16:
15 through 23 speaks of this. One
moment, Jesus commends Peter that he spoke with Divine Revelation and sometime later
Jesus had to rebuke Peter as Satan, who was influencing Peter. Each time Jesus looked underneath the outcome,
into the source, and discerned things rightly.
Similarly, we need to be discerning every time. If it is from the Holy Spirit you will know it
and if it is not from the Holy Spirit you will know it then as well. But know that people are also in the
transition. Also, consider it as a privilege
and honor from the Lord if you are connected with the right Prophets and Apostles
and you are under their Spiritual Covering.
Pray for them that they will always be led by the Spirit of God, pray
for their prosperity, their blessing, their family, their protection. Know the protocol of the Body of Christ that they
form the foundation of the Body of Christ.
Apostles and Prophets need to be in unity knowing that each of them have
a secure place in the Body of Christ, under the governing of One God, One
Spirit, One Cornerstone, and One Head, The Christ.
In my humble opinion, or in my observation, most of the time,
Divine alliances are made between Prophet and Apostle, Evangelist with an
Evangelist in marriages. This is a
strategic alliance that would support the call and duty assigned to each individual. Even otherwise, God brings His
Ekklesia the “called out ones” under the Spiritual Covering of an Apostle and
Prophet by Divine Means. This is mandatory for growth, for building
up, and for protection. The Holy Spirit
works within the structure for sanctification, edification, and growth
including the members within towards presenting the Body Of Christ as a
Blameless Spotless Bride for the Soon Coming Heavenly Bridegroom.
Designated
Functions in the Body of Christ:
There are designated documented functions in the Body of
Christ. It is called the Office of the
Five-Fold Ministry. Below verses
explain it clearly.
Ephesians 4
11 And His gifts were [varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us] some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of His flock) and teachers.
11 And His gifts were [varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us] some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of His flock) and teachers.
12 His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints
(His consecrated people), [that they should do] the work of ministering toward
building up Christ’s body (the church),
Office of the
Five-Fold Ministry:
1. Apostles (special
messengers) – form the foundation.
2. Prophets (inspired
preachers and expounders) - form the foundation.
3. Evangelists
(preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries)
4. Pastors (shepherds
of His flock)
5. Teachers (expound
and explain the Word of God in details and revelatory manner)
Apostles:
The one who is appointed in the office of the Apostle is
authenticated to function in all five offices, what I mean is they get
direct messages from the Lord, they get the plan and the blueprint from the
Lord, they can also prophesy, they can also do evangelism accompanied with
miracles and signs, they can also
Shepherd the people in the congregation.
They can also teach the Word of God.
They possess all 5 functional giftings. In
order to qualify for that office, they would also have to undergo so much of
affliction in their life.
Prophets:
The one who is appointed in the office of the Prophet are the
inspired preachers and expounders. They
get the download from the Lord and they act as the mouthpiece of God. It is good to listen to God all the time and
get the signals and directions from the Lord.
Since the Holy Spirit is dwelling within us, in this New Testament times
the Prophets act as a confirmation voice of the Lord. Authentic prophetic insights, impacts, and
impartation must be welcomed by those who have jurisdiction over their local
ministry and church in order for them to move in line with the Holy Spirit and
also to see things as God sees and to have a Godly global perspective.
Evangelists
(preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries)
As described, God appoints people in the office of the
Evangelism with the designated duty to preach the Gospel. They are also workers of miracles, healings, deliverances,
and wonders for the furtherance of the Kingdom.
They are in the front line and in the business of plundering hell and
populating heaven. They are like the marketing
wing.
Pastors:
Person who is appointed in this office is given the
responsibility of taking care of the souls who are brought in to the Body of
Christ by Evangelism. That is why they
are called shepherds. A shepherd
provides and protects his flock.
Lord Jesus himself has set an example for the Shepherd. A pastor is to lay his life down for his flock and
not vice-versa. John 10 explains clearly
how a shepherd should be from the life of the Good and Great Shepherd. Ezekiel 34 gives a picture of bad and good
shepherds.
Teachers (expound
and explain the Word of God in details and revelatory manner)
The one who is appointed to this office has a gifting to
expound and explain the Word of God in a very detailed and more comprehensive
manner. They tend to get revelations
from the Word of God. Holy Spirit
enables them to see scriptures in a new perspective each time and makes them
dig out the treasures from the scriptures for the edification and the growth of the Body of Christ.
So, if we allow the Holy Spirit to take over the local
church, He comes in and takes over. He
has limitless jurisdiction. He will
function in such a way from taking care of the needs of each individual to meeting the global
(Godly) perspective criteria - that is micromanaging and macro-managing at the same
time. When Man has control over his
jurisdiction, his local church, he thinks small and he fails to do justice to
the call of God, to his position as the leader.
But when a leader gives full control to the managing force, the Holy
Spirit with a global perspective of Universal Invisible Body of Christ, people
in his church will be taken care of by the Lord himself. He just needs to cooperate with the “Divine Working
Force” and the rest is taken care by God - in my humble opinion. A pastor of a church needs to be connected
with Apostles and Prophets. God will send
Apostles and Prophets, because it is God’s building project and not man’s, and
man need to identify it and cooperate with the Holy Spirit. Even if a pastor is not able to identify it,
if he is divinely led, God will connect him to His Foundation, the Apostles and
Prophets. God does follow protocols.
Likewise, each office should be interconnected. God will bring Divine Connections and Divine covenant
connections. God will not leave anyone
isolated because we are part of His Body.
There will be people who will be Spirit-led, obedient, having the image
of Jesus Christ, bearing the fruits of the Spirit, whom God will send and connect with
those who are isolated, for equipping them up for the calling that is upon
their lives. This is confirmed in the below verses.
Ephesians 2
21 In Him the whole structure is joined (bound, welded)
together harmoniously, and it continues to rise (grow, increase) into a holy
temple in the Lord [a sanctuary dedicated, consecrated, and sacred to the
presence of the Lord].
22 In Him [and in fellowship with one another] you
yourselves also are being built up [into this structure] with the rest, to form
a fixed abode (dwelling place) of God in (by, through) the Spirit.
Ephesians 4
12 His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping
of the saints (His consecrated people), [that they should do] the work of
ministering toward building up Christ’s body (the church),
13 [That it might develop] until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the []full and accurate] knowledge of the Son of God, that [we might arrive] at really mature manhood (the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ’s own perfection), the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness found in Him.
13 [That it might develop] until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the []full and accurate] knowledge of the Son of God, that [we might arrive] at really mature manhood (the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ’s own perfection), the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness found in Him.
When Christ comes the universal Body of Christ, the Ekklesia, will be received and will be removed from this world along with the governing force "the Holy Spirit." Then what is left will be the physical church - buildings and those left behind, etc. It is unimaginable how the world would be without the Holy Spirit. Life will be terrible when the Comforter is taken away. Truly, the world will be in great distress.
Again, I would like to point out that this post is from my personal observation. Please feel free to share
your experience and comments for the benefit of the Body of Christ. Thank you.
Maranatha!! Lord Jesus Christ Is Coming Soon!!
Written by Shanta S. Daniel
[Copyright@ Permission is granted
to duplicate this article in its entirety, but only without additions,
alterations or omissions of any kind, including the author and ministry name at
the end]
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