Jesus @ Work: The Church
We are “The Church” everywhere we place the soles of our
feet or the seat of our pants.
Everywhere, not just a Sunday morning pew. A living room
couch, a booth at Denny’s, a lawn chair in the yard, your
cubicle at work…everywhere!
What does the word “church” mean?
According to my dictionary, it stems from the Middle English
“chirche”, and the Old English “cirice”, ultimately from the
Late Greek “kyriakon”, which comes from the Greek, neuter
of “kyriakos” meaning “of the lord,” which comes from
“kyrios” which means owner, lord, master.
Notice? According to my dictionary’s etymology of the word
“church,” it originated from a Greek word meaning “of the
Lord.” Quite literally, we can say that we, The Church, come
“from the Owner of all things.” Psalm 24:1 declares, “The
Earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness of it, the world and THEY
who dwell in it.”
That’s us, you and me.
The Greek word ekklesia, which is translated “Church,” is a
combination of the Greek word kaleo (which means “to call”)
and ek, a preposition meaning “out” or “out of.” Therefore,
ekklesia is properly translated as “called out ones.”
The truth is, ekklesia isn’t even a religious, or even a Christian
term. It initially referred to the forum of leaders “called out” by
the Roman Empire to govern over the kingdom in a conquered
region. You see, rather than annihilate their enemies, Rome
concentrated its efforts on making the conquered people into
good citizens of the kingdom. That way they could collect
taxes and raise armies, spread their culture and advance their
territories as they gradually turned their enemies into friends.
The early Church saw the correlation between Rome’s
Ekklesia and their own mission. Whether they adopted the
term for themselves or they were dubbed as such by others,
I’m not sure. But the name stuck, much like the American
colonists were called “Yankee” by their enemies, Great
Britain, as a form of ridicule. The Colonials embraced the
term. Even the word “Christian” - meaning “little Christ” -
may have originally been meant in a derogatory way.
These days, unfortunately, the word “church” too often
refers to a gathering (Let’s have church!), or even worse, a
building (Meet you at church), or even a denomination (We
are the one true church). The actual meaning of the word
is upon our status as followers of our King Jesus. He taught
that we are to be “in the world” but not “of the world”, and
that we are not to get too comfortable with our lives here nor
get too friendly with what it has to offer.
In this light, being referred to as “the called out ones” is
appropriate. The common usage which serves only to
empower the system of “Churchianity” is not the correct
interpretation of “Ekklesia.” The Lord’s focus was never
upon a group, nor on their gatherings, but upon our status
as belonging to Him and being called out of worldliness and
self-life.
Sic core principles for building the Ekklesia:
1. The Eternal Purpose of God - “that we may be sons of our
Father in Heaven” (Matthew 5:45)
2. Jesus is our only Point of Reference; our example
(Matthew 17:5)
3. There is only One Shepherd, One Teacher and One
Leader in the Ekklesia.That is Jesus Christ the Lord.
(Matthew 23.8-12)
4. Jesus commands that we make disciples and help the
needy; the poor, the widows and orphans (Mt 28.19-20;
Luke 4.18,19)
5. The only preaching that forms disciples and produces
unity in the Body is the proclamation of the Gospel of the
Kingdom (Luke 8.1)
6. All disciple-makers must be and do everything that
they witness about regarding what disciples are to be and
do. (Acts 1.1)
Making disciples is only possible through introducing
people to the teachings of Jesus, found only in His Words
(not even through Peter or Paul’s words). We must point
them to: repentance and losing one’s self-life, obeying all
Jesus commanded, entering the Kingdom of God, and total
surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the
Fatherhood of God.
MATTHEW
Mat 23:11, 12, ” But the greatest among you shall be your
servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and
whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”
Mat 25:44-45, “Then they also [in their turn] will answer,
Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger
or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?
And He will reply to them, Solemnly I declare to you, in so
far as you failed to do it for the least [in the estimation of
men] of these, you failed to do it for Me.”
Mat 28:18, “All authority has been given to Me in Heaven
and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that
I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to
the end of the age.”
LUKE
Luke 10:8-9, “Whenever you go into a town and they receive
and accept and welcome you, eat what is set before you; And
heal the sick in it and say to them, The kingdom of God has
come close to you.”
JOHN
John 10:14, 15, “I am the Good Shepherd; I know My own
and My own know Me, as the Father knows Me and I know
the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”
John 10:16, “And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold;
I must bring them also, and they will heed My Voice. So
there shall be one flock, One Shepherd.”
John 17:20-26, “I do not pray for these only, but also for
those who believe in Me through their word, that they may
all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that
they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that
You have sent Me. The Glory which You have given Me, I
have given to them, that they may be one even as We are
One, I in them and You in Me, that they may become
perfectly one, so that the world may know that You have
sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.
Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given Me,
may be with Me where I am, to behold My Glory which
You have given Me in Your love for Me before the
foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world
has not known You, but I have known You; and these
know that You have sent Me. I made known to them
Your Name, and I will make it known, that the love with
which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
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Every blessing,
Michael Tummillo
A servant of God
eMail: team1min@our-town.com
P.O. Box 633, Stephenville, TX 76401
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