Commonly translated as Church in the New Testament, ekklesia is the greek word meaning a called out assembly or congregation.  In 1 Corinthians 15:9 Paul mentions when he use to persecute God’s church.  On some accounts it may refer to a call of citizens to discuss legal matters (Acts 9:39) or an assembly of people.  The Greek word also pertains to the english words ecclesiastical pertaining to the church and ecclesiology the study of church doctrine.  In most context ekklesia is refereed to the New Testament church.

After 2000 years have gone by it’s obvious to see our understanding of church is not what it used to be.  Today some denominations claim that they derived from the early church, God’s true church, I have heard some even claim their denomination or group of people are God’s chosen church that will inherited the Kingdom of God.  Usually these are the people that either don’t read the bible, fail to study it properly, or twist it to their understanding so it better benefits themselves, convincing theirselves by their strong gut feeling that they must be right, because in their little noggin, it’s the only thing that makes sense.

However, reading scripture makes it simple to understand who God’s true church is, or shall I say true believers.  Never did Jesus say you must be devoted to a specific denomination or certain building.  Nor did he say we are to compare ourselves to each other like a lot of denominations do.

Jesus simply put it this way

³¹ Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.  John 8:31

Is it just me, or do you see the same patter when I say new Christians are easily swept up into the church doctrine of each denomination and trying to see if it’s a fit for their lifestyle?  Or consumed with the thoughts and opinions of others of why they should/shouldn’t attend certain denominations?  Even though I grew up attending church in the Wesleyan denomination, don’t think for once I never compared their views to scripture.  I’ve learned from scripture to not take any religious leader by their word.  We are warned of all sorts of false leaders/teachings that we alone have to do our own reality check (2 Timothy 4), on a daily basis that is.  How is one to know they are actually a true follower of Jesus if they don’t read God’s Word for themselves?  I hate false information and being led astray and I’m sure you do to.  But it has also come to my mind that we live in a society that will easily believe what another person says without thinking twice about it.  We often put more faith into the media, even though we know their misleading information, and base our opinion and beliefs of what they say.  Same goes for what people see on facebook or youtube. This has carried over into our personal lives with Christ that many just put all their faith into the pastor and not really putting their faith into God’s Word or following Jesus at His Words.

Here’s the reality I pray, hope and wish the denominations will wake up to.  If they all were to individually claim to be God’s chosen church, which not all do, they alone are contradicting scripture.  There’s a lot of traditions/expectations made up by churches that is not stated in the Bible.  I wonder how many catholics realize that God is omnipresent?  You don’t have to go through a priest to connect with God, because God is everywhere.  We have the Holy Spirit given to us and to lead us into all truth.  But yet many still remain oblivious to His presence because they aren’t looking for Him.

¹⁵ “If you love me, obey^[a] my commandments. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,^[b] who will never leave you. ¹⁷ He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.” John 14:15-17

This is another verse you can apply to how churches may be blind to the truth, is that if any of them claim to be God’s true church, then they, by the standards of truth in scripture, are not receiving truth from the Holy Spirit.  If multiple denominations/religions claim to be God’s church, where as in the scripture it states that the body of Christ is made up of one body, then they are indeed in contradiction and denial.

¹² The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. ¹³ Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles,^[e] some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.^[f]

¹⁴ Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. ¹⁵ If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body.¹⁶ And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?

¹⁸ But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. ¹⁹ How strange a body would be if it had only one part! ²⁰ Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.     1 Corinthians 12:12-18

Ekklesia is an assembly called out, not a building, not multiple bodies, not extra expectations that aren’t scripturally sound or ignorant to the Holy Spirit.  But one body, which indeed are the true believers that follow and obey Jesus’s teachings and are led by the Holy Spirit.  These types of people may be found in multiple denominations, for as scripture says:

²¹ “Not everyone who calls me Lord will enter God’s kingdom. The only people who will enter are those who do what my Father in heaven wants.  Matthew 7:21

²³ Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.  Luke 9:23

Because of meditating on scripture and communicating with God through prayer, I’ve become more sensitive to the Holy Spirit.  My journey thus far, how things have worked out, despite some of the bumpy roads.. or many bumpy roads I must admit, God was always there.  Things worked out unexpectedly.  Because of trusting God even in the uncertain of circumstances, I now understand what is means to truly be a part of the Body of Christ, God’s true Ekklesia.

Questions:

1. Is scripture important to you?  Are you making it a daily habit?
2. Is your church scripturally sound? How do you know?
3. Are you following and obedient to Jesus’s teachings?  What’s your proof?
4. Have you experienced the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life?  Describe your experience.

(*please share any answers, feedback and/or thoughts on my contact page)