As we begin the new year, we start this coming Sunday with the third wall to building the Church: the Ekklesia Wall. What in the world does Ekklesia mean? And why is it so important for us to know this? I believe that this term, and this wall, is where the rubber meets the road. I believe this wall is the hardest to live out. I believe this is the most challenging wall to us. I am using this coming Sunday morning to launch two months of Sunday morning teaching through this critical understanding of the Church.
Why is this wall the most challenging?
Ekklesia is the most common Greek word in the Bible, and it is mostly translated into the English word “Church.” But it comes from two Greek root words:
- Ekk — coming out from
- Kaleo — called
Ultimately, Ekklesia means “the uniquely set-apart and called-out ones.” It means that those who are in the Ekklesia (the Church) are called out and set apart for a special divine purpose.
My wife and I, at our marriage over 43 years ago, received some very special china dishes. She keeps them in a special place. When we wash them, it is always by hand. When we use them, it is only at a special occasion. They are set apart for the highest of purposes. We eat every day. We have food always around. But we use the special china dishes with food only when we are celebrating a special event.
As a disciple of Jesus who is part of his church body, this is what your life is. Even though we live in a common, pagan, unfriendly world, we are “set apart” in this unholy world as holy people—his holy Church—God’s Ekklesia people, because we are bringing the holy God into the chaos of this world.
The challenges in doing this are enormous. The battle, both inside the church family and inside your own life, is deep and warlike. This is where the rubber meets the road.
As you prepare for this Sunday, I am asking you to read not only for this Sunday, but over the coming several weeks:
- 1 Peter 2:1-12
Make this passage part of your soul.
Over the weeks I am asking us all to read side by side:
- The book of Acts, chapters 1-20
- The book of 1 Corinthians
- The book of Galatians (all 6 chapters)
- The book of Ephesians (all 6 chapters)
- The book of Philippians (all 4 chapters)
- The book of Colossians (all 4 chapters)
As you read through these books, keep in mind what you are learning about the Church—the Ekklesia—and how we are called to be set apart as God’s holy people in a pagan and unholy world. These many weeks ahead will be quite challenging and rewarding.
Don’t forget our memory verse for the year:
1 Corinthians 12:27 You are the Body of Christ, and each one of you is part of it.
See you Sunday morning at 10 a.m.
