Epaggelia

“Church” (ekklesia – Greek) meaning “to call out of”. Before the New Testament was written “ekklesia” was a word used to describe what Roman Senators did throughout the many different provinces of the Roman Empire, when they were called out of, and into Rome for an annual meeting to give account of their work in their particular Province and the State of the Empire. But Jesus used it towards his disciples, who would become apostles teaching believers to become Christians, Matthew 16:18-19. This meant that Jesus intended us to be coming together out of the world as we are called into the body of Christ. Every Sunday we physically show this by coming together as a congregation, out of the world and into worship. When our Sunday worship service is finished, we go back out into the world physically, and if we are in Christ, then we are spiritually the church throughout the week. Monday through Saturday we should be living daily lives that are called out of worldliness and into the righteousness of Christ. The English word “Church” and the Scottish Gaelic word “Kirk”, derives from a Greek word, kuriakos, that means “house of the Lord.”  It applies to any lord, whether a landlord, a master, a lord of slaves or any other lord.  It is this word, from which “church” is derived, that occurs only twice in the Greek New Testament.  In I Corinthians. 11:20, it is used to identify the “Lord’s Supper” as belonging to the Lord.  In Rev. 1:10, it is used to refer to the “Lord’s Day” as belonging to the Lord. Kuriakos doesn’t appear in the NT Greek, but it’s obvious meaning is literally used as “My Father’s House” or the Lord Jesus, saying “My House”, see John 2:16 & Luke 14:23 & Acts 7:49.

Descriptions or names in the “Gospels & Acts”

The Kingdom, Matthew 16:18-19, Luke 9:27, Colossians 1:13

The Flock, John 10:16, 1st Peter 5:2

The Family, Mark 3:35, Ephesians 3:15.

The “Way”, Acts 24:14 & 22

The “Congregation”, Acts 5:11, 7:38 & Hebrews 12:23

The “Christians” Acts 11:26, 1st Peter 4:16

Titles in the “Epistles”

The Church of God… as Saints, Acts 20:28 & 1st Timothy 3:15, 1 Corinthians 1:2, 3:9, 10:32, 11:22, 15:9, 2nd Corinthians 1:1, Galatians 1:13. (Saints is used over 64 times in the New Testament)

The Church of the First-Born, Hebrews 12:23

The Churches of Christ, Romans 16:16, this title can be applied to all the various phrases in the New Testament that are written as “churches of ….. Galatia, Thessalonica, Laodicea, etc.,

There are many different words used to describe the church in the New Testament, like Bride, Body, House/Temple, Field/Vineyard and City, but these descriptions are not used like real titles, but rather they help us understand how the church should function, work and grow in the world. They help us understand what the will of the Lord is in the life of the church of Christ from day to day. The real titles of the church help us tell the world who we belong to and who has purchased us. We are owned by the Lamb of God who bought us with his blood, 1st Peter 1:18-19. Who do we belong to? Wherein lay our identity and citizenship? Philippians 3:20

To Love The Lord, John 4:23-24 & Ephesians 5:18-20.

To Pray For Worldly People, See Isaiah 56:7 & Mark 11:17 & Matthew 9:37-38, Romans 12:12.

To Teach Truth & Proclaim Christ, Matthew 28:18-20, Ephesians 3:8-11.

To Serve The Disadvantaged & Oppressed, Matthew 25:34-46, 1st John 3:17-19.

To Train The Faithful, 2nd Timothy 2:2, Ephesians 4:11-13.

Obviously there is not one single Christian that can do all of these things really well, that is why we are a body with several members. However, every Christian can fulfil God’s purpose. So in which of these purposes do you really succeed? There is a list of gifts which God describes the church sharing in, read the entire chapter of Romans 12. Surely there are a few things you can excel in, and/or at least try each of them. 

Romans 12:4-21

The Purpose of Christ for the church in…

…PROPHECY, v6, is to show our faith in his second coming and our resurrection.

…SERVICE, v7, 11,  is to show energetic integrity while pointing people to the spiritual purpose of labor.

…TEACHING, v7, is to share the knowledge of Christ.

…ENCOURAGEMENT, v8, is to comfort & strengthen each other’s hearts.

…GIVING, v8, 13, is to be generous in helping the poor.

…LEADERSHIP, v8, is to set an example of enthusiasm.

…KINDNESS, v8, to show people how to cheerfully treat each one other with God’s goodness.

…LOVE, v9-10, to be devoted in doing what is best for others at the expense of your self.

Every single gift given to us as Christians, individually members of the church, has a purpose. God’s love (agape) should be seen in that gift and/or talent, see 1st Corinthians 16:14. Agape is a much celebrated word, found in over 47 verses of the Gospels, and in over 32 verses of the Epistles and the Revelation. However, it is surprising that there is not a single verse in Acts which has the word agape! Why? Simply because God’s love is seen in action throughout all 28 chapters of Acts. Love is not just talked about in the church, love is shown in the church. So today the love of God continues to be spread by each Christian through this living message, acting out the grace and knowledge of Christ in you. How do you fulfill the purpose of Christ in your daily life? See 1st John 3:18.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wearing away our inner self is being renewed day by day. – 2 Corinthians 4:16, See Ephesians 4:23.

God has given humans five physical senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. Metaphorically, He has given believers spiritual equivalents: spiritual eyes to see His truth, Ephesians 1:17-18, spiritual ears to hear His word, Acts 2:37, and spiritual taste buds too, as the Psalmist says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). The word of Christ is likened to milk, meat & bread. Christians also can sense, “the aroma of Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:15-16). There is also the spiritual sense of touching our hearts, (Hebrews 4:12 & Luke 24:32). Our hearts are where we discover our talents/gifts, so grow, share and use them to fulfil God’s purpose in your daily life.

The earliest shadow of our reality as the Church can be seen in Genesis 14:17-20. When Melchizedek appeared to Abraham, he gave the work of God a glorious and futuristic hope in providing a link or bridge back for the lost state of humanity to our Creator. The unique nature of Melchizedek’s priesthood was in his Kingship. His Kingship held the power to promote peace between humanity & God, Hebrews 7:2. In contrast to the first priesthood of Melchizedek was the Jewish priesthood of Levi, one of the Great-grandsons of Abraham. The Levitical Priesthood would never be royal, it’s glory was not in gold & power to promote peace physically, but rather blood and incense to promote peace spiritually. Their work would merely provide one nation with annual peace, between annual sacrifices, whereas Melchizedek’s peace was present and promised secure forever…

We as the church have that peace in Christ, because He is our peace, Ephesians 2:14.

Another great gift from God in the prophetic work of  Melchizedek’s priesthood was the meal he offered Abraham, Gen. 14:18-19. There is a message for us in the bread & wine. It was obviously a celebratory mark of victory God gave Abram over his enemies. Today in the Church we remember the victory Christ holds over death in the Lord’s Supper every Sunday. His body and blood is where the victory was won and when He is represented in our communion, we rejoice in this bitter-sweet fulfillment of Melchizedek’s prophetic royal priesthood. The reality of Christ’s resurrection is powerful in that it was both physical and spiritual. Critics of Christ to this day falsely claim that His resurrection was spiritual, not bodily. But if it wasn’t a bodily resurrection, where is the real power over death, where is the evidence?

Remember who Abram rescued? Righteous Lot, 2nd Peter 2:7. This is why our history is important to learn. If Lot could be counted righteous by the standard of morality God gave them, then how much more righteous is everyone in Christ? Therefore, ANYONE in Christ can be rescued, not because of the righteousness of any human, but because of Christ’s righteousness. This is good news!

There are at least 15 messages recorded in Acts, a couple more depending on how you count and list them. What do all of them have in common? The word Christ and/or Messiah is used at least 28 times in Acts.

Acts 2:14-14 Jesus Christ is the Son of God; Repent & be baptized for the remission of sins.

Acts 3:12-26 Jewish people should repent for Crucifying the Christ

Acts 4:5-12 The power of Christ healed the crippled man 

Acts 7 Review of Jewish history & that the Jewish leaders murdered the Christ 

Acts 10:28-47 Christ can save the Gentiles also like the Jews 

Acts 11:4-18 Gentiles can now be saved by Christ 

Acts 13:16-41 Jesus was the Christ & the Old Testament is fulfilled

Acts 15:7-11 Salvation by the grace of Christ is available to all 

Acts 15:13-21 Circumcision is not required of Gentile converts to Christ

Acts 17:22-31 God will hold all people accountable for their response to Christ 

Acts 20:17-35 Remain faithful to Christ in spite of false teachers and various persecutions 

Acts 22:1-21 Recounts his conversion to Christ and his ministry & mission to the Gentiles 

Acts 23:1-7 Paul’s defense, declares himself a Pharisee believing in the resurrection of Christ

Acts 24:10-21 Righteousness, self-control, and judgment to come with the resurrected Christ

Acts 26:2-23 Recounts his conversion and evangelism for the gospel of Christ

What does the church today emphasize in our preaching and teaching?

1. His Story / Our history
2. His Purposes / Our purpose 
3. His Names / Our name
4. His Gift / Our gifts 
5. The Church’s State and End-Goal

Most Christians understand and believe that we are baptized into the body of Christ which is the church, (1st Cor. 12:13, Eph. 5:23, Col. 1:24) Right? Helping the world understand what the church is, is a huge task, kind of like helping a toddler understand what a computer is, he can see it and enjoy it, but he finds it impossible to understand how to interact with it and really use it, all the toddler can really do is, spectate & speculate. If he tries to use it, the toddler ends up frustrated or breaking it. One of the first tasks Jesus gave His apostles was to make disciples, Matthew 28:18-19. Secondly, He commands baptism, then thirdly he tells them to teach them basically everything! So how do we make disciples before baptizing them, if they don’t even know how to relate to what the church is that they are being baptized into? That conundrum must be one of the biggest hindrances to disciples becoming Christians. I’m convinced infant sprinkling in some denominations, is maintained for that very reason. If you “baptize” a baby, you don’t need to worry about them making a choice, they can’t! It’s like labeling them a “christian” before they even have a chance to know what a disciple is, much less decide to become one. If it wasn’t so unscriptural, it would be hilarious. Jesus commands us to make disciples of Him, not us, the church. That’s great, considering most people in the world think the church is a building! Thankfully some people in the world think the church is a group of people, but they have no idea what God thinks of these people, or how He treats people, they call “the church”. So the best place to start with making disciples is to show them the Christ. If they will follow Him, they prayerfully can understand what God thinks of the people He calls the church. If they will follow Jesus for any length of time, they can not fail but to understand His love and morals. His love & morals should encourage them to be baptized and then they can start interacting as part of His body. Which is much more complicated than a computer but also much more beautiful, so they should grow and stay functioning as part of his body. The church is truly like a lampstand, not the light itself. The light is Jesus, the lampstand is the church, Matthew 5:14-15. But what is a light without a stand? It is like a city in the dark, dangerous! 

That is why it is very important to know God’s view of the church. He introduced it through prophecy. Read Micah 4:1-5 and see the prediction of a new nation with a judge that promotes eternal peace. There are many more Old Testament passages that prophesy about the church, so let’s learn and rejoice in God’s word/message about who we are and what He wants us to do, so that we might share it with people in the world that can see the love and morals of Christ.

The whole reason James wrote this letter is because God’s Spirit does not want any of his children to lose sight of their salvation. It is very easy and part of our human condition to stray off the target and get distracted with other priorities, rather than to stay focused on getting home and helping others get there with us. To “err from the truth” can be disastrous for any Christian because Jesus proclaimed and proved that he is THE Truth, John 14:6. If any Christian wanders away from Jesus as the Christ, we are vulnerable prey, like a lost sheep for the wolves. Take your Shepherd seriously, because once upon the cross, He was the Lamb of God sacrificed for us.  He ends the letter with a plea to encourage each other in the achievement of conversion & salvation. This does not mean we can save ourselves, but rather God mandates our cooperation in His work of conversion and salvation! (5:19-20)

It is notable to see a common theme or context running through His letter and Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, it’s almost as if James is quoting from it at times when he writes.

James 1:2 & Mat. 5:10-12 “Trials”

James 1:4 & Mat. 5:48 “Maturity”

James 2:13 & Mat 6:14-15 “Judgment”

James 3:6 & Mat. 5:22 “Judgment”

James 4:11 & Mat. 7:1-2 “Judgment”

James 5:2 & Mat. 6:19 “Treasures”

James (2:1) is the only other author besides Paul to title Jesus as the “Lord of Glory”, 1st Corinthians 2:8, which is similar to what the Psalmist uses in Psa. 24:8, about Jehovah God, as “King of Glory”. When James uses it, it’s in the context of judgment the church exercises in fellowship with each other, James 2:1-4. When Paul uses it, it’s in the context of the world judging Christ as a criminal. So we should see why the title “Lord of Glory” comes to mind for James & Paul when we consider the Judgment Day will be dominated by Christ in glory, see 2nd Thessalonians 1:9. Moses & Elijah saw Christ as glorious, as well as Peter, James & John, Remember how Christ was strengthened during the transfiguration in glory as He prepared for the Cross during his last week with his apostles, Matthew 17:2-3. Do you see Jesus as the Lord of Glory? If so, do not neglect our salvation, Hebrews 2:3.

“Anyone” is not actually literally anyone. This letter is originally written to anyone IN the church, specifically Christians with a Jewish background, anywhere within the civilized world of the 1st century. So we shouldn’t point this message to the world, but rather we should ensure we apply it’s point to ourselves. Whether or not we as a Christian have a Jewish background or not, the Holy Spirit has preserved it’s message to every and any Christian in any generation until Christ returns. It is the Father’s will that Christians who are suffering in ANY way should pray to our Father and any of us who are cheerful, we should praise our Father. This is not congregational prayer and praise, but personal prayers and praise. We are at liberty to pray and praise Him in ANY way ANY Christian can. We should never discourage any Christian from praying or praising our Father in ANY way they can! Whatever suffering means to you, may not be suffering to someone else, and whatever makes you cheerful, may not make the next person cheerful, but we should still be encouraging prayer & praise, see Psalm 71:14 & Hebrews 13:15. Do you pray to our Father when you are hurting? Do you praise Him when you are happy? If not, why not?

v14-15, this is all about a personal request for spiritual help while undergoing a physical problem. Notice how James describes the effect of Elder’s anointing and praying with the individual Christian, using words like, “save”,  “raise up”, and “forgive”. The word “save” can be translated “restore” and it is the Lord who does this. If it is His will, He will restore them partially, or completely, or physically, or spiritually, but they will in some way be restored! This verse does not talk about eternity or physical utopic conditions, God is talking about what He chooses to do via an Elder’s anointing and prayer.  It’s not always, nor necessarily what we want, but what He wants! The mere idea of a Christian receiving forgiveness via an Elder’s anointing and prayer makes it obvious that it is possible for Christians to be unforgiven. Being unforgiven is worse than being sick or disabled. Being physically sick or disabled or in any kind of physical or mental pain, isn’t as bad as being eternally lost and suffering in hell. This fact should encourage us all to request that Elders pray and anoint us, but rarely do we see this happen by my experience in the church for the past 30 years. Why? It better not be because we have more faith in doctors and less faith in God! By all means, do what your doctor says, but at the same time, keep God’s word and will at the center of your heart and the highest priority in your mind, as you deal with the complicated problems of pain & chaos in this world. 

v16-18, the great power Christians experience in prayer is equated to what Elijah experienced when praying for both a drought and rainfall. In order to fully appreciate the power of God through our prayers from men or women in Christ is to carefully read the story of Elijah during this ordeal, see 1st Kings 17:1-7 & 18:1-2 & 41-46. When we believe what God’s word says and follow through trusting and obeying Him, then His will is performed, no matter what!

Jesus expects his disciples to “Bear fruit with patience”, Luke 8:15, which may seem odd, since patience is actually part of the fruit of the Spirit. But if you look closely at what Jesus is saying, we find out that patience comes from holding the promises of His Word in a good and honest heart, then patience grows! So if we think that getting better at being patient is only gained by life experiences, Jesus gives better direction. If our heart desires His word, and our heart has insight into His word which leads us to experience His commands then this experience really develops patience. The more a human heart holds His word with integrity, the more we see our patience turn into perseverance! The time it takes to do this with God in everyday life, is why patience is called His fruit, fruit takes time to grow.

v8 repeats the “coming of the Lord” in the context of Harvest. Fruit of the earth yielding its valuable crop is an image of harvest, referencing judgment; which is good for the church, but bad for those who reject Christ (Matt. 13:29-30).

v9, The Judge and “last days,” is a reference to Christ’s second coming and the judgment (Rom. 13:12; Heb. 10:25; 1 Pet. 4:7; Rev. 22:20). This can also convey the idea that our life is short and our time to judgment is near, so we need to “wise up” in Him.

v10, what amazes me about the ancient Jewish prophets and Job himself is their obvious perseverance in painful persecution, yet they often had no example to follow, Christ wasn’t leading them. God’s word through the law and God’s word in their visions is all they had. Job didn’t even see a single miracle, and his life remains righteous, unlike the horrific sins of David. Our advantage is that we have access to the mind of Christ and the presence of his Spirit to teach us God’s message. That is a “blessed” life and why Jesus proclaimed the beatitudes, Matthew 5:3-11. 

v11, “the purpose of the Lord”, They had seen, “truth & grace came by Jesus Christ”, John 1:14-17. That’s what patience as a Christian will get for you!

v12, Swear…oaths. In the Greek, swear means to grasp something hard for support. Here, it refers to a verbal agreement witnessed by an object that represents God. An example would be swearing by the Temple that manipulates God as a witness to our promises, and dealings (Gen. 24: 1-9; Ezra 10:5; Neh. 5:12; Acts 23:12; Heb. 6:13-17). They would go through these long, elaborate oaths, then not live up to them. The OT Law forbids irreverent oaths, especially the misuse of God’s name. It breaks the third commandment (Ex. 20:7; Lev. 19:12; Num. 30:2; Duet. 5:11; 6:3; 22:21-33) Without integrity in our words of promise, we are left condemned by our own conscience if we used an oath in a way that left us a loophole.