Ekklesia - Who are You?
Updated: Sep 4
I've been directing many posts to the Church lately. Today, God seems to be nudging me to make a distinction as to who or what His Church is, in today's world. He has given us our purposes within the early Church. The Ekklesia. The Church which began when His Holy Spirit came up on the earliest believers. The witnesses to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This morning as I was reading, these words in I Peter 1:1-2 suddenly became clear to me.
"To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynie, (America, China, North Korea, Africa-throughout this modern world) who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood."
Notice, as God's Church, we are His elected ones. We are elected, chosen, placed, sanctified (prepared) for the work that God has called us to do. All this is FOR obedience to Jesus Christ. We have been sprinkled by his blood. Covered, prepared, forgiven, freed for the purposes of God.
I Peter 1:13-16 gives us a more clear calling.
"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: Be holy, because I am holy.'"
So, Church, have we conformed to the ways of the world? Are we living in ignorance or truth? Have we set ourselves apart in holiness?
I Peter 2:1 tells us to "rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander of every kind.
Malice-*intent to cause pain, injury, or distress to another. To commit an unlawful act or cause harm without legal justification or excuse.
Deceit-*the act of causing someone to accept as rule or valid what is false or invalid; trick
Hypocrisy-*behavior that contradicts what one claims to believe or feel.
Envy-*painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage.
Slander-*the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another's reputation; a false or defamatory oral representation about a person.
I have to ask myself, how am I doing in these areas? As a child of God, am I representing the world or representing Him? Does my speech honor God or defame man? Do I speak from a place of truth and righteousness or do I repeat words that I can't confirm to be truth?
Am I envious of others which causes me to be discontent? Has this very thing stolen my joy? And again, Scripture uses a different word; slander, but the question remains the same, does my speech honor God?
We live in the times when right is called wrong and wrong is called right. Isaiah 5:20-21 warns of this future time. A time when the prophet Isaiah could only imagine. Or maybe that generation needed to heed this warning, too. I'm pretty sure that as Christ's Church in 2026, we should be heeding this word as well.
"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight."
Believers in Jesus, are we conforming to the world? Or are we living for Jesus? How are we doing when it comes to obedience?
Where do we stand on issues of abortion, transgenderism, education, and politics? If we don't stand for God now, when will we stand for Him?
Since the Church is made up of many members, each one of us needs to answer to God. It has been said that the Church today is sleeping. I hope not. Because the battle is being waged constantly. We have been placed on the earth for such a time as this. May we rise up and take our rightful place in this generation.
Dear Jesus, thank you for inviting us into your plans for such a time as this. May we be holy unto You, O Lord. May our words, actions, and thoughts be surrendered to You. May our faith rise up within each one of us so that we can stand in obedience to You and Your ways. Forgive us for our apathy. Forgive us for believing the lies of the enemy. We repent. Thank you that you offer new mercies, EVERY morning. In You, we can walk in righteousness. We pray, in your holy name, Jesus. Amen.
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