STANDING IN THE GAP FOR THE CHURCH

Forty days of focussed prayer and fasting 20 June – 29 July

FAITH FOR A CHURCH, FAITH FOR A CITY

2 Chronicles 7:14 If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Eph:20-23 All this energy issues from Christ; God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.
'Thy Kingdom Come Thy Will be Done'

Friday 22 June 2007

Devotion - Day 3

The Church – ‘the called out ones’

The Word “Church” Defined

In order for us to understand the true nature of the Church we have to understand the meaning and usage of the world “church.” The word “church” comes from the Greek word “ekklesia.” This word in its simplest definition means “the called out ones.”

The word is used this way a couple of times in the New Testament. When Paul and his company had stirred up the local god-makers in Ephesus, the citizens of Ephesus had such an assembly in an attempt to deal with the problem. This assembly is referred to by the word usually translated “church” (Acts 19:32, 29, 41).

In The New Testament

In the New Testament the word “ekklesia” is used 114 times and 110 times it definitely refers to the “called out ones” of Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself introduces this usage when He refers to “His Church” (Matt. 16:18). The personal pronoun “My” differentiates this company from all other groups of people.

This church to which Jesus refers is not just any gathering or assembly, this is “His” gathering and “His” assembly. It includes those who have been called out from their place of habitation in this world, who have separated themselves unto God and unto the door of the New Testament Tabernacle, Jesus Christ Himself!

His church consists of free citizens of the heavenly community summoned by the trumpet of the gospel to assemble themselves together for worship and fellowship.

(Phil 3:15; I Cor 1:25-26; II Pet 1:10).

Posted by Doxa Deo Blog-Admin at 05:51

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