The Ekklesia

      The Greek word for church is ekklesia, and it literally means ‘assembly’. This meshes with the dominant thought in Paul’s letters that the church is Christ in corporate expression (I Cor. 12:1-27; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:1-16). Surprisingly the Bible never defines the church. Instead it presents it through a number of different metaphors.

     One of the reasons why the New Testament gives us numerous metaphors to depict the church is because the church is too comprehensive and rich to be captured by a single definition or metaphor. Unfortunately, our tendency is to latch on to one particular metaphor and understand the ekklesia through it alone.

     By latching on to just one metaphor—whether it be the body, the army, the temple, the bride, the vineyard or the city—we lose the message that other metaphors convey. The result is that our view of the church will become limited at best or lopsided at worst. Although the New Testament writers depict the church with a variety of different images, their favorite image is that of the family. Familiar terms like ‘new birth,’ ‘children of God,’ ‘sons of God,’ ‘brethren,’ ‘fathers,’ ‘brothers,’ ’sisters,’ and ’household’ saturate the New Testament writing.

     For this reason Paul would say: ‘Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers’ ( Gal. 6:10; Rom. 8:29; Eph. 2:19; I Tim. 5:12; 3:15). To this Peter urged: ‘Like newborn babies crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation’ (I Pet. 2:2). John added to this by saying: ‘I write to you dear children because your sins have been forgiven on account of His name. I write to you fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you dear children, because you have known the Father’ (I John 2:12-13). These writings of Paul, Peter, and John in particular are punctuated with the language and imagery of family.

     These images simply teach us that the church is a living organism rather that an institution. The church we read about in the New Testament was ‘organic’. By that it means it was born from and sustained by spiritual life instead of constructed by human institutions, controlled by human hierarchy, shaped by lifeless rituals and held together by religious programs. An organic church is one that is naturally produced when a group of people have encountered Jesus Christ in reality (external ecclesiastical programs being unnecessary). It is not a theater with scripts; it is a gathered community that lives by divine life. It does not operate on the same organizational principles that run the business corporate world.

     Besides, in all of Paul’s letters to the churches he speaks to the ‘brethren’—a term that includes both brothers and sisters in Christ. He uses this familial term more than 130 times in his epistles; so without question the New Testament is filled with the language and images of family. When we stop giving glib assent to the idea that the church is a family and start fleshing out its sober implications, the following characteristics would emerge.

     The church as family would take care of their own. Its members would take care of one another, as a true family takes care of its own. A dysfunctional family does not. Members of a dysfunctional family are selfish, individualistic, and profoundly independent. This family is characterized by detachment, and non-connectedness. Nor do they seem to care much for each other (James 2:14-17. Real faith expresses itself in acts of love toward our brothers and sisters in Christ (Eph. 4:28; Rom. 12:5, 13; 2 Cor. 8:12-15; Gal: 6:2; John 15:12-13).

     The church, as family, takes time to know one another outside of scheduled meetings. Hence, the Scripture says: ‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread in their homes and all together with glad and sincere hearts (Acts 2: 42, 46). This is a functioning family model.

      On the other hand when the church family is in a dysfunctional state, members barely know each other and; consequently, are unable to show affection to each other. In a functioning church, members show sincere affection one to another. It is in such atmosphere that growth in the membership is experienced. As a family it will grow. Biologically, growth is natural happening in the family.

      A church grows in two ways. One way is through hiving (division) and multiplication. That is, if a church grows too large, it may divide and multiply into two fellowships. Our bodies grow the same way: cells divide and then multiply. Another way is by addition. That is by giving birth to spiritual children. This is the principle of reproduction. If the Lord is at work in a church, it will grow. God gives the increase. It may not be immediate; it may take time, but if the church is alive and healthy, it will grow—both internally (spiritually) and externally (numerically). Churches that live as families grow indeed. Some call this body life.

      As a collective and corporate expression, the members share responsibility. In the household of God there are spiritual fathers and mothers. These are the older men and women in the faith with maturity and experience. Their role and responsibility before God is to give guidance and provide mentoring to the younger brothers and sisters in the faith.

      This does not mean holding an office or title in the church such as elder, or pastor. These mature ones are aware of their spiritual gifts and are exercising them as believer/priests in the church. In a functioning church family they also contribute their wisdom to the church. They are not obstructed by those who consider themselves as oversight, leaders who are therefore, threatened by it. These ministry activities are organic, and they operate by spiritual life (I John 2:13-14). Every member functions in the church meetings.

     Members also function outside in the community life. The spiritual fathers and mothers are very active in mentoring the young and provide wisdom during crises. The mothers teach the young women how to be wise and how to function as wives and mothers (Titus 2:3-4).

      The men bring excitement and strength to the church, but they need the stability of the older ones to temper them. The spiritual children inject newfound zeal into the believing community, but they need maturing. They need the older ones to feed them, check up on them, change their diapers, and teach them how to walk with the Lord. This is what it takes to mentor others. It is not about setting up a formal classroom instruction format. Neither is it about playing pastorship in the name of eldership or commended workers.

     The Godhead lives in everlasting reciprocity with its members. For this reason, the church is called to be a reciprocal community above everything else, or in other words, a family. It is functioning as a family that the church reflects the triune God in their relationship. Within the triune God one discovers mutual love, mutual fellowship, mutual dependence, mutual honor, mutual submission and mutual dwellings

      In the Godhead there exists, therefore, an eternal complimentary, and reciprocal interchange of divine love, and divine fellowship. When the church reflects the personhood of the Godhead, we experience interdependence, wholeness instead of fragmentation, participation, connectedness, solidarity instead of individualism, spontaneity, relationship instead of program, servitude instead of dominance, enrichment, and freedom instead of bondage, community and bonding instead of detachment.

      This church is true to the nature of God and functions fully to the intent of the New Testament, a living ekklesia. Here titles such as elders, deacons, officers are not about power and dominance but servitude under the people with the sole intent to lift them up and build them to their full potential. This gathering of believers has one pursuit, one obsession, one goal and one grand purpose: to know and love the Lord Jesus Christ. The healthy church is nonsectarian, nonelitist and nonexclusive. It meets on the ground of Christ. It is a church in living color-ekklesia.

     In the words of Stanley Grenz: ‘Only in our spirit-produced corporatness do we truly reflect to all creation the grand dynamic that lies at the heart of the triune God. Our fellowship is nothing more than our communion between the Father and the Son mediated by the Holy Spirit.’ The ekklesia is the family of God.
T. Cyprian Kia