"Any structure that functions outside a defined fundamental process and original intention of the designer is called malfunction"
"Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, and the teachers. Their responsibilities is to equip God's people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ."
Ephesians 4: 11-12
It is expedient for us to first consider the functional
features of different Ekklesia before we can really understand what makes
Jesus' kind or class of Ekklesia to be peculiar. Also, it would be very important to put some
things into consideration when looking at the feature of the Ekklesia.
Why
were they established?
What power, constitution or law established them? How
relevant were they to their environment? What were the limits of their
operations?
What was the extent of power and authority vested in
them?
What were the things that caught Jesus' attention about
them?
·Were there certain things that Jesus picked or emulated
from any of these Ekklesia?
It is true that the identity of a man can never be far
from his operations. I mean, closely looking at a man's passion, burden,
beliefs and operations, one can easily tell who he is. Dear reader, don't also
forget that the essence of this search is to get us a conclusion by the Spirit
of God where we can both see the difference between Jesus' type of church and
any other kind. Never to forget that many groups are called out as well (there
are many assemblies). In the course of extracting out this truth, it will also
be important to find the true origin and the basis for Jesus' statement, “I
will build my church.”
When
Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi; he asked his disciples, who do
people say that the son of man is? Well, they replied, some say John the
Baptist, and some say Elijah and other say Jeremiah or one of the other
prophets. Then he asked them, but who do you say I am? Simon peter answered,
you are the Messiah (Christ), the son of the living God. Jesus replied, you are
blessed, Simon son of John (bar-Jonah), because my father in heaven has
revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter (which
means 'rock'), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of
hell (the gates of Hades) will not conquer it. I will give you the keys of the
kingdom of heaven. Whatever you forbid (binds, or locks) on earth will be
forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit (loose, or open) on earth will be
permitted in heaven.
Matthew 16:13-19
From
the above scriptures, you will agree with me by the public opinion and the
conclusion reached by Jesus Christ that, if a man’s personality and identity
could be misunderstood then his messages and philosophies would definitely be
misunderstood as well. Hence, in getting the true identity of Jesus' kind of
church, we would do a little comparison between the proposed church he
described to build and the already existing ones (the wilderness and Roman
government Ekklesia). But before then,
it will do us much good, granting us more understanding if we can pick out some
principles from the scriptures above: Matthew 16:13-19.
THE PRINCIPLE BEHIND THE BUILDING OF CHRIST'S CHURCH
Let us not forget that Jesus appeared as the Son of God
in human form to rescue the world from its fallen state. Jesus was on earth
with a definite purpose, which was to restore man back to his original position
of sonship, restoring to him the lost dominion and authority to rule this
world- the dominion given to him at the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 1:26-28).
Jesus therefore came for people and He also need people to accomplish this
task. He chose few disciples to walk with Him and to learn His ways so that He
could later send them forth to reach the world. He prepared them so that they
would continue from where He stopped. No wonder He said, “The work that I did,
you will do also, and even greater works you will do.” John 14:12
In verse 13 of Matthew chapter 16, Jesus was seeking to
know the public opinion about Himself through His disciples. Don't forget that
there shouldn't be
any disparity between
the messenger and his message, otherwise integrity is gone and it is not
of God. The way a man operates is what
reveals His identity and His values. Jesus knew that the people's opinion about
Him determined how well they would respond to His message. He knew He could not
reach out to them so well if they did not know who He really was and what He
had come to do. The same question is what I pose to you beloved, who do people
say you are?
In verse 14, the disciples responded that people took Him
for Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the great prophets. We can see that there were
some operations in the ministry of Jesus that the public could trace or relate
to those of the old prophets.
The public must have seen the light of God in Him
for them to compare him to other notable men of God. Although these people's
opinions were not so bad - it shows that they thought well of Jesus. The truth is that their judgment was
not accurate, and this is where Jesus was going to address. This also shows
that Jesus did not clearly declare who He was to the people; He wanted God to
reveal His personality to them.
In verse 15, He said to His own disciples, “Who do you
say I am?” The Bible does not record that any of them made guesses. There was total silence
until the next verse where Peter spoke. This also means that people could be
very close to Jesus and still not know who He really is. Jesus was trying to
teach the disciples and the church today that the mysteries of God are to be
discovered by revelation, not by information and logical conclusions. This was
the principle He was trying to teach the disciples. This also implies that
whatever a preacher teaches his congregation cannot be clearly understood
except they also build a personal relationship with the Father, from Whom the
preacher draws his inspiration.
(To be continued)
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