Ecclesia

Matthew 16:¹⁸ “…upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.”

With all that is going on in the world today, one of the questions in people’s hearts is why church? A friend was telling me about three men who said the only reason they used to go to physical church was they were always afraid bad things would happen to them if they did not go to church physically. The COVID-19 pandemic had demystified church for them, so they had removed church from their calendar. Believe it or not there are people in 2024 who are still thinking like this. Unfortunately, a lot of people do not understand the church, they do not understand the importance of the physical church. Why do you go to and get involved with the church? And that is what we are going to contemplate on for the next few days.

If there is something that you can place your bet on, something that will outlast every institution, every season, every pandemic, every war, and every natural disaster, it is the church. Why? It is because Jesus, the Maker of the heavens and the earth says, “I will build my church and all the powers of hell shall not prevail against it”. The word “church” in today’s anchor scripture is actually the word “Ecclesia”, and not “church” as derived from the German word “Kirche”. “Ecclesia” is the gathering of God’s people. “Kirche” is a building where people attend. Huge difference! That is why people say, ‘I go to church’. No, you do not go to church, you become the church where you go. So, how did the church, the gathering of God’s people, become the church, the building where God’s people go to? A little bit of church history.

Constantine, the Roman Emperor became a Christian, got baptized, and turned Christianity into the state religion. And because of that anyone that wanted to be anybody began to say they were Christians. Thus, it became fashionable to be a Christian, does that sound familiar? And every time we see that happen, the church becomes a political statement or a fashion statement where the symbols of the faith become a fashion statement like the crucifix or the fish representing baptism. At such times, the church needs to introspect.  Church, a gathering, “Ecclesia”, became church, a building, “Kirche”. Where the church (Ecclesia) becomes more influenced by political will than by divine will, it becomes crystalized and then there is chaos. The church is not a building, the church is the gathering of God’s people.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I commit Your Church to You, according to Your Word, build Your Church, and all the powers of hell and the intentions of men will not conquer it, in Jesus Name. Amen!