ek-klesia, the Greek word tranlated "church" comes from a root word, a verb, kaLEo which means "to call". The prefix "ek" means "out" so ek-kaLEo is a verb that means "to call out" and ek-klesia is a noun which means "the called out".
But something is missing and that is an inference. An inference isn't spoken out loud. It is supposed to be understood and assumed. If I ask for a glass of water it is inferred that I am thirsty and maybe hot. If I scream it is assumed or inferred that I am afraid or maybe angry or.... Something lies behind the scream which is inferred. There are many example of inference.
When God calls people "out of" this world He doesn't just leave them hanginig in space or spiritual limbo. Infered is the concept of "in to". What is this "in to"? It is "in to" fellowship with Him. God calls people out of the world and into fellowship with Him.
This brings us to the word "koinos" or "koinonia". Koinos means "common". It is the word used to denote the common Greek language of the day. It was called koine Greek. Everyone spoke it, thus everyone spoke it in common.
It is also the word the Jews used (when they spoke Greek) to identify foods they were forbidden to eat. Common foods were eaten by everyone and the Jews had very strict dietary laws which governed which foods they could and could not eat. Common foods are considered dirty or unclean by the Jews because they are a special people.
But then this Greek root word moves into the concept of having things in common, koinonia, which is what community and fellowship are all about. Fellowship with God means that He shares all that He has and is with those who answer His call to come out of the world and its way of living. Fellowship with other disciples means sharing all that we have and are with one another. This is what community life is all about.
God's communities are filled with disciples who call themselves anointed ones. This makes these groups of people ANOINTED COMMUNITIES a much better translation than churches or church.
If you study the word ek-klesia you find that there are three levels or designated groups of anointed communities. First there is the local level where disciples lived together in homes. Second there are city communities in which disciples join together to convert cities with the gospel. Convert enough cities and you can convert a nation. Convert enough nations and you can convert a world. And third there is the universal community which includes all disciples around the world who will be used by Jesus to convert this world for God.
In establishing city communities Paul used a Jewish concept called halakha. Back in those times a city built walls around it to keep out wild animals and marauders. There would be a main gate in the wall where the village elders would sit and do their duties. One of the things they did was discuss Jewish law and how it related to everyday life. This custom led to having trials right there at the gate. The people were free to witness a trial and even participate. It also led to control by the elders of what went in and out of the city. They were in control.
Paul used this same concept of halakha to establish city group elders. These were older men who were mature in faith and able to discern spirits. They protected the unity of the faith in their city and in a spiritual sense determined what came in and out of the city.
Sadly, denominationalism has destroyed the city community concept. Instead it is church vs church and doctrine vs doctrine. Do you think the Holy Spirit teaches different doctrines to different denominations? If He did he would be fighting against the very unity He is trying to establish.
But something is missing and that is an inference. An inference isn't spoken out loud. It is supposed to be understood and assumed. If I ask for a glass of water it is inferred that I am thirsty and maybe hot. If I scream it is assumed or inferred that I am afraid or maybe angry or.... Something lies behind the scream which is inferred. There are many example of inference.
When God calls people "out of" this world He doesn't just leave them hanginig in space or spiritual limbo. Infered is the concept of "in to". What is this "in to"? It is "in to" fellowship with Him. God calls people out of the world and into fellowship with Him.
This brings us to the word "koinos" or "koinonia". Koinos means "common". It is the word used to denote the common Greek language of the day. It was called koine Greek. Everyone spoke it, thus everyone spoke it in common.
It is also the word the Jews used (when they spoke Greek) to identify foods they were forbidden to eat. Common foods were eaten by everyone and the Jews had very strict dietary laws which governed which foods they could and could not eat. Common foods are considered dirty or unclean by the Jews because they are a special people.
But then this Greek root word moves into the concept of having things in common, koinonia, which is what community and fellowship are all about. Fellowship with God means that He shares all that He has and is with those who answer His call to come out of the world and its way of living. Fellowship with other disciples means sharing all that we have and are with one another. This is what community life is all about.
God's communities are filled with disciples who call themselves anointed ones. This makes these groups of people ANOINTED COMMUNITIES a much better translation than churches or church.
If you study the word ek-klesia you find that there are three levels or designated groups of anointed communities. First there is the local level where disciples lived together in homes. Second there are city communities in which disciples join together to convert cities with the gospel. Convert enough cities and you can convert a nation. Convert enough nations and you can convert a world. And third there is the universal community which includes all disciples around the world who will be used by Jesus to convert this world for God.
In establishing city communities Paul used a Jewish concept called halakha. Back in those times a city built walls around it to keep out wild animals and marauders. There would be a main gate in the wall where the village elders would sit and do their duties. One of the things they did was discuss Jewish law and how it related to everyday life. This custom led to having trials right there at the gate. The people were free to witness a trial and even participate. It also led to control by the elders of what went in and out of the city. They were in control.
Paul used this same concept of halakha to establish city group elders. These were older men who were mature in faith and able to discern spirits. They protected the unity of the faith in their city and in a spiritual sense determined what came in and out of the city.
Sadly, denominationalism has destroyed the city community concept. Instead it is church vs church and doctrine vs doctrine. Do you think the Holy Spirit teaches different doctrines to different denominations? If He did he would be fighting against the very unity He is trying to establish.
