SEED & BREAD

FOR THE SOWER ISA.55:10 FOR THE EATER

BRIEF BIBLICAL MESSAGES FROM

THE WORD OF TRUTH MINISTRY

Otis Q. Sellers, Bible Teacher

WHAT DOES “ EKKLESIA"MEAN ?

The presentation of this study demands that the ground be cleared at once.
I refuse to plant this seed in a weed patch, and most certainly not on top of a
boulder. The Greek word ekklesia does not mean "church," no matter what
definition is given to this term. If anyone thinks he can stamp his foot or
pound the pulpit and this will become true, then he will have to take his
place with the Red Queen in Through the Looking-Glass, whose sanity was
somewhat questionable.

Every student of the reformation is familiar with Martin Luther's strong

aversion to the word church (kirche in German) as a translation of the word
ekklesia. But Luther was unable to prevail in this and in the end a
denomination was named after him called The Lutheran Church. The
acceptance of the word church was due to Calvin's influence.

In a previous study (No. SB087) we saw how the Greek verb kaleo
primarily means to name, to designate, to position, to appoint, or to
establish. In the history of this word it seems that at first kaleo meant only to
call or to summon in the sense of an invitation. But in the prevailing
governmental systems that existed in those times, the invitation by a
sovereign for a man to serve was equal to an appointment which could not
be refused, so kaleo came to mean to position, to name, or to appoint, and
this soon became its predominant usage. A consideration of all occurrences
of kaleo in the New Testament will demonstrate the truth of this.
The Greek word ekklesia is formed from the descriptive adjective kletos, a
word that described all who had been named to serve in some position
designated by the sovereign. These were designated ones, appointed ones,
not merely invited ones. When the prefix ek, which means "out," is added to
the word kletos, it gives us ekklesia which means out-called ones, or, to
make it more clear, out-positioned ones.
 These are facts that are generally known, but they have been misconstrued
by many, and probably will continue to be until His lightnings enlighten the
world (Psa. 97:4). The exalted meaning of "out-called' is degraded and
stultified so that it can be used to signify something that we are today. They
say that since the followers of Christ have been called out of the world, this
makes us the out-called ones. All this is in spite of the fact that Jesus Christ
said of His own, "I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the
world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil" (John 17: 15).
They illustrate this by saying that Israel is called "the ekklesia in the
wilderness" (Acts 7: 38), declaring that this was because they had been
called out of Egypt. These are not the facts in the case of Stephen's
declaration, as will be shown later.

I suppose that the most prevalent error in Christendom today is the idea
that when the Lord Jesus said: "Upon this rock I will build My ekklesia"
(Matt. 16: 18), that He was speaking of the great mixture of organized
religion that travels under the canopy which today is called "the church."
Quite a few men of God, seeing the utter fallacy and impossibility of this
being true, limit the privilege of being the ekklesia to the true believers in the
Lord Jesus, that we are "the church." In regard to this, let it be said that if
ekklesia, means little or nothing, then we can all claim to be the ekklesia, but
if this grand word does have a meaning of great significance, then we should
be careful about applying such an exalted title to ourselves.

In spite of the attempts to prove otherwise, the word church comes from
the Latin word for circle, and it is from this that we get our English word
circus. So today when we see the pretentious parades and the religious
extravaganzas that are put on display for all to see, we are convinced that the
word circus fits it to quite a degree of exactitude. If I were any part of this
great three-ring American religious circus, I would hang my head in shame.
But, thank God, from all this I have been delivered and separated. I consider
all of this highly successful religious activity to be little more than men
putting on the "form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof," as
Paul said would characterize men in the concluding days of this dispensation
of grace (2 Tim. 3:5).

The subject of the New Testament is the kingdom of God (Issue No. 27),
and it has been shown in previous studies that "kingdom" means
"government" (Issue No. SB029). One thing that is essential to any
government, even absolute monarchies, is that men shall be given positions
that are out of the sovereign. In the United States we insist that the
sovereignty belongs to the people; therefore, our President has a position
which is out of the people. He is an out-called or out-positioned one in the
true meaning of ekklesia. However, let none think that I am saying that our
Presidents are the out-called of God. Not in the least! Their position is not
out of God; it is out of the people.

Since no man is able to do everything, even if it is his right and duty to do

certain things, he gives positions to others, and these then become out-
positioned ones, their position being out of the President. However, there
must be no thought of severance in the word "out" as used here, no more
than when we say the arm is out of the body - not severed from it but
projected.

When one gives a position to another, the place given must first be
inherent in the one who gives it. It was the declared purpose of Jesus Christ
to give many a position out of Himself. These would be a projection of Him,
and individually and collectively they would be His out-called, that is, His
ekklesia. Therefore, Jesus Christ being the Son of God could give others this
position so that they might be sons of God. He was God's apostle, and He
could give others out of what He was and they too became apostles. He was
God's prophet, and He gave of Himself to others and they became prophets.
All such had a position out of Him, and were the out-called of God. We
could go on through a long list, for He was Shepherd, Teacher, Governor,
Miracle-worker, Healer, Evangelist. He was one who could scatter and yet
increase (Prov. 11:24).

Thus as the Lord Jesus gave of Himself so that others could become in a
measure what He was, He built up His own body (substance) upon the earth
(Eph. 4: 12). See my version and notes on Ephesians 4 in Issue No. 61. And
we need to note that no man could ever be anything in the sight of God
unless this position is first found in Jesus Christ. Truly, Jesus Christ loved
the ekklesia and gave Himself for it that it might become in a measure what
He is.

An illuminating illustration of all this is found in Stephen's message in

Acts 7, where in speaking of Moses he declared: "This is he that was in the
ekklesia in the wilderness." This is usually taken to mean that Stephen was
telling these Israelites that Moses was in Israel. If so, this would have been a
bit of gratuitous and useless information, about the same as if I should tell a
Britisher that Queen Victoria was a citizen of Great Britain. The ekklesia
spoken of here was not Israel, and we will miss important truth if we think
so.

The man Moses had a position out of God. He was ekklesia, an out-called
man. He was Israel's Chief Executive, Supreme Judge, and Lawgiver. But let
no one choke on the idea of one man being out-called of God. This is one
truth that all must learn. As Karl Ludwig Schmidt, the renowned Greek
scholar, puts it: "To put the matter in a nutshell - a single individual could
be, - would have to be - the ekklesia if he has communion with Christ."

Moses was the monarch in Israel. He ruled alone, but when at the
suggestion of Jethro (Exo. 18:23), he chose able men out of all Israel and
made them "heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds,
rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens," an enormous ekklesia was produced that
numbered about 80,000, all of whom had a position out of Moses. And it
was a position that he could take back to himself at any time.

However, at a later date, a more important event took place. The burdens
that Moses still had to bear became so heavy that he took his complaint to
God (Numbers 11:10-15). The Lord responded by telling him to gather
seventy men out of the elders of Israel and bring them unto the tabernacle of
the congregation that they might stand with him there. Furthermore, the
LORD declared: "And I will come down and talk with thee there: AND I
WILL TAKE OF THE SPIRIT THAT IS UPON THEE, AND WILL
PUT IT ON THEM: and they shall bear the burden of the people with
thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone" (Num. 11:17).

So it was that these seventy men had a position which was out of Moses.
He was in them. They partook of what he was - his position, his substance,
his very essence. This is what Stephen was talking about when He said of
Moses: "This is he, that was in the ekklesia in the wilderness" (Acts 7 :38).
He was telling them that Moses was in the seventy, for in fact they were the
body of Moses, or his substance, which is what the word body means. And it
is my understanding that this is what the dispute was about when Michael
the archangel contended with Satan over "the body of Moses" (Jude 1:9).
Satan was most eager to seize control of the seventy men.
My belief is that in the famous and familiar passage in Matt.16: 18 the Lord
speaking through Peter to the ten other apostles (Judas excluded) declared,
"And I say also unto you, that you are rock, even as I am rock, and
upon this rock I will build of Me the out-called ones, and not even the
power of the state of death shall prevail against them." Indeed, His out-
called ones must be built out of Him.

It is my belief and conviction that no man upon the earth today can
truthfully say that he has a position out of God, that he is an out-called one.
He can claim certain blessings, yes, but position, no. The chief characteristic
of all out-called men is that they mediate between God and men. There were
many of these in the thirty-three years of the Acts period, but not one in this
the dispensation of God's grace. All anyone can claim today is that he is a
sinner saved by grace. But, I also believe that in view of the service we will
perform when God governs, we will need to have a position out of Him, and
we will need to mediate between God and men. Then we will be units in that
great ekklesia Jesus Christ said He would build out of Himself.

ISSUE NO. SB097