What Is the Church?Ihe Atụ

The Church Is The Ekklesia

Have you ever felt like someone violated or broke something you own? I have. It’s not a good feeling. Whenever we try to ignore the Church or try to make the Church what we want it to be, we forget one thing:

The Church does not belong to you; it only belongs to Jesus.

The Bible makes clear that what belongs to Jesus is us. Every person who Jesus has redeemed belongs to Him. Because you belong to Jesus, you also belong to His Church.

In Jesus' time, the Greek word we translate as “Church” was ekklesia. Jesus was not the first person to use the term. For people in this culture, an ekklesia was usually an assembly of chosen citizens who discussed the affairs of their city—much like a city council today. Their goal was to strengthen the lives of the people they represented.

In this context, Jesus declares He will build His own ekklesia. His choice of words gives us an idea of what He desires His Church to be. We are a people whom Jesus has rescued—we belong to Him. We gather together to discuss Jesus’ affairs and then return to our everyday lives to represent Him and His love for the people around us.

There are profound implications to this.

The Church is not a building—it is a people who belong to Jesus. It is not “my Church” or “the pastor’s Church”—it is Jesus’ Church.

You cannot have a Church without a local gathering. Attending and participating in the Church's gathering is normal. It should not be something we try to squeeze into our schedule. It is impossible to be the Church when you only gather with yourself in your living room to watch an online service.

We must focus on Jesus and what matters to Him as we gather. He is the builder and owner of the Church.

The Church does not exist primarily for your needs. The Church exists for the glory of God and the needs of the community around it. The next time you are tempted to be upset that the Church does not satisfy your desires, remember—it was never meant to be about you.

Jesus makes you part of something that is meant to be a beautiful and powerful expression of love for God and love for others.

Prayer: God, help me to remember that the Church belongs to Jesus. Help me to allow Jesus to define what matters most in the Church. Amen.

Reflection: In what ways have you made the Church more about you than about Jesus?