Several major eye openers occurred to me during my
research (church history). First and foremost was the importance of
the "democracy" to the beginnings of the early church.
Second was the historical significance of the word
''ekklesia" which was the Greek word translated
"church" in the New Testament. Third was the
apparent influence the Judaizers had on the early
church and how they altered the operations of the
Church. Fourth were the events that affected the
timing and reason for writing the various New
Testament books especially the writings of the
Apostle John which occurred some 30 years after the
others (church history). Then there were the writings of the Church
Fathers all the way from Ignatius to Augustine which
vividly showed the battle between the forces of
Satan and the Holy Spirit for control of this thing
called the "church". (Page 1)
The word ekklesia is the Greek word translated
"church'', one hundred and fifteen times in the New
Testament. The word had been in use since 500 B.C
(all the way to the Church Fathers).
It was the basic unit of democracy since the
inception of the democracy in Greece. The ekklesia
continued to be an active endeavor as a citizens
meeting throughout the Roman Empire. So when Jesus
used the term everyone knew the meaning of the word.
The Jews had their own meetings such as the
synagogues and the Sanhedrin, neither of which would
qualify as an ekklesia. (Page 57)
So now we see, some twenty-seven years after
Pentecost, the ekklesia-Body of Christ was an
integral part of God's plan to redeem man back to
Himself. It was prophesied about by the Old
Testament saints, and Jesus said it be belonged to
Him and He demonstrated how it would work. The
disciples recognized it at Pentecost and continued
to be active in its operation. This democratic
ekklesia was guided by the revelations from God in
the form of Gifts of the Holy Spirit for the Body of
Christ. This demonstrated "What the Church Ought to
Be". (Page 135)
Jesus made it crystal clear what He wanted in leadership. He
insisted on servants. The Jewish organization was rife with
levels of leadership in all levels of the Temple, and
synagogues. Through the Judaizers, this system was
introduced into Christianity by the synagogues of the Jewish
Christians of the circumcision. (James 2:2) This was why
Jesus said He would build His ekklesia and not a synagogue.
(Page 165)
(Page 392)
In I Cor. 14:34, Paul said the women should keep quiet in the ekklesias. Women speaking caused a problem because in those times women could not belong to the democratic ekklesia. They could attend but they could not participate in the open discussions. If a woman spoke or taught men it would not be an ekklesia meeting. Paul was protecting the legitimacy of the ekklesia which in turn was protected by the Romans. Of course the Christians met in their own homes and this was where the women excelled in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. (Page 393)
Jesus meant what He said and this is hard for an intelligent man to comprehend. Jesus knew man's intellect would get in the way. He wants someone who knows he doesn't know and is willing to sit back and listen to the revelations from God to the Body of Christ. Everywhere we look (church history) we see too much of man's organization and this stands in the way of the spiritual freedom of the Holy Spirit. (Page 398)
