There are two Greek words that are translated “church” in our English Bibles. The first, kuriake, comes from the root word Kurios, which means “Lord.” The “kuriake” are those who belong to the Lord. The second is ekklesia, from which we get the English word “ecclesiastical.” Ekklesia means “called out.” It is not a healthy thing for the church that we have forgotten this root.
The church is, of course, called to go forth. The Great Commission calls us to go and disciple the nations. The notion that the church is called to cloister itself from the world comes from the world and not the Word. Yet, we are the called out ones. How do we reconcile these truths?
Though this sentiment is not actually found in the Bible, (John 17:15 is as close as it gets to this) there is wisdom in this idea that believers are to be in the world but not of the world. Jesus did pray in His high priestly prayer that though we are not of the world, we should not be taken out of the world. As long as we are alive we are in the world. We’ve got that part covered. Now, how do we be not of the world?
The answer is as broad as all of life. At every turn a life in the light will look distinct from a life in the dark. Our minds are focused on glorifying God, while theirs are focused on denying Him. Our hearts are set on loving our neighbors, while our unbelieving neighbor loves death. Our labors are bent on manifesting the glory of the reign of our Lord, while theirs are bent on destruction.
The message of the gospel is not, “We’re not so different from you. Repenting and believing is just a tiny step in this direction. You’ll hardly even notice.” It is instead the call to cling to His cross while picking up our own daily. It is the call to consider the cost, to receive the world’s hatred without fear. The message is “Choose ye this day whom you will serve.”
The church dies a little death every time we take a step away from what we are called to, every time we sacrifice that which makes us distinct on the altar of finding approval from the world. We’re fools who believe that when the world complains about the brightness of the light, we are being light by shrouding our light. We are called to shine before men, the very men who hate the light and love the darkness.
The church is weak and ineffectual not because we’re not smart enough, not clever enough, not hip or sophisticated enough. We are weak and ineffectual because we are not courageous enough. We don’t want to be stand out, which means we don’t want to be called out. We are, however, the kuriake, the Lord’s. And He will complete the good work He has begun in us. Because Jesus always wins.
This is the fifteenth installment of an ongoing series of pieces here on the nature and calling of the church. Stay tuned for more. Remember also that we at Sovereign Grace Fellowship meet this Sunday October 13 at 10:30 AM at our new location, at our beautiful farm at 112811 Garman Road, Spencerville, IN. Please come join us.