The Transforming Power of Righteousness
There’s a very specific way that the Bible refers to God’s church. It uses the term “ecclesia,” and this terminology is important...Pastor Bill Johnson doesn’t want us to miss the distinction. Why? Because the term “ecclesia,” explains Pastor Johnson, is “a secular term” which gives its members power to “bring about change” through their organization.
Now, why did the Holy Spirit guide Bible authors to use a secular term for the church? One of the reasons was to erase the distinction between the church and the world it exists within. God becoming a man (in the form of Jesus Christ) took things which were previously unclean (e.g. the world) and redeemed them.
Pastor Johnson provides an example of a leper, “Old Testament, you touch a leper, you become unclean. Jesus touches a leper; the leper becomes clean.” In the Old Testament, one wouldn’t “associate with the sinner because it would contaminate [them]” but in the New Testament the power of righteousness “in the life of the believer transforms everything around them.”
This distinction provides a helpful roadmap by which we can better navigate the complex business of being “in” but not “of” the world. We don’t have to fear the world and can set about loving others and spreading the Gospel because He is alive in us, redeeming those who do His will. Amen!
INFO
Author
TBN Staff
Published:
Mar 20, 2019 at 07:00 AM
