Letters to the Church

Le terme “assemblée” ou ‘ekklésia’ est dérivé de l'Assemblée de Yahvé rassemblée pour l'adoration telle qu'elle est rapportée dans la Bible hébraïque . Les références du Nouveau Testament à “ l'assemblée ” ou à “l'église” sont basées sur la langue d'Israël lorsque la nation était assemblée devant Yahweh pour l'adoration. Le nom grec traduit de cette façon est ‘ ekklésia ’, ce qui signifie “assemblée, congrégation, convocation.”

The term “assembly” or ‘ekklésia’ is derived from the Assembly of Yahweh gathered for worship as recorded in the Hebrew Bible . New Testament references to the “ assembly ” or “church” are based on the language of Israel when the nation was assembled before Yahweh for worship. The Greek noun translated this way is ‘ ekklésia ’, meaning “assembly, congregation, convocation.”

Returning to the custodianship of the Law would mean rebuilding the wall of separation between Jews and Gentiles . Paul compares the Mosaic Law to a “ pedagogue ” in its supervision of Israel “ until  the seed came ” in his Letter to the Galatians . That “ seed ,” singular, was Jesus of Nazareth. In Greco-Roman society, the “ pedagogue ” was a slave with custodial and disciplinary authority over an underage child until he reached maturity. The minority status of the child and the authority of the custodian were both temporary .

By his Death and Resurrection, Jesus formed one new covenant community - One New Man - based on faith in him – Ephesians 2:11-22. Paul is clear and uncompromising. Considering what Jesus accomplished on the Cross, no longer can there be divisions between Jews and Gentiles, “ for all you are one in Christ Jesus .” By his sacrificial death, he “ dismantled  the middle wall of partition ” that separated Jews and Gentiles so “ he   might reconcile them both in one body for God through the Cross .”

The equality of Jews and Gentiles before an impartial and just God is pivotal to Paul’s Gospel. They stand or fall before Him on the same basis . Paul wrote his  Letter to the Romans  with two purposes. First, to prepare the ground for his visit to the city and his planned missionary trip to Spain. Secondly, to deal with conflicts between Jewish and Gentile believers. In the Letter, Pual explained his Gospel, and he then discussed the status of the Jewish people and the conflicts troubling the Roman Church.

The New Testament applies Temple language and imagery from the Hebrew Bible to the Body of Christ, the habitation of the Living God . Apart from contacts between Jesus and the early church with the priestly authorities, the New Testament shows little interest in the Jewish Temple of Jerusalem. Far more frequently, we find terms from the Temple applied to the New Covenant community inaugurated by Jesus. What the Temple and the Tabernacle foreshowed came to fruition in the “ Body of Christ .”

The term “antichrist” occurs only in the second and third letters of John, and the Apostle applies the plural form of the Greek noun to deceivers who were spreading false teachings in his congregations. The presence of “ antichrists ” constituted irrefutable evidence that the “ Last Days ” were underway, and the false teachers were the product of the “ Spirit of Antichrist ,” forerunners of the final “ Antichrist ” who was yet to come.

A charge commonly heard in popular preaching is “replacement theology.” It is usually hurled against anyone who claims a promise from the Hebrew Bible made originally to Israel now finds its fulfillment in the church. But the accusation misses the point. The New Testament teaches neither “replacement theology” nor the idea that God has two distinct covenants and peoples, each with a separate eternal destiny.

Proponents of appointing women as apostles in the church cite Paul’s reference to someone named “ Junia ” in his letter to the churches of Rome as evidence that the early church had female apostles. Apparently, his description of her as being “ of note among the apostles ” proves she was one.

Assuming that speaking in tongues is the sole “sign” of receiving the gift of the Spirit creates a problem. In 1 Corinthians, Paul indicates that not all believers do, in fact, speak in tongues, but elsewhere, he teaches that believers have God’s Spirit. And if they do not, they are not true disciples of Jesus.

The Antichrist Spirit works to destroy the church from within, especially through deception propagated by false teachers and other deceivers  – 1 John 2:18-22. In popular preaching, the  Antichrist  is a political tyrant bent on world domination. However, Jesus and his Apostles expressed more concerns about the  deceivers  who would spread false teachings in the Church than world leaders. The New Testament applies ‘ Antichrist ’ and related terms to false teachers infiltrating the Body of Christ to distort apostolic teachings.

The death of Jesus inaugurated the messianic age with consequent changes in the status of God’s people .  In his epistle to the Assembly in Galatia, Paul declares that his apostleship originated from the same God who raised Jesus from the dead, the Messiah of Israel who gave his life to “ deliver us from this evil age .” His declaration anticipates his proposition in the body of the Letter that the arrival of Jesus changed the status of the Law for the people of God, the “ children of Abraham .”

In  Galatians , the Apostle Paul compares the Mosaic Law to a “ pedagogue ” in its supervision of Israel “ until the seed came .” That “ Seed ” was Jesus. In Greco-Roman society, the “pedagogue” was usually a slave with custodial and disciplinary authority over an underage child until he reached maturity. The minority status of the child and the authority of the custodian over him were both temporary.