The Chosen Ones

There are two Hebrew words for what we would call a congregation or assembly.  One is EDAH (ay-daw), which is usually translated as SYNAGOGUE, which refers to a permanent community or a congregation in general.  The other is QAHAL (kaw-hawl), which is more specific and it refers to a company or assembly of those who have heard and obeyed the call of the Lord and are bound to Him by His covenant.  It is this Hebrew word, QAHAL, that is translated as the Greek word EKKLESIA in the Septuagint-- which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament.

Thus, it is the meaning of the word QAHAL:  "those who have heard and obeyed the call of the Lord and are bound to Him by His covenant," that the New Testament writers have in mind when they use the Greek word EKKLESIA, which is translated as "church."  The literal meaning of the word EKKLESIA is "those who are called, chosen, or selected out from." Those who have heard the proclamation of salvation in Christ and have responded by faith are literally "THE CHOSEN ONES"--called to have a special relationship with God.  

The early Christians understood that they had been called out from among the human population to accept and follow Jesus-- the crucified Lord and Savior-- and that they had been given a commission to proclaim Him as such to others.  The New Testament depicts the church as a unique group of people who have been summoned, assembled and mobilized by God's call to have a special relationship with Him in Christ and to fulfill the purpose of His will. 

We have been called out from the human population.

We are set apart for a special purpose.

We are set apart for a mission.

We are set apart for service to the God of all creation.

The Apostle Peter says we are "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9)

Peter tells us who we are:  a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.

He tells why:  to be a people for God's own possession.

And he tells us for what purpose:  to proclaim the virtues of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

If you have been called into the EKKLESIA, you have been called to fulfill a purpose, and that purpose is not to build our own kingdom on this earth.

At 1 Cor 6:20 Paul says, "You are not your  own, you have been bought with a price."

Rev 5:9 says we have been purchased for God by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Because I have been purchased to be God's own possession by the blood of Christ, my body and my time no longer belong to me.  I mourn when I think about how much time I have squandered on my own pursuits, trying to build my own kingdom.  We get so easily caught up in our day-to-day routine, building with straw, hay, and stubble-- consuming time that belongs to the Lord, accumulating things that have no value in eternity.

Let us be reminded that-- as part of those who make up the EKKLESIA of God, as part of those who are called out from the masses, as part of those who have been set apart-- we are called to be a kingdom of priests whose mission is to proclaim the Gospel of Christ.  We have been purchased and called for a purpose.  Our time no longer belongs to us to spend as we desire because we are called to be servants of the Living God.

"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ in service of the faith of God's elect and of their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, Who cannot lie, promised before time began." (Titus 1:1,2)

"Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to flesh, and Who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith." (Rom 1:1-5)

"For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Therefore come out from among them and be separate,' says the Lord. 'Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.' And: 'I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2 Cor 6:16-7:1)

"And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.'" (Mark 16:15)

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." (Matt 24:14)