The Radical Resurgence

Ekklesia is Supernatural

I have said that there is much going on in the ekklesia at many different levels. The ekklesia is not a phenomenon of the natural historical world only. The writer of Hebrews says that we have already been introduced into the transcendental realms, which includes participation in “the ekklesia of the firstborn ones who are enrolled in heaven” (Heb.12:23).

Think of it as polarized by the Godhead and creation. Between these poles is a great variety of interchange — many different things are going on. On any or all of these levels of dynamic interaction, the ekklesia is identified by the presence of Christ. “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt.18:20).

According to philosophers and linguists there are three requirements for an adequate linguistic expression. It must be simple, complete and consistent. Here we have a simple statement — the ekklesia is constituted by the personal presence of Christ. It is complete, for He who is Himself the center of ekklesia-life is the one that “fills all in all” (Eph.1:23). And it is consistent for He that expresses His fullness through the ekklesia is genuine truth.  The presence of Christ, therefore, is an adequate expression of ekklesia. As few as two or three believers assembled together can now constitute the ekklesia.

Hence where Christ Himself is present the ekklesia exists in a totality. It does not require a composite collection of various assemblies to form the total ekklesia. Each local ekklesia is the ekklesia. Each local ekklesia is conscious of itself as the representative of the universal ekklesia (1 Thess.2:14, 1 Cor.1:2). This seems paradoxical to us — how each gathering can contain the whole ekklesia in its universality.