The Hundredfold Ecclesia Grows by 3,000
October 2, 2006
Dear Friends
Suppose you had an ecclesia full of Hundredfold Disciples. What would it look like? It would probably a wonderful place to be.
Last year we did a series on Eight Signs of a Healthy Ecclesia. It makes sense that this ecclesia would meet and exceed these attributes. The eight signs of a healthy ecclesia were:
- Love—the love in this ecclesia would be real and palpable.
- Truth—the brethren would be strong Bible students who exhibited truth in doctrine and in walk.
- Preaching—the ecclesia would not only have formal preaching programs but individual members would preach the word as well.
- Service—each member would perform whatever acts of service they were qualified to do willingly and to the best of their abilities.
- Raising Godly Children—the young people in this ecclesia would be Godly and few, if any, would be lost to the world.
- Growth—as this would be a great place to be and preaching would be occurring, the ecclesia would be growing.
- Ability to Handle Problems—the ecclesia would tackle the real issues quickly, effectively and Biblically.
- Personal Responsibility—every member has a sense of membership to something greater than themselves and therefore take ownership for everyone’s spiritual well-being.
While this might sound like a pipedream, this ecclesia has existed before in the first century. The Jerusalem ecclesia under Peter, Paul, James and John as described in Acts 1-14 was an amazing place to be. Despite fierce opposition it grew and prospered.
Let’s take a brief look at that ecclesia as a model for us to follow and to see how wonderful it must have been.
When it all began, it was a small group of about 120 people. This group was given a mission by the Lord Jesus himself moments before he ascended. “You will receive the power of the Holy Spirit which will come on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to earth’s remotest end.” (Acts 1:8 NJB)
Even before Pentecost, the group was starting to manifest the attributes of a Hundredfold Ecclesia. “With one heart all these joined constantly in prayer.†(Acts 1:14) You will notice as you peruse the pages of Acts 1–14 that unity was a constant in the Jerusalem ecclesia. Furthermore, it was not “unity†as we have begun to use the word. “Unity†in the body of Christ now seems to mean what it does in the world; namely that we really don’t like each other that much, but we will work out some kind of arrangement where we tolerate each other. This is a far cry from unity in the Scriptures. Unity in the Bible was not “group think†or uniformity in all things, it was the common goal and spirit which made insignificant differences disappear in the love of God and Christ. Genuine affection and cohesiveness followed, not reluctant acceptance by contract.
Next week, Lord willing, we will pick up where the small little group of 120 overnight becomes 3,120.
Have a great week,
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