Ekklesia 10-10-21
Matthew 16:18-20 I give you the name Peter, a stone. And this rockwill be the bedrock foundation on which I will build my church—my legislative assembly, and the power of deathwill not be able to overpower it!
19 I will give you the keysof heaven’s kingdom realm to forbid on earth that which is forbidden in heaven, and to release on earth that which is released in heaven.”
20 He then gave his disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. TPT
Hebrews 12:23-24 And as members of the churchof the Firstbornall our names have been legally registeredas citizens of heaven! And we have come before God who judges all, and who lives among the spirits of the righteous who have been made perfect in his eyes!
24 And we have come to Jesus who established a new covenant with his blood sprinkled upon the mercy seat; blood that continues to speak from heaven, “forgiveness,” a better message than Abel’s blood that cries from the earth, “justice.” TPT
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Hebrews 12:23-24 We are participating in a mass joint-celebration of heavenly and earthly beings; the Ekklesia-church of the firstborn mirror-inscribed in the heavenlies.
24 Jesus is the spokesman and arbitrator of the New Testament order. His blood signature sanctions mankind’s innocence. This is a complete new language that communicates better things, in that it is the very substance of what was spoken in the shadow-type message of the blood sacrifice that Abel brought. Mirror
Acts 2:1-4 On the day Pentecost was being fulfilled, all the disciples were gathered in one place.
2 Suddenly they heard the sound of a violent blast of windrushing into the house[c] from out of the heavenly realm. The roar of the wind was so overpowering it was all anyone could bear!
3 Then all at once a pillar of fire appeared before their eyes. It separated into tongues of fire that engulfedeach one of them.
4 They were all filled and equipped with the Holy Spirit and were inspiredto speak in tongues—empowered by the Spirit to speak in languages they had never learned! TPT
Hebrews 10:24-25 Let us also think of creative ways by which we can influence one another to find inspired expression in doing things that benefit others. Good actions give voice and volume to the love of God.
10:25 In the light of our free access to the Father, let us extend that embrace to one another. Our gatherings are no longer a repetition of tradition but an essential fellowship where we remind one another of our true identity. Let us do so with greater urgency now the day has dawned in our understanding. Mirror
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Hebrews 10:24-25 Discover creative ways to encourage othersand to motivate them toward acts of compassion, doing beautiful works as expressions of love.
25 This is not the time to pull away and neglectmeeting together, as some have formed the habit of doing. In fact, we should come together even more frequently, eager to encourage and urge each other onward as we anticipate that day dawning. TPT
1Thes 2:19 We expect nothing less in the context of the gospel than you enjoying a face to face encounter in the immediate presence of our Lord Jesus Christ! This is our delight and wreath of honor! Mirror
Matt 23:9 And do not call anyone [in the church] on earth father, for you have one Father, Who is in heaven.
10 And you must not be called masters (leaders), for you have one Master (Leader), the Christ.
11 He who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
12 Whoever exalts himself [with haughtiness and empty pride] shall be humbled (brought low), and whoever humbles himself [whoever has a modest opinion of himself and behaves accordingly] shall be raised to honor. AMP
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Matt 23:9 Don’t set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do. No one else should carry the title of ‘Father’; you have only one Father, and he’s in heaven.
10 And don’t let people maneuver you into taking charge of them. There is only one Life-Leader for you and them — Christ.
11 “Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant.
12 If you puff yourself up, you’ll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you’re content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty. msg
Acts 20:28 Take care and be on guard for yourselves and the whole flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you bishops and guardians, to shepherd (tend and feed and guide) the church of the Lord or of God which He obtained for Himself [buying it and saving it for Himself] with His own blood. AMP
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Acts 20:28 “Now it’s up to you. Be on your toes — both for yourselves and your congregation of sheep. The Holy Spirit has put you in charge of these people — God’s people they are — to guard and protect them. God himself thought they were worth dying for. MSG
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Acts 20:28 So guard your hearts. Be true shepherds[a] over all the flock and feed them well. Remember, it was the Holy Spirit who appointed you to guard and oversee[b] the churches that belong to Jesus, the Anointed One,[c] which he purchased and established by his own blood. TPT
1 Cor 12:1-11 What I want to talk about now is the various ways God’s Spirit gets worked into our lives. This is complex and often misunderstood, but I want you to be informed and knowledgeable.
2 Remember how you were when you didn’t know God, led from one phony god to another, never knowing what you were doing, just doing it because everybody else did it? It’s different in this life. God wants us to use our intelligence, to seek to understand as well as we can.
3 For instance, by using your heads, you know perfectly well that the Spirit of God would never prompt anyone to say “Jesus be damned!” Nor would anyone be inclined to say “Jesus is Master!” without the insight of the Holy Spirit.
4 God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit.
5 God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit.
6 God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all.
7 Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people!
8 The variety is wonderful: wise counsel clear understanding
9 simple trust healing the sick
10 miraculous acts proclamation distinguishing between spirits tongues interpretation of tongues.
11 All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when. MSG
1 Corinthians 12:13-27 For in one spirit we are all immersed into one body; Jew and Gentile alike, whether we were slave or free is no longer relevant, we are all saturated in one spirit. We are drinking from the same fountain.
14 The individual member and its function do not define the body; the body gives context to the individual member. Your specific gifting does not define you; Christ defines you!
15 The different members co-compliment each other. The hand is not a more valid member of the body than the foot. How silly it would be for the foot to feel inferior to the hand simply because it does not look the same! They fulfill completely different roles but are equally part of the same body.
16 Should the ear say, “Because I am not the eye I am not part of the same body;” does that mean that the ear is right?
17 If the body was just one huge eye, then everything would be silent; if it was all ears, then how could it smell the fragrance of the flowers!
18 God engineered every individual part of the body according to his deliberate design.(The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made them both. Prov 20:12.)
19 Our individual significance only finds context in relationship to others!
20 The sum total of the members equals one body.
21 The eye perceives and the hand touches; they do not compete for importance. The head will never make the feet feel inferior! In the body there is no sense of, “I am positioned higher than you and therefore I do not need you!”
22 The members are not rated in importance with how visible and prominent they seem to be. The less visible parts are indispensable; it is impossible for the body to function without them.
23 Those members that seem to be of lesser visible value deserve the greater and more personal care. There is so much more to a person than a pretty face!
24 God so structured the body that every single part is equally valued; the less visible parts are often treated with even greater honor and more specific care.
25 Because of the delicate interdependence of the various parts of the body it is natural that no schism can be tolerated; instead every member considers the other with affectionate care.
26 It is impossible for one part of the body to suffer injury without the rest of the body being immediately alerted to it; the pain of the one is the pain of all. In the same way the complete person is honored, not just the fingers that skillfully play the harp. Everyone is
equally included in the same joy.
27 You are the body of Christ; individually as much as you are his body corporately. Everyone of you mirrors him. He defines your form. The individual member does not give context to the body; the body gives context to the member. Mirror
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1Corinthians 12:29 Everyone is not an apostle, or a Prophet, or a teacher, or a miracle worker!
30 All are not specifically gifted as healers. All do not necessarily speak in tongues. Are all equally accurate in their interpretation of what was said in a foreign tongue? Mirror
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1Corinthians 12:31 While you are keen to discover which are your favorite gifts, allow me to introduce you to the summum bonum of life. This transcends all! MIRROR
1Corinthians 13:1-2 Speaking in tongues is not the point; 1love is. It is neither celestial-angelic eloquence, nor the mastery of human language that persuades. It doesn’t matter how poetic, prophetic, or profound I may sound; my conversation is reduced to the hollow noise of clanging brass cymbals if love’s echo is absent.
2 I could predict the future in detail and have a word of knowledge for everyone. I could possess amazing faith, and prove it by moving mountains! It doesn’t make me any more important than anyone else. Love is who you are! You are not defined by your gift or deeds. Mirror
Eph 1:22 He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church.
23 The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence. MSG
Eph 3:8 When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God’s way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.
And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ.
9 My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along.
10 Through Christians like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!
11 All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus.
12 When we trust in him, we’re free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go.
13 So don’t let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud! MSG
Eph 4:11 What God has in us, is gift wrapped to the world: some are commissioned to pioneer, others are gifted prophetically, some as announcers of good news, some as shepherds with a real gift to care and nurture, and others have a gift to ignite instruction through revelation knowledge.
12 Each expression of his gift is to fully equip and enable you for the work of the ministry so that you may mutually contribute in your specific function to give definition to the visible body of Christ.
13 The purpose of these ministry gifts is to present everyone on par and in oneness of faith; believing exactly what the Son of God believes and knowing accurately what he knows concerning us. Standing face-to-face in equal stature to the measure of the 1completeness of Christ. MIRROR
Eph 4:16 For because of Him the whole body (the church, in all its various parts), closely joined and firmly knit together by the joints and ligaments with which it is supplied, when each part [with power adapted to its need] is working properly [in all its functions], grows to full maturity, building itself up in love. AMP
Rev 22:17 The [Holy] Spirit and the bride (the church, the true Christians) say, Come! And let him who is listening say, Come! And let everyone come who is thirsty [who is painfully conscious of his need of those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported, and strengthened]; and whoever [earnestly] desires to do it, let him come, take, appropriate, and drink the water of Life without cost. AMP
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Rev 22:17 “Come,” says the Holy Spirit and the Bride in divine duet. Let everyone who hears this duet join them in saying, “Come.” Let everyone gripped with spiritual thirst say, “Come.” And let everyone who craves the gift of living watercome and drink it freely. “Come.” TPT