ekklesia

Last week’s post (here) introduced the idea that Paul had to rework his Jewish theology in three primary areas: election, monotheism, and eschatology. This re-evaluation shows up in the opening verses of 1 Thessalonians: his monotheism now has “the Lord Jesus Christ” on an equal footing with “God the Father”…

What did Jesus mean when he said, “I will build my church”? In last week’s post (here), we defined the terms “church” and “kingdom” as Jesus used them in Matt 16:18–19. The church (Gk. ekklēsia) comprises all persons in covenant relationship with God during the messianic age. The kingdom is…