Category Archives: Ekklēsia or Assembly (“Church”)

Q. When are women supposed to be silent in church? Does the command for a woman to be silent in church apply from the moment she walks into the building or only during meetings, prayer times, and classes?

A. Thank you for your question concerning when women are to be silent. This question was written in response to the article, “The Role of Women in the Church.”

A literal translation of the first part of 1 Corinthians 14:34 is, “Let your women be silent in the assemblies.” “Assemblies” is a plural noun translated from ekklēsiais. In the singular, ekklēsia often refers to the saints who are called out of the world and gathered to a spiritual assembly before God. In that sense, the ekklēsia refers to God’s people, not to a building or even to an assembly in that building, but to the people. However, in the plural, as it is in 1 Corinthians 14:34, ekklēsiais is referring to the local assemblies. Never does ekklēsia refer to a building.

Read more… →

Q. What does Paul mean when he says that he does not permit a woman to usurp authority over a man?

A. The question comes from 1 Timothy 2:12: “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” I have already touched upon this verse in “The Role of Women in the Church.” Nevertheless, this verse merits further discussion, especially because of the controversy surrounding the word that is translated “usurp authority.”

Read more… →

Q. Should we stress unity over doctrine? The reason I ask is because my pastor wants to grow our church, so he is stressing what he calls “kingdom unity” rather than “doctrinal division.” Is this what Jesus did?

A. Think about this. Multitudes of thousands of people followed Jesus. They listened to His sermons, heard His parables, were miraculously fed by Him, and saw Him heal people and even raise them from the dead. Yet, at the end of His earthly ministry, Jesus had only about 120 loyal followers (Acts 1:15). How did this happen? Jesus never stressed unity over doctrine.

Read more… →

Pages: 1 2

Part 3> Servants Are Brethren Who Humbly Serve: Servants in the Body of Christ

In this article, I examine some of the minor words that are translated "minister" and show their specialized nature. But I especially want to take a good look at Matthew 23:1-12 to reveal how this passage is so often and blatantly violated today.

In the last article, we saw that servants in the assembly, ministers in the assembly, and deacons are all the same thing and are based on the same Greek word—diakonos. The best word to use to translate diakonos is “servant” because it clearly shows what these people do—serve—without adding confusing baggage from unbiblical church traditions. Some of these servants, those who meet certain criteria found in 1 Timothy 3, are recognized by the assembly as servants. It is something like politicians who are vetted. When dealing with these men, you knew that, as far as the assembly could determine, you were dealing with an honorable, sober man with a good record who showed his leadership abilities through leading his family. None of it is very formal, and being a servant in the assembly is not an “office,” something the Bible knows nothing of.

Read more… →

Part 2> Ministers and Deacons, or Just Servants? Servants in the Body of Christ

English translations of the Bible use various words to describe what are usually called "offices" in the church. In this article, I want to examine what the Bible says about ministers and deacons, examine the Greek words behind these English translations, and see whether there might be some better translations. I am also going to take a look at Acts 6:1-6 to explore whether these verses really tell us of the ordination of the first deacons.

In the previous article in this series, we found that the Bible says nothing about offices in the assembly. We found, in fact, that there are no offices in God’s assembly. We also saw that the Bible says nothing about clergy, although the etymological root of the word “clergy” is applied to all of God’s people. While the Bible says nothing about offices or clergy in the assembly, it does have much to say about several functions of service. In this article, I want to begin examining the various roles named in the New Testament.

Read more… →

Part 1> How Many Offices Are In God’s Assembly? Servants in the Body of Christ

The Bible speaks of elders, ministers, deacons, bishops, pastors, evangelists, apostles, teachers, and prophets. Are all of these offices? What does the Bible say about offices? What does it say about each, and how are they different from one another? What does the Bible say about clergy? In this series of articles, I am going to answer these questions by addressing these functions a couple at a time. But I am going to begin the series by discussing church offices in general, the clergy, and answering the question posed in the title.

Read more… →

Every Man Did That Which Was Right in His Own Eyes

Judges 17:6 and 21:25 concern the era in Israel’s history known as the time or period of the judges. These verses have significance for us today: “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). Preachers almost always quote these verses as indicating how terribly bad things were at the time of the judges and use them as examples of how we must work to avoid being that way today. The assumption is that the Bible is here being critical of the idea of people doing what is right in their own eyes. There’s a problem with this interpretation. The Bible not only doesn’t back it up; it directly contradicts it. In this article, I’m going to show you where the Bible disagrees with what many commentators say about these verses, in what way the time of the judges is a shadow of the assembly Jesus’ founded, and how the time of the judges can be a significant lesson for Christians and even illustrate a valuable political principle for everyone.

Read more… →

June 4, 2010: Persecution and Violence Can’t Stop God’s Work in California’s Prisons

Since 2000, Word of His Grace Ministries has had an ongoing relationship with the pastor of the Sovereign Grace Bible Church of the "C" yard in Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, California. The pastor is himself an inmate, and I will withhold his name. What makes this pastor and the work God is doing through him extraordinary is the phenomenal growth it has experienced as it has spread throughout the California prison system. Not only that, but it has experienced this growth despite severe persecution, usually over the doctrines of grace. At times, the pastor has even been the victim of violence from other prisoners, including those who claim to be Christians and are members of other churches.

Below are excerpts from the pastor's latest letter, in which he tells of being stabbed and of God's blessings on the Sovereign Grace Bible Church. Please remember this dear brother and his work in your prayers.

I’m so sorry for my delay in writing to you…. Yes, I was stabbed…. I went out for surgery on March 26, April 20, and May 5. I was in really bad shape, but I have recovered. They had to put a stent in my renal tube in my right and left kidney due to collapsed kidneys.

Read more… →

No Gift Too Small

I’m going to begin with John chapter 6, beginning in verse 1:

After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

Read more… →

Pages: 1 2 3