The original word that is translated "church" is "ekklesia." It means "called out ones." It was used for a group of people, who were separated from other people for a special job. An example would be a city council, ie. a group of people who come together to decide what is best for the city.
God's family is an "ekklesia" called to represent God to each other and the world. They are to be a picture of what God is like ... both to those in the family of God, and to those still outside of the family of God.This representation should remind/inspire/enable others in God's family in what/how to improve the picture. And it should attract people so there is a change of heart and allegiance to Jesus. There should be movement toward God and his family based solely on the lifestyles of his family.
The Bible says that when God's family first banded together after Jesus' return to the Father, and together pursued living the revolutionary lifestyle, people chose to follow Jesus daily. The revolutionary lifestyle of God's family certainly accounts for some of this. The revolutionary lifestyle of Jesus himself account of much of this. Jesus sewed and cultivated his seed into society and culture. The church reaped from his work. God's family assumes they can continue to reap. But they need to learn how to sew and cultivate, so there is a preparation for reaping. All the work is in this preparation. We would all much rather reap.
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