The church, though birthed in the gospels, really came to life through its Holy Spirit baptism on the day of Pentecost. Yet, the genuine concept of ‘church’ was nothing new.
Stephen, in his personal defense before the Sanhedrin, said it this way, “This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us” (Acts 7:37-38 KJV, emphasis mine).
There are no simple coincidences in Scripture. There is nothing happenstance about a single expression. Each word is a perfectly placed note in the ultimate symphony.
Thus, why did Stephen, under the Holy Spirit’s unction, speak the phrase “church in the wilderness?”
For the Hearers that Day
The charge that put Stephen before the ruling council on religious matters was false: “And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us” (Acts 6:13-14).
In his defense, Stephen said that Jesus was the one Moses spoke of (Acts 7:37, 38). Thus, they were going against the very words and work Moses had desired.
As the church in the wilderness, Israel was called out of Egypt with all its idols to covenant solely with the Lord. They were to live according to His commandments and eventually manifest Him to the world through the ultimate event, the birth of Jesus. And in the fullness of time the incarnation took place. The Lord became flesh. “A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me…” had happened, only Israel did not hear. Though Israel fulfilled its charge with the physical miracle of Christ’s birth, the nation failed in its spiritual duty to recognize and embrace Jesus as Lord. It was a failure ultimately sealed with Jesus’ words, “Therefore say I unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matthew 21:43).
Thus, for the hearers of that day and in the context of church in the wilderness, Stephen’s defense was not only a condemnation of Israel. It was also a statement that those who now followed Christ—the church—assumed the ‘called out’ mantle (less Christ’s physical birth, of course) that Israel had dropped (at least until the role of Israel in the End Times).
For the Readers Today
Being ‘called out’ of Egypt and the wilderness journey is part of Israel’s DNA as seen in its constant appearances in Scripture and in their commemorating annual festivals.
For the church in today’s wilderness, the ‘called out’ mantra takes its root from the Greek word for church, ekklesia.
Ekklesia means called out; to call out.
It is used 115 times in 112 verses in the New Testament and 77 times in 73 verses in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament). Of the New Testament uses, only three times is ekklesia not translated as ‘church’ (all in Acts 19 when the ‘assembly’ in Ephesus challenged Paul). The Old Testament predominately translates it either as ‘assembly’ or as ‘congregation.’
The point is this: regardless of the English word translation, and despite being especially lost in the modern practice of church simply being ‘called together’, being ‘called out’ must return as the DNA for the gathering of believers.
Called Out
A DNA of being ‘called out’ begs the question, “Called out from what?”
The Apostle Peter answers such in a telling parallel with the church as today’s ‘Israel’ in spiritual mission: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9 ESV).
Peter’s meaning: As the people of Israel were called out of Egypt’s idolatrous darkness by the miraculous power of the Lord, so too are individuals delivered from the darkness of sinful lives unto the glorious light of Jesus Christ.
But the analogy continues: As Israel covenanted with the Lord to live by and show forth Him and His commands; so too does the church covenant with Him through His blood and proclaim His ‘excellencies’ that called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Called To…
Now that the church has been called out, the progressive question arises as to what it is being “called to?”
The Apostle Paul offers the answer, “giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:12-14 ESV).
Called out of darkness (delivered from its domain) and being placed in (called to) the Kingdom of the God through redemption is the church’s destination. For the church to be qualified, Israel had to be disqualified (again, for the time being, until her fulfillment as seen in the Revelation)—which it was through the misappropriation of the Kingdom (Matthew 21:43).
The Two Dimensions of the Kingdom of God…
The Kingdom of God’s redemptive reign had two dimensions. It became ‘present’ in the person of Jesus Christ and sealed when he fulfilled His mission on the cross. But it is also ‘future’ when all things will be put under his feet (Hebrews 2:8).
The ruling religionists in Israel combined the two in thinking that Christ’s initial advent was to establish the future, physical kingdom spoken by the prophets, and probably most specifically Daniel, “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14 KJV).
In fact, Jesus himself may have, in their mind, added to that understanding with His synagogue proclamation in Luke 4 in relation to Isaiah 61—even though the Lord withheld a closing phrase in the prophecy: “…and the day of vengeance of our God…(Isaiah 61:2).
This combination of Kingdom present and Kingdom future is readily seen in both John the Baptist’s message and testimony—and the apostles continued questions and actions.
John the Baptist’s Message and the Future Kingdom
Notice especially the ‘day of vengeance’ of the future and final Kingdom alluded to in John’s words:
“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7, emphasis mine).
“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:11-12, emphasis mine).
While sitting in prison, his ‘day of vengeance’ and ‘future Kingdom now’ misunderstanding added to John’s doubt concerning Jesus. This is evidenced in his question by his disciples to Jesus. “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3).
Jesus responded, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them” (Matthew 11:4-5).
Jesus’ answer summarized what He said in the synagogue (Luke 4:18, 19) and in Isaiah’s prophecy of ‘the year of the Lord.’
How?
“All of the great redemptive aspects of the anticipated kingdom of God were present in Jesus’ ministry: the blind saw, the lame walked, lepers were cleansed, the deaf heard, the dead were raised, and the Good News was being proclaimed to the poor….”[1]
Though John’s incarceration may have brought personal doubt, and though he may have wrongly anticipated the future Kingdom, his situation became an impetus for God’s Kingdom now: “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14-15).
The Apostles Future Kingdom and the Basis of Now
The apostles struggled with the same ‘the future Kingdom is now’ conviction. It started in the initial group of the Twelve:
“He [Andrew] first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ)” (John 1:41).
“Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45).
Although they recognized Jesus as the One, they grappled with the present Kingdom. This is seen in their continued argument over who would be greatest in the kingdom (Luke 9:34; 22:24). Their struggle with the idea even shows up after the resurrection. “So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6).
But it was the Lord’s answer to their post-resurrection question that set the stage for the apostolic understanding of God’s kingdom now. “He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:7, 8).
It was their baptism of power, the gift of the Holy Spirit received on the Day of Pentecost that ushered in their understanding of Kingdom now and Kingdom future.
It was the revelation of the Scriptures by the Holy Spirit that lead them to preach salvation now to miss of the future wrath to come.
Peter, after preaching the future Kingdom in his Acts 2 sermon, tells the hearers, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation” (Acts 2:38-40).
Israel had the understanding (and still does) of the Son of Man’s future kingdom depicted in Daniel 7. It just didn’t understand His scriptural prerequisite: Isaiah 53. They failed to accept the fact that Messiah was to be “wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). And so they still look for the Messiah.
But the Apostles, through the Holy Spirit, made the transition. They ultimately understood the now and future aspect of the Kingdom. Grasping the invisible nature of the Kingdom now that will become the visible Kingdom of the future, they became the ekklesia, the ‘called out’ to show forth Christ to the world in their day. And the ‘called out’ of today must continue the message: Jesus saves!
A Revival of ‘Called’
When being ‘called out’ is lost as a foundational part of the church, separated lifestyles fall short, mission becomes fruitless, and manifesting Him fails.
In essence, the church may not be a blatant den of robbers. But it has been ‘made’ something other than what the Lord desires. “And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’”? But you have made it a den of robbers” (Mark 11:17, emphasis mine).
How the Church Needs a Revival of Being ‘Called Out’ and ‘Called In:’
• From world ways and sinful lives and into separated lives of holiness
• Away from the clamor and busyness and into kingdom fruitfulness
• From hypocrisy and into genuine witnesses unto Him
So be it Lord!
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[1] Gelder, Craig Van. The Essence of Church, Baker Books: Grand Rapid, (2000), page 79.
