Ekklesia: Shared Power
by Dr. Patti Amsden
by Dr. Patti Amsden
An ekklesia convocation releases power – power that flows from each individual believer, power that flows from the Spirit’s anointing on each person’s gift or calling, and power that accumulates when the individuals join together to create a synergy. Synergistic power is that strength or energy which occurs by the interaction of parts so that when the parts combine they produce a total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual parts. Scripture states, “And you shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And 5 of you shall chase 100, and 100 of you shall put 10,000 to flight; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword” (Lev. 26:7-8). Although the context of this passage is about battle, the point is made that combined power is synergistic. If simple mathematics were used and 5 could overcome 100 (a multiplication factor of 20), then 100 should be able to overcome 2000 (again applying the same multiplication factor of 20). But, because of synergy, 100 puts 10,000 to flight, which means that the multiplication factors goes from 20 times to 100 times. When forces work together, the sum total of their effectiveness does not proportionally increase but it exponentially increases. That is synergistic power.
When an ekklesia convenes, all the individuals that come together have a part to add or a portion of power to contribute. The part that each person interjects must work in harmony with and not in opposition to the other members. Therefore, harmony or unity is a prerequisite for an ekklesia to be effective. In the above passage, the reader assumes that all the warriors are pursuing the same enemy, which enables the united power to be effective. Fighting among themselves would be counterproductive to the unified purpose to sending 10,000 to flight. Continuing to apply the army illustration, an army is diversified, meaning that not all combatants do the same job nor do they possess the same level of authority. Military might is exercised synergistically against a common foe through the working together of specialized soldiers.
In order for the army to function, authority and power must be granted to the individual for his or her job. Imagine the foot soldier without a rifle, the pilot without the plane, the general without the clout to give orders. Somebody must have the power to say shoot. Without the exercise of power, the army is rendered useless.
The unified reason for an army to exist is for war and for protection. Every aggregate group possesses a reason for being. That reason is the unified purpose or unified identity, e.g. a family, a corporation, a charitable organization, a nation. Next, the persons within the group have individual identities. Just like the army might have foot soldiers and pilots, the family might have a dad and a daughter or the corporation might have a foreman and a laborer. Individual identities define the work and also the authority and power needed to do the work. Without delegated right to use the power, no person could ever do their assigned task.
An assigned task demands that the individual to whom the task has been assigned have the right to use power. The goal of synergistic power can never be achieved unless those who possess the power are willing to share that power. The chief executive of any organization must share his or her power. Hoarding power is counterproductive to attaining synergistic power.
Reflecting back to the Garden of Eden can shed light upon the lie of the devil where shared power is concerned. That first temptation centered around a tree. The enemy inquired of Eve as to what God had commanded concerning the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve replied that they were forbidden to eat of the fruit. The serpent suggested to her that God did not want the couple to eat because, if they did, their eyes would be opened and they would know what God knew. In essence, the serpent suggested that God hoards His power and is unwilling to share it. God, the devil indicated, is afraid of equality.
The student of scripture must consider the original intent of God’s command and the veracity of the devil’s interpretation. Was God, indeed, saying that mankind could not have knowledge of that which is good and that which is evil? Could man not know right from wrong? Taking a broader look at the whole body of instructions found in the scripture, one learns that the man who follows God is admonished to gain knowledge, seek after understanding, and accumulate wisdom. The main message of Proverbs is a call to eat the fruit of knowing. On the surface it would seem that God’s command to Adam and Eve and the other portions of scripture are in contradiction. Where is the synergy in that perspective?
If God was not forbidding the knowledge or good and evil to the first couple, what was the restriction? God, as Father to the Adam and Eve, would have assumed the role of mentor. All fathers train up their children; God was prepared to do the same. The knowledge of right and wrong was God’s to distribute as His children were ready to receive. He did not give the right for the first couple to be self-determiners of those concepts. Under the guidance of His discipleship, God would have granted knowledge that would have caused their eyes to see things the way He saw things. God would not have been afraid to share His secrets, His insights, His truth. God would have been delighted for Adam and Eve to be like Him in their understanding.
God is not afraid of distribute His power. God has an infinite source of power and is never diminished when He gives it away. He does not maintain His control by hoarding His power. God calls people into His unified purpose – one body of Christ, one holy nation, one living temple, one church – and then prepares each person to find his or her individual identity in the midst of that unified identity. As a part is recognized, meaning as a job is given and accepted, power is released so that the job can be accomplished.
Any ekklesia convocation is comprised of persons with diverse callings and various levels of power commensurate to the need demanded by the job. Esteem for each other releases unity. Honor for one another’s authority secures harmony. Respect for the diversity of gifts safeguards accord. And – with unity comes synergistic power. Ekklesia power is God’s dispensed power to bind the evil and loose the good because God has distributed His knowledge and shared His power with the Church.
When an ekklesia convenes, all the individuals that come together have a part to add or a portion of power to contribute. The part that each person interjects must work in harmony with and not in opposition to the other members. Therefore, harmony or unity is a prerequisite for an ekklesia to be effective. In the above passage, the reader assumes that all the warriors are pursuing the same enemy, which enables the united power to be effective. Fighting among themselves would be counterproductive to the unified purpose to sending 10,000 to flight. Continuing to apply the army illustration, an army is diversified, meaning that not all combatants do the same job nor do they possess the same level of authority. Military might is exercised synergistically against a common foe through the working together of specialized soldiers.
In order for the army to function, authority and power must be granted to the individual for his or her job. Imagine the foot soldier without a rifle, the pilot without the plane, the general without the clout to give orders. Somebody must have the power to say shoot. Without the exercise of power, the army is rendered useless.
The unified reason for an army to exist is for war and for protection. Every aggregate group possesses a reason for being. That reason is the unified purpose or unified identity, e.g. a family, a corporation, a charitable organization, a nation. Next, the persons within the group have individual identities. Just like the army might have foot soldiers and pilots, the family might have a dad and a daughter or the corporation might have a foreman and a laborer. Individual identities define the work and also the authority and power needed to do the work. Without delegated right to use the power, no person could ever do their assigned task.
An assigned task demands that the individual to whom the task has been assigned have the right to use power. The goal of synergistic power can never be achieved unless those who possess the power are willing to share that power. The chief executive of any organization must share his or her power. Hoarding power is counterproductive to attaining synergistic power.
Reflecting back to the Garden of Eden can shed light upon the lie of the devil where shared power is concerned. That first temptation centered around a tree. The enemy inquired of Eve as to what God had commanded concerning the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve replied that they were forbidden to eat of the fruit. The serpent suggested to her that God did not want the couple to eat because, if they did, their eyes would be opened and they would know what God knew. In essence, the serpent suggested that God hoards His power and is unwilling to share it. God, the devil indicated, is afraid of equality.
The student of scripture must consider the original intent of God’s command and the veracity of the devil’s interpretation. Was God, indeed, saying that mankind could not have knowledge of that which is good and that which is evil? Could man not know right from wrong? Taking a broader look at the whole body of instructions found in the scripture, one learns that the man who follows God is admonished to gain knowledge, seek after understanding, and accumulate wisdom. The main message of Proverbs is a call to eat the fruit of knowing. On the surface it would seem that God’s command to Adam and Eve and the other portions of scripture are in contradiction. Where is the synergy in that perspective?
If God was not forbidding the knowledge or good and evil to the first couple, what was the restriction? God, as Father to the Adam and Eve, would have assumed the role of mentor. All fathers train up their children; God was prepared to do the same. The knowledge of right and wrong was God’s to distribute as His children were ready to receive. He did not give the right for the first couple to be self-determiners of those concepts. Under the guidance of His discipleship, God would have granted knowledge that would have caused their eyes to see things the way He saw things. God would not have been afraid to share His secrets, His insights, His truth. God would have been delighted for Adam and Eve to be like Him in their understanding.
God is not afraid of distribute His power. God has an infinite source of power and is never diminished when He gives it away. He does not maintain His control by hoarding His power. God calls people into His unified purpose – one body of Christ, one holy nation, one living temple, one church – and then prepares each person to find his or her individual identity in the midst of that unified identity. As a part is recognized, meaning as a job is given and accepted, power is released so that the job can be accomplished.
Any ekklesia convocation is comprised of persons with diverse callings and various levels of power commensurate to the need demanded by the job. Esteem for each other releases unity. Honor for one another’s authority secures harmony. Respect for the diversity of gifts safeguards accord. And – with unity comes synergistic power. Ekklesia power is God’s dispensed power to bind the evil and loose the good because God has distributed His knowledge and shared His power with the Church.
