"Ekklesia: The Nature of the Christ's Courts, Part 3"
by Dr. Patti Amsden
by Dr. Patti Amsden
In Matthew 16 and in Matthew 18, Jesus was offering the New Covenant to His disciples. These passages are framed in covenantal language. The covenant model, which was outlined in the last article, can be identified in these two texts where Jesus calls, ordains, and empowers His ekklesia.
The first section of the covenant pattern, transcendence, distinguishes the one who is offering the covenant. At other times in scripture when God is seen offering covenant, He begins by identifying Himself. Consider God’s treaty with Abraham, who was still called by the name Abram at the time the covenant was made. In Genesis 15:7 God states, “I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of Chaldees.” Undoubtedly, Abram was not confused as to who had been speaking with him nor had he forgotten the One who called him out of his home land and promised to give him a new land for an inheritance. God did not give Abram a head’s up as to His being just to clear up any lingering misgivings or any aspects of unclear communications. God labeled Himself because the Transcendent began formal covenant-cutting procedures with an official annunciation of His name and station.
God followed the same protocol when He offered Moses and Israel a covenant. Exodus 20:2 reads, “I am the Lord thy God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” Before the terms of the covenant in the form of the 10 Commandments were stated, God opened the ceremony in the official protocol.
Jesus did the same thing. He started His proclamation by asking His disciples if they knew who He was. Peter responded that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. The person and the station of the Transcendent One was the first order of business. Before identifying who gets the covenant, before stating the terms, before outlining the benefits of the contract, the One who is offering the deal is recognized. Any contract would only be as good as the reliability of the one making the promises. Therefore, the credentials of the giver are of utmost importance to the integrity of the transaction. God, who is not a man that He should lie, can be counted on to fulfill what He has promised. Jesus, in instituting the most important covenant that mankind would ever know, made sure that His hearers knew who they were dealing with – He was the Christ. He was the Son of God.
In the next section of the model, the steward or the one to whom the covenant is being offered is made known. Jesus called out His Ekklesia. He revealed that those who were in union with Him would be freed from the incarcerating powers of death. They would be a company of resurrected believers. He was not confused as to who qualified to be His partners. Not everyone and anyone would be honored to enter the transaction and live in the compact. No! Only those that the gates of hell would not prevail against were candidates for the New Covenant.
After the two parties are clearly delineated, the terms must be given. Terms are the rules or laws which the Sovereign mandates. Jesus gave the rules, which He called Keys. By giving keys, Jesus was passing to His ekklesia authority to do His Kingdom business as His hierarchy or His stewards. The keys themselves were the rules of what would be allowed and what would not be allowed. The impartation of the keys was actually the giving of the covenant terms. As has been discussed in previous articles, Jesus was transferring from Moses’ called out to His own called out the power to take the laws of God and use them as God’s standard of good and evil.
Not only did Jesus grant the terms in the Matthew 16 passage, but He set up the court system in Matthew 18 where the process was established to ensure justice in case a trespass occurs. Trespasses do not occur where there is no ethic, no law, or no rules. In essence, Jesus gave the rules for legislative actions in Matthew 16 and mandated the enforcement of the rules by way of judicial decrees in Matthew 18.
Obedience to and compliance with the rules releases positive rewards, but conversely disobedience to and non-compliance with the rules predicate curses. Sanctions, which are covenant blessings and cursing, are found in the fourth part of the model. Matthew 18:15 declares that if a brother, who is charged with a trespass, is willing to repent and become compliant with the terms, a blessing is released: “you have gained your brother.” However, if a brother charged with a trespass is found guilty and refuses steps of reconciliation and restoration, a curse is released: “let him be unto you as a heathen man and a publican.” Many other passages expand upon the idea that blessing and cursing are tied to obedience and disobedience, respectively, but certainly the passages on ekklesia confirm this section of the covenant model.
Lastly, a covenant requires continuity. Matthew 18:16 says that at the mouth of two or three witness, every word will be established. If a thing is established, it has a future. Verse 20 of that same chapter states, “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of thee.” This passage identifies the future hierarchy, which is those who are gathered in His name, and declares that the future hierarchy is assured of a future because “there am I in the midst.”
The first section of the covenant pattern, transcendence, distinguishes the one who is offering the covenant. At other times in scripture when God is seen offering covenant, He begins by identifying Himself. Consider God’s treaty with Abraham, who was still called by the name Abram at the time the covenant was made. In Genesis 15:7 God states, “I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of Chaldees.” Undoubtedly, Abram was not confused as to who had been speaking with him nor had he forgotten the One who called him out of his home land and promised to give him a new land for an inheritance. God did not give Abram a head’s up as to His being just to clear up any lingering misgivings or any aspects of unclear communications. God labeled Himself because the Transcendent began formal covenant-cutting procedures with an official annunciation of His name and station.
God followed the same protocol when He offered Moses and Israel a covenant. Exodus 20:2 reads, “I am the Lord thy God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” Before the terms of the covenant in the form of the 10 Commandments were stated, God opened the ceremony in the official protocol.
Jesus did the same thing. He started His proclamation by asking His disciples if they knew who He was. Peter responded that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. The person and the station of the Transcendent One was the first order of business. Before identifying who gets the covenant, before stating the terms, before outlining the benefits of the contract, the One who is offering the deal is recognized. Any contract would only be as good as the reliability of the one making the promises. Therefore, the credentials of the giver are of utmost importance to the integrity of the transaction. God, who is not a man that He should lie, can be counted on to fulfill what He has promised. Jesus, in instituting the most important covenant that mankind would ever know, made sure that His hearers knew who they were dealing with – He was the Christ. He was the Son of God.
In the next section of the model, the steward or the one to whom the covenant is being offered is made known. Jesus called out His Ekklesia. He revealed that those who were in union with Him would be freed from the incarcerating powers of death. They would be a company of resurrected believers. He was not confused as to who qualified to be His partners. Not everyone and anyone would be honored to enter the transaction and live in the compact. No! Only those that the gates of hell would not prevail against were candidates for the New Covenant.
After the two parties are clearly delineated, the terms must be given. Terms are the rules or laws which the Sovereign mandates. Jesus gave the rules, which He called Keys. By giving keys, Jesus was passing to His ekklesia authority to do His Kingdom business as His hierarchy or His stewards. The keys themselves were the rules of what would be allowed and what would not be allowed. The impartation of the keys was actually the giving of the covenant terms. As has been discussed in previous articles, Jesus was transferring from Moses’ called out to His own called out the power to take the laws of God and use them as God’s standard of good and evil.
Not only did Jesus grant the terms in the Matthew 16 passage, but He set up the court system in Matthew 18 where the process was established to ensure justice in case a trespass occurs. Trespasses do not occur where there is no ethic, no law, or no rules. In essence, Jesus gave the rules for legislative actions in Matthew 16 and mandated the enforcement of the rules by way of judicial decrees in Matthew 18.
Obedience to and compliance with the rules releases positive rewards, but conversely disobedience to and non-compliance with the rules predicate curses. Sanctions, which are covenant blessings and cursing, are found in the fourth part of the model. Matthew 18:15 declares that if a brother, who is charged with a trespass, is willing to repent and become compliant with the terms, a blessing is released: “you have gained your brother.” However, if a brother charged with a trespass is found guilty and refuses steps of reconciliation and restoration, a curse is released: “let him be unto you as a heathen man and a publican.” Many other passages expand upon the idea that blessing and cursing are tied to obedience and disobedience, respectively, but certainly the passages on ekklesia confirm this section of the covenant model.
Lastly, a covenant requires continuity. Matthew 18:16 says that at the mouth of two or three witness, every word will be established. If a thing is established, it has a future. Verse 20 of that same chapter states, “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of thee.” This passage identifies the future hierarchy, which is those who are gathered in His name, and declares that the future hierarchy is assured of a future because “there am I in the midst.”
