Visible and Invisible Ekklesia: Our Confusion (Edited with ChatGPT)

 

Sometimes the kinds of mistakes the faithful make reflect their core understanding — or misunderstanding — of God and our faith. I remember, during my third year at Addis Ababa University, a moment when our instructors raised a concern about the lack of class participation. The issue was discussed, and many students suggested we should try to meet our instructors’ expectations. It was a good discussion, though it ended rather strangely. In the end, they decided we should vote on it. I never understood what that was supposed to achieve, and they could not digest my opposition. How could voting change anything? There was no way to enforce a collective will in individual action. The better approach would have been for someone to take initiative and lead by example. But still, we voted — everyone voted — and nothing changed. Such problems arise from a failure to grasp basic concepts like collective will, enforcement, and alternative ways to implement decisions.

 

In much the same way, confusion is visible in the Ekklesia (assembly) of the Lord. The Ekklesia is not the source of our salvation — it is the expression of our salvation. We do not gather in the name of the Lord to get saved; we gather in unified worship because we are saved. The true Ekklesia is the unity of all born-again believers who are led and united by the Holy Spirit. It is the Universal Ekklesia, under the lordship of Jesus Christ. This is the real Ekklesia, and all who belong to it are justified by the blood of Christ, identified as saints, and never condemned.

 

But this true Ekklesia is known only to God. As humans, we must work with the visible Ekklesia, which is a mixture of both good and bad fish. We are called to treat this visible Ekklesia as the real one for practical purposes, even though we must remember that the true Ekklesia is the invisible one. The children of God are those whose names are written in the Book of Life by Jesus — not those certified by the visible church as faithful.

 

The visible Ekklesia is merely a shadow of the invisible one. We are called to work within this shadow until the real is revealed at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. At that time, as two people worship side by side, one will be taken up to meet Jesus in the air, and the other will be left behind. As two sleep beside each other, one will rise to meet the Lord in the sky as He descends, while the other remains. Until that day, the kingdom of heaven contains both good and bad fish. Some are written in the Book of Life — born again in spirit, led by the Holy Spirit — while others only pretend to be faithful, or lose their way through grave disobedience and rebellion against God (a debated issue, I admit).

 

What does this mean for the faithful? It means we must not take our salvation for granted but must secure it through love. Whether or not one can spiritually die is beyond the scope of this post, but either way, you must bear the fruit of the Spirit to confirm your salvation. If you are truly born again, your life must move from being centered on yourself to being centered on Jesus. As you fade, the life of the Lord must rise in you. You should grow into the image of Christ. Otherwise, only God knows your future — and it is uncertain.

 

And what does this mean for those who are sure of their salvation? It does not mean you should label others in the assembly as saved or unsaved. That judgment belongs to God. What you can do is bear the fruit of the Spirit and help others do the same. If you see a brother or sister falling, your role is to guide them back to salvation — with love, care, and correction. It is not your role to point fingers and call them out, because even the holy may fall seven times and rise seven times. The wicked fall and stay down. If someone has fallen, they might still rise. But are you sure you will rise when you fall?

 

We can judge sin and correct it — with love, wisdom, patience, and grace — but we cannot judge someone’s salvation, unless the sin is outright abomination. Even if we suspect someone is not saved, our response should be to save them. We must declare the gospel, lead them to believe in Jesus as Lord, teach them the foundations of the faith, baptize them, and disciple them. If someone is not saved, it likely means they do not yet know God well enough to truly believe — and they need someone to feed them the Word and show them the light of Christ in daily life.

 

And before you try to clean the speck from your brother’s eye, first remove the log from your own. Transformation starts with you. But as you change, do not leave others behind for the devil to claim. Lift them up and walk with them. Our model is Jesus — He did not come to condemn but to save. You are not here to judge, but to save. If you fail to carry this spirit, it is uncertain whether your name is anywhere near the Book of Life.