Ekklesia: Rediscovering God's Instrument for Global Transformation by Ed Silvoso

Author:Ed Silvoso [Silvoso, Ed]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Religion, Pentecostal & Charismatic, Christian Living, General, Christian Living;Church;REL012000;REL079000, Christianity
ISBN: 9781493411665
Google: Uoq-DgAAQBAJ
Publisher: Chosen Books
Published: 2017-03-25T00:00:00+00:00

Victory over Poverty

We see victory over systemic poverty achieved in Acts 2:45, where members of the Ekklesia were sharing their wealth “with all, as anyone might have need.” In the past, I had assumed that this reference spoke of wealth being distributed to its members during a closed meeting of the Ekklesia. But the following verse specifies that the Ekklesia met every day all over town, “breaking bread from house to house” (verse 46). Here we have a daily gathering centered on a meal that by custom was open to strangers. These definitely were not closed meetings of believers in one location, but public ongoing gatherings all over the city that were open to nonbelievers. And this level of generosity granted the Ekklesia “favor with all the people” (verse 47).

When we connect all and anyone in verse 45 to all the people two verses later, it becomes evident that the Ekklesia in Jerusalem was tackling systemic poverty not only among its members, but in the city as well. In this new social order, “the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved” (verse 47).

Being an evangelist, naturally I was captured by the reference that the Lord added daily those who were being saved. Notice that the word those is a plural pronoun. The lowest plural possible is two, which means that if God were to add that minimum every day, the Ekklesia in any given locality should grow by at least 730 new members every year. And we know from the figures mentioned in the book of Acts that the number of new additions in Jerusalem alone climbed into the thousands in a few weeks. Fascinating! There is a lesson here that the modern Church needs to learn.

What was the key for this extraordinary multiplication? Favors! The key to finding favor with people is to do favors for them, because doing favors generates favor. And to obtain favor with all the people, we must do favors for all.

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