‘He said, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Yeshua said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven! And I also tell you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My community (Gk ekklesia); and the gates of Sheol will not overpower it.”’ Matt 16:15-18 TLV (Brackets from footnotes)
The place where Jesus took the apostles to ask this crucial question was Caesarea Philippi in northern Israel, a place where Pan was worshipped. Part of the rituals to this pagan god of shepherds were ecstatic parties and orgies including throwing sacrifices into the cave known as ‘the gates of hell’ or ‘Hades’. Jesus did not choose a nice clean synagogue setting to found His church, but rather a rocky cliff face with a cave used for pagan worship! Unfortunately, church in most people’s understanding today is a building where Christians meet for a religious service and a synagogue is one where Jews gather to do likewise. Neither is true to the original meaning. Both are associated with an assembly or community of people. The Bible has not one use of the word church to mean a building.
Ekklesia
Ekklesia means those who are ‘called out’. Jews were ‘called out’ from the nations as God’s chosen people to be a light to the Gentiles and Christians are ‘called out’ from the world to be His witnesses in all the earth. The church is to come out from the world and overcome it, not be consumed by it. When Jesus founded the church on Peter’s revelation of who Jesus was and his declaration of Him as the Messiah, the Son of God, He used the word ekklesia. He could have used the word synagoge (synagogue) for a religious gathering but did not. That is significant.
Instead, He used a governmental, political word, ekklesia, referring to the free citizens of a Greek city who were summoned (called out) by the herald to gather for meetings to decide policy and law for their city. That is not exactly how we have been brought up to think of the church!! We need a paradigm shift in our thinking to comprehend what Jesus is calling us, His ekklesia, to do. We are the city council of God for our area and we are to decide the political policies for our cities, not just for religious issues but for all matters! Those who live in the city/region who have the right to vote to elect members to the council in the natural, have the authority in the spiritual realm to pray and act in this manner when they are walking in the Lord’s authority. Our gatherings are meant to influence the world, not just be comfy clubs or humanitarian aid centres, though these are part of community.
Much of the church has been duped into believing that politics and religion do not mix. If we abdicate our responsibility as citizens, then Satan will gladly step up to fill the gap (and has). We are children of a king and we are to reign with Him (Gen 1:26,28, 2 Tim 2:12). Satan is already defeated by Yeshua’s death and resurrection (Col 2:14-15). Yeshua wants us to be overcomers and enforce His victory. He is now seated at the right hand of the Father and we are there with Him (Eph 2:6) and we are more than conquerors with Christ (Rom 8:37). We are to reign with Christ from the position of being seated with Him in heavenly places in the place of grace and victory.
Our authority
When a policeman stands in the middle of an intersection directing traffic, he does not have the power to stop the cars which are much bigger and stronger than he is. But he does have the authority, because it has been imputed to him by way of his training and profession. A higher authority, i.e. that of the governing state has given it to him. His badge and uniform testify to that.
Because of Yeshua’s victory over sin at the cross and over death at the resurrection, He has been granted all authority in Heaven and on earth (Matt 28:18).
Nothing is beyond His control. He then commissioned His followers to go and disciple all nations. We have the authority to preach, to teach, to baptise, to heal, to cast out demons and to do miraculous signs in His name (Mk 16:15- 18). We are not given authority over people. Our authority is only over the demonic realm pictured as snakes and scorpions. We do not fight people, nor do we demand, dominate, manipulate, mock or belittle people, who are born in the image of God. Our battle is not in the flesh but in the Spirit against Satan and the powers and principalities in heavenly places (Eph 6:12), for which the Lord has given us spiritual armour (Eph 6:13-17).
Authority is something we must grow into. If we do not have the character to undergird the authority God invests in us, we will use it unwisely. We need to start in small matters in our own life by taking charge of disciplining our time, our appetites, our spending habits, what we look at and what we speak with our tongues. As we gain the victory in overcoming the wiles of Satan there, we can move on to family matters and wider responsibilities.
Jesus won the victory through suffering and sacrifice. He laid down His life for others and as we pray for others, we must also be willing to sacrifice time in prayer, and die to whatever the Lord shows us, on their behalf. Our authority always comes as we mirror the attitudes of Yeshua in humility and love.
Praying for Israel
We also have to know what territory God is giving us and when and how we are to take it. Gentiles do not have the same authority as Jewish people or the believers in the land in praying for Israel. But, as part of the Lord’s ekklesia, grafted in to Israel (Rom 11:17-18), we have a calling to pray for God’s purposes to be fulfilled in Israel. This includes praying for the diaspora Jews to return (Is 43:5-7), for the restoration of the land (Ezek 36:29-35), for the revelation of the Messiah (Zech 12:10), for the body of Yeshua in the land (Eph 4:1-16), for wisdom for the leaders (1 Tim 2:1-4), and for the peace of Jerusalem and all Israel (Ps 122:6-7). We can hold up the arms of those in the land, pray for the Jewish people’s hearts to be softened, cleansed and cry out for their Messiah (Ezek 36:25-28, Matt 23:39), and pray for Yeshua’s Kingdom to come on earth as it is in Heaven (Matt 6:10).
This article is part of a series adapted from a forthcoming daily devotional on prayer ‘The many Facets of Prayer’ by this author.
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