Part 4 of 5 of the theme 'Christian and politics' by Gijs van den Brink
In Greek outside the sphere of the NT is ekklesia the ordinary word for the convened assembly of all the citizens in a city, for political purposes. We encounter it in this sense in Acts 19, where Luke speaks of the "assembly of the people" of Ephesus (vs. 32,39,40). Thus, if this word is also used in the NT for the "assembly" of believers, the church, we must remember that this use of the word had not a religious but a political sound and primarily denotes the actual assembly, the concrete gathering together.
The first Christians met in ordinary homes, where people lived and worked, and they did not call the gathering the Christian temple or the Christian synagogue, but they designated it by the term ekklesia, a political term.
Stanley Hauerwas and since then many after him take Phil. 3:20 as a starting point and argue that the Christian community does not have a political or social strategy, but ís. He sees the church's main political task not in the personal transformation of individuals or the improvement of society, but in the formation of a model society, a Christian community as the radical alternative. Places where people are faithful in their relationships, love their enemies, tell the truth, support the poor and thus bear witness to the amazing life-changing power of God and the new life through Jesus Christ. This, they say, is the church's most important political contribution to the world. I think this is a wonderful articulation and application of Phil. 3:20 (about the heavenly colony), which we talked about last time.
Then I hear someone think and say: shouldn't Christians then try to change society? Shouldn't they then try to take responsibility through political management positions? Certainly, and that freedom fortunately exists in a democratic country like the Netherlands. We have that freedom as Dutch citizens, but that freedom was not there in the Roman Empire at the time of the apostles. Nor is there that freedom in many countries in our time, such as China or Iran. But the political significance in the sense of being a role model can be pursued in all political systems.
Author: Gijs van den Brink
From: Study Bible Magazine
This is part 4 of 5 concise blog on the topic of "Christian and politics" from Study Bible Magazine, Some of which we will be posting online in the near future. We hope this will help you understand the Bible better!
