2/10/2021 Jane Johnson & Bill Brady edited 7/6/2021
Summary:
The 4 Groups of Believers with their Heads Group / Head
- The Body of Christ / The Christ (King Headship)
- New Jerusalem / The Lamb (Lamb headship)
- The House of God / God Headship
- The House of Adam/ Adam Headship
In each case The Group grows up / is built up into its Head.
- The Progression / The Journey is from Group to Group.
- And from Head to Head.
The first 2 stages involve Marriage.
- The Marriage with Christ.
- The Marriage with The Lamb of God.
- We become The Wife of each.
- Before Marriage we are prepared as a Bride.
Here are some names for a group of believers.
- Body of Christ
- Ecclesia
- House
- Temple
- New Jerusalem
- Nation
- Israel
There are many names for a group of believers.
- A specific group of believers may be functioning in one or more of these names.
Each of these names is for a specific identity & function.
- The identity & function varies with the name.
- It also varies with the Head that the group in the name is growing up into.
- The Head of each of these groups of believer has a specific name.
The Body of Christ is one name for a group of believers.
- The Body of Christ is made up of Members / Parts.
- The Body of Christ is The Bride of Christ.
- The Body grows up into Kingship Headship.
- They also grow up into Kingship Headship as the group.
- They also each grow up into Kingship Headship individually.
New Jerusalem (NJ) is another name for a Group of believers.
- It is the name of The Bride / Wife of The Lamb.
- This is another version of Body.
- It is a Body name, but it is a higher name than Body of Christ.
- The Bride of The Lamb is growing up into Lamb of God Headship.
There are 2 kinds of names for groups of believers.
- Body names
- Building names
Body names & Building names
- Body names = Body of Christ
- Building names = House & Temple.
- The Body names result in growth up into a Headship name.
- The Building names result in being built up into a Headship name.
- Building up = edification.
- Body of Christ & NJ are both Body names & Building names.
- Each is both a Body & a Building.
There is a key to each group name.
- It is that the group grows up into the identity & function of the Head.
- Headship is the key.
A group grows up into the identity & function of the Head of that name of group.
- The Body of Christ grows up into Kingship Headship.
- NJ grows up into Lamb of God Headship.
- House of God grows up into God Headship (= Father).
- House of Adam grows up into Adam Headship.
We used the name Ecclesia for a group of believers.
- A group of believers has identity & function given to it by its name.
- I can see that Ecclesia may be a lower name for a group of believers.
- We associate it with local ecclesias functioning at the Kingdom Age Level.
- It may be a name for a local group of Kingdom Age believers.
- As well as for the universal group of believers functioning in The Kingdom Age.
What is a name that can be used to include all of the group names?
- I don’t want to make up a name.
- There must be one found in scripture.
- The names that are found in scripture are ones that have been given by God.
- It is best to use them if we can.
- Unless they have been used wrongly so much that they convey the wrong image.
This is the case with the word “Church”.
- It is an English translation of the Greek word Ekklesia.
- The Greek word Ekklesia translates a Hebrew word used of the Nation of Israel.
- Ekklesia is a voting council.
Ecclesia is indeed a Kingdom Age name for a Group of believers.
- In chapters 2 – 3 of The Revelation of Jesus Christ there are 7 Ecclesias.
- Those Ecclesias go through a 7-step process of Overcoming.
- Few Ecclesias Overcome.
- Some do.
Some individual believers in each Ecclesia Overcome.
- John individually comes up here from Earth to Heaven.
- We follow John.
- New Jerusalem is made up of Overcoming Kings in Heaven.
- Some are part of Overcoming Ecclesias.
- Those Ecclesias transition out of being Ecclesias.
- Many individual believers have come out of a non-Overcoming Ecclesia.
- For most believers coming out of an Ecclesia is part of Overcoming.
- Together they become One City of New Jerusalem.
- Those in NJ are growing up / being built up into a Head.
- That Head is The Lamb of God.
House
- A House is made up of Overcoming Kings.
- The LORD God built a House for King David.
- David’s House is made up of David’s Sons / Generations.
- A Temple is made up of Priests & High Priests.
- King David’s Son, King Solomon, built The Temple for The LORD God.
- King Solomon became God’s Son = A Son of God.
What is the order of names for a Group of believers?
- Ecclesia / Body of Christ
- New Jerusalem (which is a City)
- House
What does this reveal to us about OUB?
- It reveals to us our past & our future as a Group of believers.
OUB was originally functioning as an Ecclesia / Body of Christ.
- As a Body of Christ we did a Journey of Overcoming as Kings.
- We have been functioning as New Jerusalem.
- We have recently traded into House.
