Ekklesia Quotes

“Growing through submission into obedience is the key to acquiring Christ's likeness and authority in the ekklesia.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“And further, when we give our hearts to the Lord—submitted and obedient to Him—we are then free and able to submit to man. They first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God. 2 Corinthians 8:5”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“The world walks in the pride of the flesh. Yet for Christians, humility is the beginning of great authority in the Kingdom of Heaven. Pride causes lawlessness and rebellion. We cannot live like the world and expect demons to flee.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“All authority in the Kingdom begins with humility and servanthood. And He [Jesus] said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called 'Benefactors.' But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant." Luke 22:25-26”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“All authority in the Kingdom begins with humility and servanthood.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“The ekklesia is not about forcing a law on people; it is about employing the love of God to bring freedom, healing and restoration to the world.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“The purpose of the ekklesia is not to make everything Christian, or even to provide an alternative religion, but to gradually transform society to look more like the Kingdom of Heaven. Remember God's original commission to us: to subdue and rule (Genesis 1:28).”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“We now know that Jesus never intended to build the church in the conventional sense. Instead, His intentions were greater; He boldly proclaimed to His disciples that He would build His ekklesia, and by that, He meant a systematic, world-reaching government of Heaven that would release a kingdom culture of righteousness and justice.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“As the ekklesia, we do not have to take every bit of evil that is thrown our way. Indeed, we cannot. We need to hear from God concerning laws and decisions that are made by people in authority and take a stand by implementing righteousness. If the ekklesia does not rule, someone else will. The Lord never told us to put our trust and hope in politicians but in Him and Him alone!”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“Just as it was then, judging is a necessary part of the ekklesia and kingdom life today. It does not need to be a negative task. In fact, judgment isn't always concerning people. There are times when the Lord will cause us to release judgments over wickedness in general, as well as over cities and nations. There have been times when our government has passed unrighteous laws, and in prayer, I heard the Lord tell me to command that law to die. This is similar to the way some Old Testament prophets did things.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“These three branches of the ekklesia also relate to the Trinity. The Father is the Great Judge, the Son Jesus is the King, and the Holy Spirit is the Lawgiver, or in other words, the One who delivers/speaks the will of God to us so that we can speak and act on it. Also known as our Helper, the Holy Spirit helps us to legislate and judge according to the will of God.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“As I mentioned in the last section, understanding son-ship is vital to the ekklesia for several reasons. One reason is inheritance rights. Only sons have a legitimate right to become kings. Sons inherit the right to rule and reign from their fathers.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered justice and righteousness for all his people. 2 Samuel 8:15 Those whose hearts are aligned with the Lord will possess the key of David to further the Kingdom. Obtaining Christ-like character must be a priority for all children of God; it is a requirement for functioning within the ekklesia. The Father is looking for those who have a heart of humility, obedience, service and worship. Releasing righteousness and justice is the purpose of the government of the Kingdom of Heaven.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“The Key of David is summed up in the heart and identity of David, first as a son, then as a shepherd, a worshipper, a servant, a father, a warrior and a king. It is important that we understand son-ship and biblical adoption especially in our discussion of keys of the Kingdom and the importance of character and unity. As we discussed in the beginning of this book, all who are born again become sons of God. Sons legally inherit the right to the throne from their Father the King.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“You see, wherever the King is, there is the Kingdom. All of the resources of the Kingdom are manifest and available wherever the King is present. So if Christ is dwelling in us, then all of the resources of His Kingdom are as well! 2 Peter 1:3 says that He has already given us everything that pertains to life and godliness.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“Prayer is communication with the Lord. It is not just a time when we do all the talking; it requires both speaking and listening. For the ekklesia to function correctly, we must be listening and learn to hear and recognize the voice of the Lord, and then say what He is telling us to say and/or do what He is showing us to do. The fundamental principle to ekklesia is illustrated when Jesus told Peter that "flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven." In other words hearing the revelation like Peter did.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“The keys that Jesus gave us have the power to make or break legally binding agreements. However, given such great power, we must be careful that we are not praying or prophesying according to our own desires and human reasoning, but are hearing accurately from the Holy Spirit.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“An example of using a key is speaking words given by the Holy Spirit through a prophetic decree. This could also be called legislating the will of God. When we do this, we use the key (the message) to either lock (bind) or unlock (loose) spiritual forces that have a direct bearing on natural forces and events. When we faithfully legislate God's will, we accurately hear from God and come into agreement with Him. That agreement, when prophesied, makes the will of God legally binding on Earth, or it has the authority to break (loose) a previously made agreement.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“Often people try to resist the devil but forget the first part of this scripture: submit to God. The more we grow in our relationship with the Lord, acquiring a Christ-like character, the less access Satan has to our life. We bind him with the godly quality of our life.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“Titles describe the function. Even the names that Adam gave to all the animals describe the identity of that animal. Function follows identity.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“The ekklesia's powers were nearly unlimited. The duties and authority of the ekklesia included the following: It elected and dismissed magistrates and directed the policy of the city. It declared war and it made peace. It negotiated and approved treaties and arranged alliances. It chose generals, assigned troops to different campaigns, raised the necessary money, and dispatched those troops from city to city. It was an assembly or congregation in which all members had equal right and duty. This was the common definition of ekklesia. As you can see, its primary emphasis was governmental—quite different from church as we know it today.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“Jesus intended to build an assembly belonging to God, assembled for God's purposes; an ekklesia to hear from God so that people could speak and act for God. The ekklesias of the Greeks and Romans ruled the middle-eastern world for centuries. Jesus intended that His ekklesia would establish the Kingdom of God to rule for eternity.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“When Jesus gave us the Great Commission, He restored more than the heart of man. He restored man's original calling.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“We not only must renew our minds, but we must also understand that we have been given the grace or power to live by the Spirit, which means that as we yield our lives to the Holy Spirit, we have grace to not only overcome sin but also to rule and reign with Christ Jesus over the Earth.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“If all humans are already children of God, then how is it possible or even necessary to become a child of God? The truth is that we only become the children of God when we receive Jesus.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“Sin is a perversion of God's created order and has a corrupting effect on everything it touches.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“I realized that the fault was not with the lost and wandering congregation, nor was it with the leadership struggling to maintain the status quo. Instead, it was an overall lack of understanding of who and what Jesus called His church to be.”
― Joe Nicola, Ekklesia: The Government of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth