The Body of the Messiah consists of those who believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah (Christ) and have put their trust in him for their salvation. It is often stated that this body of believers is the Church. In actuality, the Church is a different entity entirely. A quick look into the origin of the word Church reveals that the word is derived from the words for "circle" or "circus". But the Greek word translated as "Church" (ekklesia) is a compound word that literally means "to call out". What does a circle have to do with being God's called-out? Nothing. And isn't it interesting that a doctrine so core to Christianity that it was in the name was lost to history over the millennia. Then again, the Truth does have a way of sneaking its way through. Because rather than being called out from worldly practices and teachings, the Church instead embraces them, "claiming them for Christ" and advocating or even mandating said things.
Jesus established the Ekklesia (called-out) in AD 30. In AD 325, Constantine established the Church. It was still probably called "ekklesia" back then because the Catholic Church hijacks everything, but that is the definitive point in history where it stopped being the Called-Out and started being the Circus. Constantine's establishment was made as a means of controlling the Body of the Messiah by keeping them from the practices that God ordained (eg: 7th Day Sabbath) and in slavery to idolatry. And the doctrine of this establishment has changed over the centuries with each change of doctrine bringing about a reinterpretation of Scripture to suit that change. They have even changed some "New Testament" passages on rare occasion, such as Mark 16:9-20, which are not in the original manuscripts.
One important detail is that "the Church" (as far as my usage of the word is concerned) is not the Catholic Church or any particular Protestant denomination, or anything else that calls itself a "Church". That's right, it's independent of the Catholic Church because it is a system rather than an organization. Constantine established both the organization and the system. Both of which have evolved over the years, but in different ways. The organization evolved to "claim for Christ" the various pagan practices that surrounded it while the system evolved to better keep people from wandering too far from Catholic doctrine, so that they don't rediscover the freedom that comes from keeping God's Law. The most notable point in this evolution is the weaponization of apologetics (both the weaponization and apologetics are for future posts).
This system of course does have "gatekeepers" among both Catholics and Protestants. (The "gatekeepers" within the Catholic Church shouldn't be a surprise as the Catholic Church is what created the system in the first place.) You can identify these "gatekeepers" quite easily: Just challenge or outright deny any doctrine that has very little, if any, biblical support (it does not have to be any of their core doctrines) and watch them forget how to use apologetics to defend said doctrine. Actually, even that isn't necessary. Because in some cases where a doctrine is being challenged or outright denied, but has extensive biblical support, the evidence brought against the doctrine is often itself another doctrine held by the system. When this happens, a false doctrine is used as evidence that a true doctrine is actually false doctrine. Since the Church believes both of these doctrines to be true or is incapable of letting go of either one, they are unable to provide an adequate defense of the true doctrine, even though one does exist.
Where does the above-mentioned scenario happen? That is exactly the scenario playing out among those who believe that Paul was a deceiver. The Church and those who hold that Paul was a deceiver both hold to the false doctrine that Paul taught against God's Law. The Church holds to the doctrine that Paul was a legitimate Apostle of Yeshua. But Paul's alleged teaching against God's Law is the evidence that Paul was a deceiver. The Church is incapable of proving that Paul was a legitimate Apostle simply because it is a system designed to keep people from God's Law of Liberty. And proving that Paul was legitimate would prove that the Church is the real deceiver.
On a final point: These "gatekeepers" have an advantage that no other system has. What is this advantage? Jus ask: Why would anyone who believes they will burn for eternity for lying lie to the masses? That is the advantage that they have in their deception! And that is also the perfect cover-up for the system of deception, regardless of whether the ones teaching that liars burn for eternity actually believe their own doctrine. It's important to note that not everyone who uses the Church's talking points is part of the system. Remember: This is a system of deception. There are going to be people who fall for their deceptions. This is one reason why we need to test everything [1 Thessalonians 5:21], so that we only accuse the deceivers of being deceivers.
In conclusion, the Body of Believers are the "Called-Out" of God. We are those who have been called out of sin and idolatry and we should refer to ourselves as such.
