One Ekklesia
Subtitle: The Vision and Practice of God's Eternal Purpose
Edition: 3rd Edition
Publisher: Henry Hon
Published: April 2020
Place of publication: United States of America
ISBN-13: 9781732556300
Copyright date: 2018
Description: One Ekklesia: The Vision and Practice of God’s Eternal Purpose (3rd Edition) by Henry Hon is the foundational work in a trilogy that explores the practical fulfillment of Jesus Christ's prayer for the oneness of His followers. Published in its third edition in February 2021, the book argues that the biblical concept of "church" has been fundamentally misunderstood due to the mistranslation of the Greek word ekklesia.
Rather than referring to a religious building or a hierarchical organization, Hon defines ekklesia as a "called-out democratic assembly" where every member is a participatory "living stone". The book distinguishes between "ministries," which are the various works of gifted individuals, and the "assembly," which is the singular gathering of all believers in a locality.
Key themes and practical applications include:
The "Reset to One": A call to return to the simple, dynamic "house to house" church life where diverse believers gather around the Person and Work of Jesus Christ without denominational barriers.
The Power of Greeting: An exploration of Romans 16 as a mandatory command for believers to proactively "meet and greet" those outside their immediate "comfort zones" to initiate and expand universal fellowship.
Equipping the Saints: A challenge to pastors and leaders to shift from building their own ministries to their primary biblical function: equipping ordinary believers to do the work of the ministry themselves.
The Three Gifts for Oneness: An introduction to the three gifts Jesus gave in John 17—Eternal Life, Truth, and Glory—which provide the divine "DNA" necessary for believers to achieve a unity that mirrors the Trinity.
Crushing the Enemy: The assertion that it is the built-up oneness of the assembly (the "Army of One") that functions as the corporate "seed of the woman" to finally defeat and crush the head of Satan.
Ultimately, One Ekklesia serves as a manual for believers seeking to move beyond "pulpit-pew spectatorship" into the reality of the One Body of Christ, providing a roadmap for the next and final revival.