The Ekklesia of Christ
Introduction
Today we hear the word church used in many different ways. Many will say that on Sundays they “go to church,” that is, they go to a building to sing songs, perhaps to tithe, to be led in prayer, and to hear a sermon (or sometimes, they simply call all of this worship). Other times we might hear of the “church universal,” signifying that the church is really larger than our local gathering, that it is, in fact, made up of all believers in Christ. Then, too, we may hear of the present time in which we’re living referred to as being “the Church Age”; this comes from a dispensational view of the Scriptures, which is founded upon the assumption that God has dealt with people through the ages in different ways based on His revelation to them – and, no, I do not believe that that is a Biblically accurate identification of our present day.
Consider a dictionary definition of the word church:
1. a building for public worship, especially in the Christian religion,
2. all the followers of a religion, especially the Christian religion, considered collectively,
3. a religious service that takes place in a church,
4. the clergy as distinct from lay people,
5. religious authority as opposed to the authority of the state, and
6. a denomination or branch of the Christian religion.1
So we see that when someone goes “to church,” they can be going both to the building and to the service that will take place. However, what we also see within this definition is structure (item #4) and authority (item #5). The definition presented would probably be accepted by most churchgoers today – in essence, it fits with our traditional view of what church is.
Clearly, it is important that we understand what we mean when we use the word church, for it serves many purposes today; however, we must be careful to define our terms so that we are properly understood. The word church appears many times within our King James Bible (KJV), and so we must determine what is meant when it is used. Does it agree with our modern understanding of the term? In other words, do the words that God used in His Word that are translated as church harmonize with what church is today?
The word translated as church in our KJV is the Greek word ekklesia (ek-klay-see’-ah), which is a compound word: ek, meaning out of, and klēsis, a calling – or, more simply, called-out ones.2 The word is not exclusively religious in nature, and so it does not specifically apply to a gathering of those with faith in Christ, but rather to a gathering of people out of the general masses. For example, the same Greek word is used of the mob that gathered in Ephesus when the silversmiths thought that they were losing their trade because of Paul’s teaching; here the translators saw fit to render it as assembly (Acts 19:32, 39, 41).
On the other hand, if you consider the history of our word church (its etymology), you find that it comes from the Greek word kyrios, which means ruler or lord; and it was since AD 300 that the word kyriakon (of the Lord) began to be applied to the places where Christians worshipped.3 Interestingly, it was shortly after this that Constantine, the Roman Emperor, led a softening of the state’s attitude toward Christians, and, as Emperor, went on to introduce many changes into the church of that day. We find the Greek word kuriakos, meaning “belonging to the Lord,” used twice in the Scriptures: in 1 Corinthians 11:20 we see the “Lord’s supper” (kuriakon deipnon) and in Revelation 1:10 John writes of the “Lord’s day” (kuriakh hmera).4 What is evident is that the word church has a fundamentally different historical meaning from the Greek word ekklesia that has been translated as church within most modern Bibles.5
At this point we might be tempted to say: “So what?” What difference does all of this make? It sounds so much like semantics and seeking to split the proverbial hair – the discussion is about shades of meaning, but, in reality, does it make any difference? Perhaps there is an element of truth to that query, but, unfortunately, the semantics in this case have made it much easier for our adversary to hoodwink us into believing a skewed version of the truth. The voice of most theologians can be heard loudly proclaiming the traditions to which we have all become accustomed; nevertheless, it is important to hear the Word of God on these matters. We must be Bereans and hold the Scriptures as our Standard so that we may know the Truth.
_________________
1 Encarta Dictionary, “church.”
2 Vine’s Expository Dictionary, “assembly.”
3 http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=c&p=13, “church.”
4 For a study of the Sabbath and the Lord’s Day, see What of the Sabbath?; https://www.thenarrowtruth.com/what-of-the-sabbath.html
5 A check of 28 English Bibles, showed ekklesia translated as assembly five times, community once, and the other 22 occasions as church.
Today we hear the word church used in many different ways. Many will say that on Sundays they “go to church,” that is, they go to a building to sing songs, perhaps to tithe, to be led in prayer, and to hear a sermon (or sometimes, they simply call all of this worship). Other times we might hear of the “church universal,” signifying that the church is really larger than our local gathering, that it is, in fact, made up of all believers in Christ. Then, too, we may hear of the present time in which we’re living referred to as being “the Church Age”; this comes from a dispensational view of the Scriptures, which is founded upon the assumption that God has dealt with people through the ages in different ways based on His revelation to them – and, no, I do not believe that that is a Biblically accurate identification of our present day.
Consider a dictionary definition of the word church:
1. a building for public worship, especially in the Christian religion,
2. all the followers of a religion, especially the Christian religion, considered collectively,
3. a religious service that takes place in a church,
4. the clergy as distinct from lay people,
5. religious authority as opposed to the authority of the state, and
6. a denomination or branch of the Christian religion.1
So we see that when someone goes “to church,” they can be going both to the building and to the service that will take place. However, what we also see within this definition is structure (item #4) and authority (item #5). The definition presented would probably be accepted by most churchgoers today – in essence, it fits with our traditional view of what church is.
Clearly, it is important that we understand what we mean when we use the word church, for it serves many purposes today; however, we must be careful to define our terms so that we are properly understood. The word church appears many times within our King James Bible (KJV), and so we must determine what is meant when it is used. Does it agree with our modern understanding of the term? In other words, do the words that God used in His Word that are translated as church harmonize with what church is today?
The word translated as church in our KJV is the Greek word ekklesia (ek-klay-see’-ah), which is a compound word: ek, meaning out of, and klēsis, a calling – or, more simply, called-out ones.2 The word is not exclusively religious in nature, and so it does not specifically apply to a gathering of those with faith in Christ, but rather to a gathering of people out of the general masses. For example, the same Greek word is used of the mob that gathered in Ephesus when the silversmiths thought that they were losing their trade because of Paul’s teaching; here the translators saw fit to render it as assembly (Acts 19:32, 39, 41).
On the other hand, if you consider the history of our word church (its etymology), you find that it comes from the Greek word kyrios, which means ruler or lord; and it was since AD 300 that the word kyriakon (of the Lord) began to be applied to the places where Christians worshipped.3 Interestingly, it was shortly after this that Constantine, the Roman Emperor, led a softening of the state’s attitude toward Christians, and, as Emperor, went on to introduce many changes into the church of that day. We find the Greek word kuriakos, meaning “belonging to the Lord,” used twice in the Scriptures: in 1 Corinthians 11:20 we see the “Lord’s supper” (kuriakon deipnon) and in Revelation 1:10 John writes of the “Lord’s day” (kuriakh hmera).4 What is evident is that the word church has a fundamentally different historical meaning from the Greek word ekklesia that has been translated as church within most modern Bibles.5
At this point we might be tempted to say: “So what?” What difference does all of this make? It sounds so much like semantics and seeking to split the proverbial hair – the discussion is about shades of meaning, but, in reality, does it make any difference? Perhaps there is an element of truth to that query, but, unfortunately, the semantics in this case have made it much easier for our adversary to hoodwink us into believing a skewed version of the truth. The voice of most theologians can be heard loudly proclaiming the traditions to which we have all become accustomed; nevertheless, it is important to hear the Word of God on these matters. We must be Bereans and hold the Scriptures as our Standard so that we may know the Truth.
_________________
1 Encarta Dictionary, “church.”
2 Vine’s Expository Dictionary, “assembly.”
3 http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=c&p=13, “church.”
4 For a study of the Sabbath and the Lord’s Day, see What of the Sabbath?; https://www.thenarrowtruth.com/what-of-the-sabbath.html
5 A check of 28 English Bibles, showed ekklesia translated as assembly five times, community once, and the other 22 occasions as church.
