Definitions
The Doctrine of the
Church - Lesson # 1
I. What does
εκκλησία (transliterated ekklēsia; pronounced ek-lāy-see-a) mean?
A. Secular Greek background
1. Any
assembly
2. Assemblies
of citizens in a Greek city
3. Non-Christian
secular use found in New Testament - Acts 19:32, 39-41
B. Jewish background
1. The
Hebrew word for the people of Israel assembled or as a community was qahal. In the Greek Old Testament (LXX
or Septuagint), this Hebrew word was sometimes translated by the Greek term
"synagogue" (synagogē),
and more frequently by ekklēsia.
2. In
the New Testament it can refer to the congregation of Israel - Acts 7:38 (see
the KJV of this verse)
3. In
the first few decades of the church, it is possible that ekklēsia and "synagogue" were used interchangeably
by Jewish Christians for the body of Christ (Jas. 2:2; 5:14). After the
destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, the widening gap between Judaism and
Christianity resulted in the choice of
ekklēsia by Christians to distinguish themselves from the Jewish
synagogue. Likewise Greek Christians would prefer ekklēsia to distinguish themselves from the local Jewish
community. It was a word which they found in their Greek Old Testament in
reference to God's people, and it had a noble heritage in secular Greek language.
C. Origin of the English word
"church."
1. "Church"
probably comes from the late Greek word
kyriakos, which means "belonging to the Lord." "It
apparently entered northern European languages from the Goths, who heard the
Greek word applied to church buildings ("the Lord's [house]") and
appropriated the word into their language. Thus we have in Germany Kirche and in Scotland "Kirk." Hence the use of the
word "church" for a building is proper in English, but this is not
true for the Greek word it translates" (Ferguson, The Church of Christ, 130).
2. Some
of the meanings of the English word "church" are very similar to the
meaning of εκκλησία, so it is not
necessary to abandon "church" as a translation of
εκκλησία. To say that
"church" is a non-biblical word and that we need to use the biblical
words "assembly" or "congregation" is contradictory. Only a
small portion of English words derive directly from a Greek ancestor, and many
of those have changed meaning over time. "Assembly" and
"congregation" are derived from the French language. While they are
useful translations of εκκλησία, they
are not "biblical" words to be preferred over the
"non-biblical" term "church." The biblical word is
εκκλησία, and we should use whichever
English words best approximate the meaning of
εκκλησία, and "church" is
very satisfactory in most instances.
3. "Although
a precise equivalent to our English word `church' is not employed in the New
Testament as a description of the people of God, the English word is
serviceable, correctly understanding the nature of the `church' as the Lord's
people" (Stagg, New Testament
Theology, 180).
D. The meaning in the Greek New Testament
when applied to God's people
1. "the
Christian church or congregation" (BAGD, 240-41)
2. The
"church" universal, either of all Christians in the world at one
time, or all Christians of all ages - Mt. 16:18; Eph. 1:22; Col. 1:18
3. The
"church" assembled, thus, the "assembly" - 1 Cor. 11:18;
14:19, 23, 34
4. The
"church" as a local body or congregation, the most common use of the
term in the New Testament.
a. Often located geographically - Acts 8:1; 11:22; Rom. 16:1; 1 Cor.
1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:1
b. Even though there is only one church or one body of Christ, the
plural form ("churches") is correct when referring to multiple
congregations - Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:1, 19; Gal. 1:2; 1 Thess. 2:14; Rev. 1:4
c. Some churches met in homes, or were primarily made up of members
of a single household, thus they were a church in someone's house - Rom. 16:5;
1 Cor. 16:19; Phile. 2
E. Etymology or derivation
1. Frequently
εκκλησία has been defined as the
"called out" due to its supposed derivation from ek ("out") and
kaleo ("called"). This derivation is disputed and is far from
certain. The origin of a word does not necessarily tell us its meaning.
Furthermore, the meaning of many words change over time. The meaning of a word
should be defined by its usage in the time period under study.
2. The
idea of "separation" from others by being "called out" is a
biblical concept, but it apparently was not inherent in the word εκκλησία.
"In the New Testament the concept of the separation of the people of God
from the world is expressed in several ways, in the word `saint' and `holy' and
more especially by the group of words which are translated `elect' or
`choose'" (Roberts, "The Meaning of Ekklesia in the New Testament," 29).
II. Qualifying phrases
A. Ownership and origin
1. "church
of God" or "God's church" - 1 Cor. 1:2; 10:32; 11:16, 22; 15:9;
2 Cor. 1:1; Gal. 1:13; 1 Thess. 2:14; 1 Tim. 3:5, 15; Acts 20:28
2. "church
of the Lord" - Acts 20:28 in some manuscripts
3. "churches
of Christ" or "churches in Christ" - Rom. 16:16; Gal. 1:22
4. "the
church in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" - 1 Thess. 1:1; 2
Thess. 1:1
B. Nature or essence
1. Sometimes
specified ethnically - Rom. 16:4
2. Theologically
- Heb. 10:23
3. Study
how the apostle Peter discusses the church without using the word
εκκλησία - 1 Pet. 2:9-10.
III. Significance
A. Examine meanings of the English word
"church" from an English dictionary. Which of these are appropriate
for the Greek word εκκλησία and which
are not.
B. Since the "church" is God's
people, what significance does this have for personal involvement on the part
of an individual Christian? What do people mean when they say: "They (the
church) did not come to visit me," or "The church mistreated
me," or "The church ought to do this or that."
C. List a hymn which talks about the
church.
D. In light of qualifying phrases giving
ownership of the church to God and Christ, what implications does this suggest?
E. Memory verse - Mt. 16:18