What is "the church"?
The Greek word ekklesia is
most often presented in English Bibles as "church." The word
"church" is not a translation of the Greek word, ekklesia; it’s not even a transliterated version of that word.
Strong’s concordance shows ekklesia being used in the KJV as either “assembly” or
“church.” But the Greek word means “the called ones” and shows up in Scripture
being applied to three or four assemblies of people. As with most words in the
Word, the bare definition of the word does not reveal the meaning in every
usage.
As for the use of “church” in the Bible, there does not appear to be a
clear record of why it was chosen, nor of the meaning of this word. The first
known use of this word in English Bibles is found in Wycliffe’s Bible, spelled
“chirche.” His work was translated from the Latin Vulgate and we have no clear
reason for his use of this word.
In Smith's Bible Dictionary from 1884, page 452, we read:
the
derivation of the word 'church' is uncertain. It is found in the Teutonic and
Slavonic languages and answers to the derivatives of ekklesia, which are
naturally found in the romance languages and by foreign importation elsewhere.
The word is generally said to be derived from the Greek kyriakos, meaning the
lord's house. But the derivation has been too hastily assumed. It is probably
associated with the Scottish kirk, the Latin circus/circulous, the Greek
klukos, because the congregations were gathered in circles.
Ebenezer Cobham Brewer’s Dictionary
of Phrase and Fable of 1898 agrees:
The
etymology of this word is generally assumed to be from the Greek, Kuriou oikos
(house of God); but this is most improbable, as the word existed in all the
Celtic dialects long before the introduction of Greek. No doubt the word means
"a circle." The places of worship among the German and Celtic nations
were always circular. (Welsh, cyrch, French, cirque; Scotch, kirk; Greek,
kirk-os, etc.) Compare Anglo-Saxon circe, a church, with circol, a circle.
The first definition in Daniel Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines
“church” as “A house consecrated to the worship of God, among Christians; the
Lord's house. This seems to be the original meaning of the word.”
There are two things to bear in mind regarding the apparent definition
of the word “church.” The ekklesia of
God in the New Testament refers to the redeemed saints, not a location or a
building. Secondly, one of the messages Jesus taught the woman at the well
(John 4) is that, in the Christian faith, there are no sacred or consecrated
places where we must meet God.
Since the etymology of “church” is based on location rather than on
people, it is a poor choice for ekklesia.
In practice, so many Christians think of the building as the church, which many
refer to as “the house of God,” it is a constant battle to keep the true
meaning of ekklesia in front of people. In contrast, the Scriptures use myriad
examples of buildings to refer to God’s redeemed people (1 Cor 3:15-17; 6:19;
Eph 2:19-22; 1 Pet 2:5; Gal 4:26; Rev 21:2), and never refers to a temporal
location within the New Covenant context. Why do we carry on with this word
that people consistently understand to mean a temporal location rather than the
people of God?
After Wycliffe's Bible (1382), the early English Bibles took a different
view. Tyndale's Bible (1526), the Coverdale Bible (1535), Matthew Bible (1537),
The Great Bible (1539), and the Bishop's Bible (1568) all translated ekklesia as "congregation," a
term that conveys the idea of people called to be together. The Geneva Bible
(1560) followed Wycliffe and used "church" in place of ekklesia, as did the KJV. And nearly
every English Bible since has continued with this ambiguous term.
When work on the King James Bible began, the king provided 15 rules that
the translators had to follow. Rules 1 & 3 are of particular interest to
the topic of this paper:
1. The
ordinary Bible, read in the church, commonly called the Bishop’s Bible, to be
followed, and as little altered as the original will permit.
3. The
old ecclesiastical words to be kept; as the word church, not to be translated
congregation, &c.
Rule 1 shows that the king wanted his Bible to be in the common tongue,
accessible to the people, who were used to having the Great Bible and the
Bishop's Bible used in the state-churches. It is not true, as some KJV
defenders claim, that the KJV was a unique Bible; it was based on the Bishop's
Bible. Rule 3 came into play in two prominent words that were not translated,
but merely used in place of (as with "church") or transliterated (as
with "baptism"). Translating these two words would have provided us a
clearer picture of what God was communicating. Ekklesia rendered as "congregation" or
"assembly" shows we are talking about people, not places. Baptizo rendered as "dipping"
or "dunking" shows we are talking about being identified with Christ
in His death and resurrection by going down into the waters as if unto death
and rising up from them as if unto new life. Advocates of the state-church have
a history of building geo-political empires with ostentatious buildings for
their gatherings and sprinkling infants rather than baptizing disciples.
Presbyterians equate Old Covenant Israel for the New Covenant saints, providing
"cover" for having unconverted children as "junior" members
of the local "church." Without the word "church" being
properly interpreted as the called ones (or something similar), people can
easily be led astray in believing a "church" is something other than
the assembly of the redeemed – like a building.
Let’s review the biblical witness of this word, “church.”
First, at least
twice in the New Testament of the KJV, “church” applies to God’s covenant
people in the Old Testament:
Acts
7:37-38 This is that Moses, which said
unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto
you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. This is he, that was in
the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount
Sina, and [with] our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us.
Heb
2:11-12 For both he that sanctifieth and
they who are sanctified [are] all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to
call them brethren, Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the
midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
It is not possible for anyone to make a categorical statement that every
occurrence of “church” means the local assembly of the saints, as some do. The
“church” in the wilderness is not of the same nature or spiritual make-up as
the “church of the firstborn” in Hebrews 12.
Secondly, in Acts
19:21-41, ekklesia is used three times to refer to townsfolk in Ephesus,
showing up in English as “assembly.”.
V 32: Meanwhile,
some were shouting one thing and some another, because the assembly was
in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together.
V 39: But
if you want something else, it must be decided in a legal assembly.
V 41: After
saying this, he dismissed the assembly.
Same word, ekklesia, referring to a group of townsfolk gathered
for a specific reason. Context tells us it was to settle legal disputes.
Thirdly, there are
at least eight passages where ekklesia
refers to what is called "the universal church," all the redeemed in
Christ, called according to His name.
Matthew 16:18 (KJV) And
I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates
of hell shall not prevail against it.
1 Corinthians 15:9 (KJV) For
I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle,
because I persecuted the church of God.
Ephesians 1:22-23 (KJV) And
hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the
fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Ephesians 3:9-11 (KJV) And
to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the
beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus
Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities
and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom
of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
Ephesians 3:21 (KJV) Unto him be glory in the church by Christ
Jesus throughout all ages, world
without end. Amen.
Ephesians 5:23-32 (KJV) For
the husband is the head of the wife, even
as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their
own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That
he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious
church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should
be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own
bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his
own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For
we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause
shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and
they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Philippians 3:6 (KJV) Concerning
zeal, persecuting the church;
touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Colossians 1:18 (KJV) And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from
the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Colossians 1:24 (KJV) Who
now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the
afflictions of Christ in my flesh for
his body's sake, which is the church.
Hebrews 12:23 (KJV) To the general assembly and church of the
firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to
the spirits of just men made perfect,
In each of these passages, the bolded phrases make consistent sense when
seen as references to the total number of God's redeemed; not as references to
any given local ekklesia. In his 1858
book, Manual of Church Order, John
Leadly Dagg spent chapter 3 discussing the universal church, beginning with
this: "The Church Universal is the whole company of those who are saved by
Christ."
In his book, Concise Theology, chapter
"The Church," J. I. Packer, describes the universal church:
The New Testament defines the church in terms of the
fulfillment of Old Testament hopes and patterns through a relationship to all
three Persons of the Godhead, brought about by the mediatorial ministry of
Jesus Christ. The church is seen as the family and flock of God (Eph. 2:18;
3:15; 4:6; John 10:16; 1 Pet. 5:2-4), his Israel (Gal. 6:16); the body and
bride of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-28; Rev. 19:7; 21:2, 9-27); and the temple
of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16; cf. Eph. 2:19-22). Those in the church are
called the “elect” (chosen), the “saints” (consecrated ones, set apart for
God), and the “brothers” (adopted children of God).
Fourthly, ekklesia
is used to refer to the local gathering of saints in a given congregation. A
dear brother pointed out that where local gatherings are referred to as ekklesia, the reference is a subset of
the whole rather than a division. This is particularly emphasized in the first
Letter the Holy Spirit wrote to the Corinthians through the hand of Paul:
“To the [ekklesia] of God that is in Corinth,
to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all
those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both
their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ.” (1 Co
1:2–3 ESV).
The Holy Spirit through Paul then specifically admonishes them about
dividing, quarreling, and following specific men/ideologies to the exclusion of
others:
“I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among
you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has
been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my
brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, ‘I follow Paul,’ or ‘I
follow Apollos,’ or ‘I follow Cephas,’ or ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided?
Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Co 1:10–13 ESV).
The truest, purest expression of ekklesia
is the vision of heavenly Jerusalem, coming down from heaven with the Lord
Jesus upon His second advent (Rev 21:2). Therefore, those New Testament
passages which appear to speak of the universal assembly of God’s redeemed
should be embraced rather than cast in the shadow, so the references to the
local gathering of saints would be established as THE “church.” The primary
focus on the “local church” by some brothers is so prominent in their doctrine
that one can easily lose sight of the fact that the ekklesia of Christ is a
heavenly body. Our citizenship is in heaven, we are pilgrims and sojourners in
this age. This focus on the temporal realm is dangerous and can easily
influence how we look at everything, from end times to social justice.
It is true that the overwhelming occurrences of ekklesia in the New Testament refers to local assemblies; there is
no reason to pretend otherwise. The point is that the local assembly is not the
only ekklesia of God's people
mentioned in Scripture. It's easier to see this when we use a term that clearly
portrays the people of God and not merely a place on the ground. The local ekklesia is important for the saints -
this is where critical spiritual growth takes place, this is where the Spirit
of God gathers and gifts us as it pleased Him. But in each local assembly of
saints, there is likely to be false brothers in the pale. In this way, the
local ekklesia is a type of the true ekklesia, the universal church, because
in that gathering, there are only true sons and daughters of our Holy God; no
pretenders.
Why does this all matter? The ekklesia of Christ is the people of God. Christ gave Himself
for His sheep - all and each of them, whether they belong to a local
congregation or are awaiting the resurrection of their bodies. We who are still
in our tabernacles of flesh are to love one another; in this way the world will
know we are His disciples. This brotherly love within the local assembly is
lost in most, as they have reduced worship to mere traditions and reduced
biblical fellowship to a superficial "meet & greet" with an
occasional meal. John would accuse us - how can you say you love God, Whom you
cannot see, if you do not love the brother you can see? (1 John 4:20) I would add
- how can you say you love your brothers and sisters in Christ if all you love
are those far away, but not those with whom you rub up against and have
disagreements? Jesus did not die only to provide eternal life for us; He also
provided His Spirit to guide us in all truth, and in love for one another. We
have been bought at a price by the One Who said:
John 15:12 (ESV) This
is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:17 (ESV) These things I command you, so
that you will love one another.
After all, the Bible is all about the Lord Jesus and we ought to be,
also. We rightly argue for and defend the Holy Trinity, even though that is a
difficult mystery. We should no less careful or concerned about rightly and
properly describing His Body.
