“The true measure of a living church is not in setting denominational goals but in creating generational relevance.”
“The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ.”
1Corinthians
12:15
The
question, “What is church?” is one that every believer must have an accurate
answer to. Sometimes the exact meaning of a word can be easily understood if it
is traced to its root meaning in another language. The word “Church” is not
originally an English word; it was only translated into English language from
Greek. The Greek word for Church is “Ekklesia,” and the word also has two
meanings: “Called out” and “Assembly.” The Roman government for example had
their own Ekklesia, which always had the final say over every issue that could
not be resolved by other parties. These assemblies were not religious
establishments but they had the authority to approve and disapprove claims,
proposals, ideas, policies, budget and other issues relating to welfare of the
people of their kingdom.
“If Demetrius and the craftsman
have a case against them, (Gaius and Aristarchus who were Paul's traveling
companions) the courts are in session and the officials can hear the cases at
once. Let them make formal charges. And if there are complaints about other
matters, they can settle in a Legal assembly. I am afraid; we are in danger of
being charged with rioting by the Roman government, since there is no cause for
all this commotion. And if Rome demands an explanation, we won't know what to
say”. Then he dismissed them, and they dispersed.”
Acts
19:38-41
In the
above portion of the Bible, the word translated as legal assembly, which other
versions refer to as lawful assembly of the Roman government is not a religious
term. If we want to interpret the word literarily, it is a secular,
administrative and political term.
Therefore, as we move on in this expository journey, we would do well to
keep this in mind. We should keep the original meanings, the Ekklesia (called
out ones) or the assembly in our hearts whenever we come across the word
“church” as we read on.
The
original Greek word for Church was used more than one hundred times in the
Greek translation of the Old Testament till the time of Jesus. The Hebrew
translation of the word “Church” is “Qahal” and it simply means “assembly.” The
word was used in various places throughout the scriptures. In Deuteronomy 9:10,
the scripture reads:
“And the LORD delivered unto me
two tables of stone written with finger
of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD
spoke with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire, in the day of the
assembly.” (KJV)
The use
of this term in the Old Testament, referring to the people of God is very
essential to our understanding of the term “church “in the New Testament.
THE CHURCH
Going by
the points we have already established about the church, we can see clearly
that the term “Church” is not actually what we often define it to be today; and
if we find it difficult to get the definition right, there is possibility that
the purpose of the church will be misunderstood. Many scholars and religious
authorities could not trace the origin of this term, which was one of the
fundamental reasons for the deficiency in the power and efficacy of the church
today. Let's quickly look at the English
usage of the word 'church' along with the Greek's.
In
contemporary English, the word Church dominates the ecclesiological
vocabulary. It comes through German and
Latin and from the Greek word Kyriakon, meaning, “That which belongs to the
Lord.” In the New Testament (Greek) Ekklesia (always translated in English as
'Church') is by no means so dominating or central a term. Ekklesia (Latin
spelling) was used primarily to designate a particular communal reality, not to
describe its qualitative aspects. Where the distinctive qualities and
dimensions of community life were
intended, other terms proved more flexible and evocative. In comparison with
these other terms, Ekklesia was relatively neutral and colourless, conveying
only little theological meaning. It was open to use, without basic shift in
meaning
both by unbelievers and believers. Even among those writers who made use of the
word Ekklesia, other terms were more expressive of the reality at hand.
Moreover,
some people (Scholars and Theologians) did not do thorough justice to the word
“Church” because they narrowed their definition to the contemporary use without
searching deeply into the origin of the word in Greek, Hebrew or in Latin. If
they did, they would have also understood, based on what we established
earlier, that the Roman Government did not refer to Church as a religious body
but as an assembly, a set of people
selected for a particular task, or called out ones. You can call them the house of senate that
represents constituencies or kingdoms, which gives final verdicts on every
matter and policy. This actually depends on the case or issues concerned.
As I said earlier, some got it wrong in the perspective at which they defined the church and the same act determines the way they relate to the subject matter. For instance, Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines church as follows:
(1) A building where Christian go to
worship; a church tower.
(2) A service or services in the church,
that is, how often you go to the church
(3) A particular group of Christians:
the Anglican Church; the Catholic Church, Methodist Church; as a
denomination.
Beloved,
do you accept or agree with these definitions? Regardless of what you think, as
we continue in the journey, the Holy Spirit will give you more understanding.” Painfully,
the wrong understanding of the word “Church” has given rise to the formation of
other words and terminologies, which are not supposed to be part of the
framework of the Church. If truly church is Ekklesia, “called out” and
“assembly”, then how did we come about the words/phrases below:
(1) Church-goers: person who goes to
church service regularly (Dictionary meaning).
(2) Church Man ( Clergyman)
(3) Church Warden- (Orthodox/protestant)
person who is chosen by the member of a church to take care of church property
and money.
Frankly
speaking, if the word Ekklesia is the root meaning of the word Church, then it
means the Church is a people (living beings), not a building as most
dictionaries define it. It is neither a denomination nor a group of believers
but a people that carry out some well-defined functions. It refers to
individuals, groups of people, set aside
or called out for a particular task. It will not make any sense if certain
people are “called out” but are not carrying out any specific assignment. Every
calling or separation must be with a specific and a defined purpose. The Church is therefore not just a
denomination but also a people with a definite purpose stated by the authority
that called them out or set them aside.
To be continued
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