We have taken the word
church
and given it a religious meaning which is greater than
its original usage. In order to remove from its meaning
all of the tradition which has been attached to the
word, we need to establish its original meaning from the
Scriptures.
The Greek word
translated as church is ekklesia and has a
definite and specific meaning—an assembly formed by
calling people out of a larger group. The Greek word is
used three times in Acts chapter 19 (verses 32, 39, 41)
with its secular meaning and is translated “assembly”.
This assembly was called in the City of Ephesus to deal
with the effects of Paul's ministry there. We can learn
several things from the usage of ekklesia in this
instance.
-
they went to
gather in the theater; this establishes the fact
that ekklesia
is not a place but people.
-
not all
people in Ephesus were allowed to attend, only
those that met the requirements of citizenship
and were freemen.
The same is true
of the ekklesia of Jesus Christ.
If we are to
participate in the ekklesia of Jesus Christ then
we, too, must meet the proper criteria. There are four
requirements and we can find them in Matthew 16:15-18 in
Peter's response to Jesus question about who He is.
Matthew 16:15-18 NASB
(15)
He *said to them, "But who
do you say that I am?"
(16)
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of
the living God."
(17)
And Jesus said to him,
"Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood
did not reveal this
to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
(18)
"I also say to you that you
are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church;
and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
First, there was
a confrontation with Jesus over the issue of who He is.
This is the first step—the issue of Jesus. Second, the
Father revealed that Jesus is the Son of the Living God
(this revelation does not come through people). Third,
Peter acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God. And, fourth,
Peter confessed Jesus as the Son of God before others.
It was this
revelation of who He is that is the rock upon which the
ekklesia of Jesus Christ is built
To participate
in the ekklesia of Jesus, we must have a personal
confrontation with Jesus for the revelation,
acknowledgment, and confession of Him as the Son of the
Living God. This makes us a member of the Church
Universal; that is, a part of all who have become a part
of Christ.
To become a part
of the Local Church, we must reside in a locality. The
Local Church is that part of the Church Universal which
is resident in any given locality.
|
USAGES OF “EKKLESIA” (As translated
in the KJV) |
|
Church in a city |
35 times |
|
Church in a house |
4 times |
|
Churches in a province |
36 times |
|
Church universal |
20 times |
|
Church local, but not exactly defined |
16 times |
|
Church in the wilderness (O.T. Church) |
1 time |
|
Assembly (of the City of Ephesus) |
3 times |
|
Churches in a city |
0 times |
|
Church in a province |
0 times |
|
TOTAL |
115 times |
We can see from
the way ekklesia is used that there are only two
defining areas for a local church: 1) city; 2) house. It
is unscriptural to speak of two or more churches
overlapping one another in any given locality. The use
of the word is never plural for a city and never
singular for a province.
While the
Scriptures present several different types or pictures
of the Church to bring us into understanding, the Church
is primarily compared to two types: a house or building
and a body. (Another primary type is bride, but, that
needs to be dealt with in a different setting.)
Church as a Building
Ephesians 2:20-22 NASB
(20)
having been built on the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner
stone,
(21)
in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is
growing into a holy temple in the Lord,
(22)
in whom you also are being built together into a
dwelling of God in the Spirit.
1 Peter 2:4-6 NASB
(4)
And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been
rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight
of God,
(5)
you also, as living stones, are being built up as a
spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus
Christ.
(6)
For this
is contained in Scripture: "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A
CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER
stone,
AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."
The Church is a
spiritual building with Christ as the foundation and
cornerstone and the true believers are built together as
living stones. In Scriptures, “church” is NEVER
applied to physical buildings made of brick and mortar.
The Church has
only one foundation (I Corinthians3:11) upon which we
build. As a building or house, we are being built
together as God's dwelling place by the Spirit of God
not by human hands.
Acts 7:48 NASB
(48)
"However, the Most High does not dwell in
houses
made by human
hands; as the prophet says:
Acts 17:24-25 NASB
(24)
"The God who made the world and all things in it, since
He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in
temples made with hands;
(25)
nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed
anything, since He Himself gives to all
people
life and breath and all things;
The Lord has
caused Himself to dwell in His people not in a physical
building. We are the building materials for His House.
We are not just a pile of stones; but, instead are being
built together (this implies purpose, placement and
function). The Lord is building His dwelling place out
of us, the living stones.
The structure in
which the Church gathers is nothing special to God and
neither should it be anything special to His people. In
some denominations, the Church building has taken on
such religious connotations that it has almost become an
idol. We need to be very careful in this, lest we become
guilty of idolatry.
Church as a Body
Ephesians 1:22-23 NASB
(22)
And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and
gave Him as head over all things to the church,
(23)
which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in
all.
There is only
one Body (Ephesians 4:4) with its headquarters in Heaven
and there is only one Head.
As a Body, the
Church is the Lord's personal representative and
executive agent for the Kingdom of God.
Matthew 10:40 NASB
(40)
"He who receives you
receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who
sent Me.
Each believer is
an individual member of the one body.
Romans 12:4-5 NASB
(4)
For just as we have many members in one body and all the
members do not have the same function,
(5)
so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and
individually members one of another.
1 Corinthians 12:12-14 NASB
(12)
For even as the body is one and
yet
has many members, and all the members of the body,
though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.
(13)
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we
were all made to drink of one Spirit.
(14)
For the body is not one member, but many.
1 Corinthians 12:18-21 NASB
(18)
But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in
the body, just as He desired.
(19)
If they were all one member, where would the body be?
(20)
But now there are many members, but one body.
(21)
And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of
you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of
you."
God has placed
the members of the Body together in the way that pleases
Him, but, also in such a way that all of the members
need and depend on each other. It takes all of the
individual members for the Body to be whole.
The Church is
held together by joints and ligaments.
Colossians 2:19 NASB
(19)
and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire
body, being supplied and held together by the joints and
ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.
The “joints” are
personal relationships: a) to Christ; and b) to fellow
believers. We get “out of joint” when we allow a
personal relationship to become stressed or broken. When
body members are “out of joint” it hinders the
functioning of the Body as a whole.
The “ligaments”
or “bonds” are the universal attitudes necessary to hold
the “joints” together; that is, to maintain unity. These
are “peace” and “love”.
Ephesians 4:3 NASB
(3)
being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in
the bond of peace.
Colossians 3:14 NASB
(14)
Beyond all these things
put on
love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
All of the
joints and ligaments of the Body are invisible; that is,
they are not seen with the natural senses. It is
difficult for people to deal with invisible things. We
want everything to be seen.
The major
problem of the Old Testament was the repeated error of
Israel to represent or replace the invisible God with
some kind of visible image. Today, the one constantly
repeated error of Christians is to replace the invisible
relationships within the true Church with some kind of
visible structure or organization.
The long term
result of replacing the invisible relationships with
visible structure is that the invisible relationships
cease to be recognized and many times become completely
broken. In the denominational church of today it seems
that structure is more important than relationships and
that structure must be maintained at all costs.
The Body is an
organism not an organization. It is
structured by living functions (joints and ligaments)
rather than organizational charts.
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