Church!?

If you notice the punctuation after the word church above, you’ll notice both an exclamation point and a question. This is intentional, of course. The exclamation point is to show excitement and to give emphasis on the importance of this beautiful word. The question is to demonstrate that too many Christians do not fully understand what the word ‘Church’ means in Biblical terms. Our modern word ‘Church’ is used to translate the ancient Greek word ekklesia. This word is a combination of a prepositional prefix for "out from and to" (the outcome); out from within,” {Helps Word Studies} and the verb “to call, to invite, call out loud-also to call by name or give a name to something or someone.” Altogether, we get the idea of a group of people who have been called out in order to come together for a purpose. In general terms, it means an assembly of any kind for any purpose. Acts 19 uses the word twice to describe an assembly of angry people spurred on by a very angry silversmith who was in fear of losing his livelihood. It was a mob assembly ready to riot. On the other hand, the term is used to describe a group of people who were called out of darkness into the light of CHRIST. Therefore, ekklesia is another way of saying, Christians. It is a spiritual assembly of born-again believers, the people of CHRIST. As I sit here at my kitchen table typing this article, I know that I am one person who is part of the whole. I am not assembled with my fellow believers physically. I am, however, part of that great spiritual assembly. JESUS promised HIS disciples in Matthew 16:16-20 that HE would build HIS Church (HIS ekklesia, HIS assembly) upon the fact of Peter’s confession. Peter confessed JESUS as the CHRIST, the SON of the Living GOD! This subject is too big for one article so it will be continued. For now, just know that the Church was not built by men. It was built, formed, established, and is maintained by JESUS HIMSELF and HE is its ONLY HEAD (Ephesians 5:23). There is more to come, so stay tuned.

Russell Ashby