What is the "Church"?

“On this rock I will build my Ekklesia.” —Jesus (Matt. 16:18)

The Greek word ‘ekklesia’ (ἐκκλησία) literally means “to call out” (a compound of ek-kaleo; ek—a preposition meaning “out of”—and kaleo—a verb signifying “to call”), and is correctly translated as “gathering,” “assembly,” or “congregation.” It had both a spiritual and a civil usage in the first century. In the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Septuagint, it was used to translate the Hebrew word ‘Qahal,’ which referred to the Israelites “as assembled together.” In the civil realm, it was originally a government word that referred to “a duly assembled group of Greek city-state citizens who regularly came together and convened for the purpose of discussion and decision making to take care of common concerns in the community.” It was for full citizens only! You can see secular uses of the word in Acts 19:32, 39, and 41. The New Testament use of the word has the same weight; there is a decision-making mandate involved. It is for members only, for citizens of Heaven only! Jesus chose this word deliberately. The Latin ‘ecclesia’ is a transliteration of the Greek. ‘Ekklesia’ became ‘iglesia’ (Spanish), ‘église’ (French), ‘chiesa’ (Italian) in Romance languages, referring to the people.

The word “church” is a terrible and incorrect translation of the word ‘ekklesia.’ The word “church” actually comes from the Greek word ‘kuriakon’ (κυριακόν), via Germanic languages, which means “belonging to the Lord.” Over time, it came to mean “God’s house,” meaning a place, a building. ‘Kuriakon’ was borrowed into Gothic (early Germanic) as ‘kiriko,’ then into Old High German as ‘kirihha’ or ‘kiricha,’ then into Old English as ‘cirice,’ Middle English as ‘chirche’ (modern German is ‘kirche’), and finally as ‘church.’ So “church” became the place where the Lord’s people met while ‘ekklesia’ was the people themselves.

In William Tyndale’s 1526 New Testament, he correctly translated ‘ekklesia’ as “assembly” or “congregation,” using “church” only when referring to pagan places of worship (Acts 14:13; 19:37). Is that not fascinating? Under strict instructions from King James, the translators of the government-sanctioned King James Bible rendered the word ‘ekklesia’ as “church” in 112 out of the 115 occurrences and used the word “congregation” when non-Christian gatherings were in view (Acts 19:32, 39, 41). Is that not interesting? Why the complete switch?

The early Christians met in homes (Acts 2:2, 46; 5:42; 16:15, 40; 20:20; Rom. 16:5b; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Phile. 1:2 [and if eisegeted, Matt. 18:20]). There was no special word needed because ‘ekklesia’ referred to the gathering of the people. By the 4th century, dedicated buildings appeared, called ‘kuriakon’ (“Lord’s house”). The Germanic tribes adopted this term for the building. No verse in the New Testament says “Go to the ekklesia” (as in “go to church”) or describes ekklesia as having walls, doors, or a roof. You cannot “go to,” “be at,” or “come from” the ekklesia because you are the ekklesia! In Matthew 16:18, Jesus is building a people—not a temple. In Acts 19:32, 39, and 41, ‘ekklesia’ is used for a riotous mob in Ephesus—clearly people, not a building. In Acts 7:38, ‘ekklesia’ refers to Israel at Sinai—not a building! In Hebrews 2:12, a gathering of people is clearly in view. First Corinthians 11:18 is clearly describing an assembly. In 1 Corinthians 14:19, 28, and 35, it clearly means the gathered believers, wherever they met. Jesus, the apostles, and the early Christians never used ‘kuriakon.’ The only two appearances of ‘kuriakon’ in the New Testament are in 1 Corinthians 11:20 (‘kyriakón deîpnon’ = Lord's Supper) and Revelation 1:10 (‘kyriakē hēmera’ = Lord's Day).

You can call your modern-day temples, your organized religious institutions, “churches” all you want, but the one thing they are not and never will be is the Ekklesia of the Lord! They look nothing like what is prescribed in the New Testament. The Body does not function the way we observe in the New Testament. Your “church” mimics both the Jewish religion of the past (which was fulfilled in Christ Jesus and done away with [read Hebrews]) and the pagan religions of the world. Christians today are just like Jews in ancient Israel: they are not satisfied with the invisible God as their Leader; they want to be like the nations around them and have their visible human kings (the “pastor” in this case). Let that sink in!

Your “church” can be carried out without commitment to anything beyond going to a building, singing some songs, listening to a sermon, and putting money in a plate. Jesus’ Ekklesia, on the other hand, is present when a body of Jesus-followers are committed to Jesus and to one another in all aspects of the Kingdom and kingdom life. Ekklesia is the life of Jesus flowing through the saints to carry out His eternal purposes on Earth and involves spiritual commitment with others to pursue the will of King Jesus. The fellowship and community of believers is to walk in all of the “one another” commands in the New Testament (seven of which are stated in the negative).

• Love one another (John 13:34; 15:13, 17; Rom. 13:8; 1 Thess. 4:9; Heb. 13:1; 1 Pet. 1:22; 3:8; 4:8; 1 John 3:11, 14, 23; 4:7, 11; 2 John 1:5).
• Encourage one another (2 Cor. 13:11; 1 Thess. 4:18; 5:11; Heb. 3:13; 10:25).
• Greet one another (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Pet. 5:14).
• Be humble toward one another (Eph. 4:2; 1 Pet. 3:8; 5:5).
• Have compassion for one another (Eph. 4:32; 1 Pet. 3:8).
• Live in peace with one another (Mark 9:50; 1 Thess. 5:13).
• Bear with one another (Eph. 4:2; Col. 3:13).
• Forgive one another (Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:13).
• Have the mind of Christ (Rom. 15:5; Phil. 2:5).
• Confess to one another (James 5:16)
• Serve one another (Gal. 5:13).
• Admonish one another (Col. 3:16).
• Be sympathetic to one another (1 Pet. 3:8).
• Live in harmony with one another (Rom. 12:16).
• Submit to one another (Eph. 5:21).
• Be hospitable to one another (1 Pet. 4:9).
• Agree with one another (1 Cor. 1:10).
• Be devoted to one another (Rom. 12:10).
• Do good toward one another (1 Thess. 5:15).
• Spur one another to love (Heb. 10:24).
• Speak songs to one another (Eph. 5:19).
• Instruct one another (Rom. 15:14).
• Be like-minded toward one another (1 Pet. 3:8).
• Honour one another (Rom. 12:10).
• Be kind to one another (Eph. 4:32).
• Spur one another to good deeds (Heb. 10:24).
• Pray for one another (James 5:16).
• Be gentle with one another (Eph. 4:2).
• Have equal concern for one another (1 Cor. 12:25).
• Accept one another (Rom. 15:7).
• Build up one another (1 Thess. 5:11).
• Be patient with one another (Eph. 4:2).
• Do not grumble against one another (James 5:9).
• Do not judge one another (Rom. 14:13).
• Do not provoke one another (Gal. 5:26).
• Do not slander one another (James 4:11).
• Do not lie to one another (Col. 3:9).
• Do not pay back wrong to one another (1 Thess. 5:15).
• Do not deprive one another [marriage only] (1 Cor. 7:5).

Congregationalism is the only true biblical form of ekklesia government, as evidenced from the New Testament and the first three centuries. Each individual congregation is independent and autonomous, determining their own affairs apart from some higher human “authority.” There is only one Head of the Body, the Ekklesia, and that is the Lord Jesus—not the “clergy” or some “pastor,” both of which the New Testament does not support in the least. Show me a single verse or passage in the New Testament that elevates the ministry, gifting, knowledge, and experience of a single person above that of the rest of the Body of Christ. Go on, I will wait. The terms “clergy” and “laity” come from the Greek ‘kleros’ (κλῆρος), which means “inheritance,” and ‘laos’ (λαός), which means “people.” Both words apply to the same group—all of God’s people without distinctions! Christianity is not two-tiered!

Biblical elders (presbýteros, πρεσβύτερος; an adjective—never a noun; a title, position or “office”) were not authoritarian dictators or control freaks. They did not “dominate” and were not “in charge” of the ekklesia (1 Pet. 5:3). Their function was that of oversight (epískopos, ἐπίσκοπος) and shepherding (poimḗn, ποιμήν), which was that of servant-examples who lead by character, teaching, and care (the very thing Jesus demonstrated and displayed; Mark 10:45). All three words (presbýteros, epískopos, poimḗn) were synonymous and interchangeable, referring to the same plurality (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5) of people. How do we know this? In Acts 20:17 and 28, Paul calls the elders (πρεσβυτέρους) of Ephesus and instructs them to act as overseers/watchmen (ἐπισκόπους) and shepherd (ποιμαίνειν) the flock. In 1 Peter 5:1-2, Peter exhorts the elders (πρεσβυτέρους) to shepherd (ποιμάνατε) and exercise oversight (ἐπισκοποῦντες). These three words were not separate “offices.” Even deacons (diakonos, διάκονος) were not an “office,” but servants/ministers of the ekklesia. Ecclesiastical hierarchy is unbiblical and heretical!

Biblical elders were to be mature, qualified individuals who fed, guarded and protected (not dominated, micromanaged and controlled), managed with diligence (not tyranny), taught (by conduct, not up front or by monologue), and modelled Christ-like character in the local assembly. To “labour in word and doctrine” meant ‘truth and lifestyle/conduct,’ as evidenced by Titus 2:1-10: “to be.” It had nothing to do with belief systems. By the way, neither Timothy nor Titus were “pastors”; they were itinerant apostolic workers. It was not until the 1800s that they were called “pastors” and Paul’s letters to them “pastoral letters,” which is just revisionist to maintain an agenda.

When John and James sought spiritual authority over others in the Kingdom, Jesus responded by giving them an illustration of gentiles exercising authority over one another and saying, “It shall not be so among you” (Mark 10:35-46). In Matthew 23, after illustrating how the Pharisees adore honour from people, Jesus condemned honourific titles by telling His followers, “Do not be called Teachers, for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. … Do not be called Leaders, for One is your Leader, Christ” (vv.8-10). No member of the fellowship, man or woman, should be called “Pastor,” “Minister,” “Bishop,” “Elder,” or, least of all, “Reverend” (as reverence is reserved for God alone). Believers are all equals (Gal 3:28). The New Testament teaches that every believing man, woman, and child is a priest under the New Covenant in the Kingdom of God (the ‘priesthood of all believers’; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9). Again, Christianity is not two-tiered!

The non-negotiable, irreducible, bare minimum requirements that determine whether a “church” is biblical or not are:

1. meeting once a week on the first day of the week—Sunday (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2);
2. assembling in houses (Acts 2:2, 46; 5:42; 20:20; Rom. 16:5b; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Phile. 1:2 [and if eisegeted, Matt. 18:20]);
3. being completely open, spontaneous, and participatory in their every-member-functioning corporate worship and sharing for the spiritual well-being of everyone present (1 Cor. 14:26, 29-31), with no one leading from the front or giving a monologue (universally agreed by communication experts to be the worst possible way to learn);
4. partaking of the Lord’s Supper as a full meal (Acts 2:42, 46; 6:1; 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:17-34; 2 Pet. 2:13; Jude 12); and
5. functioning as an extended family, a living organism—not an institution, organization, or corporation.

If you doubt that Sunday is that day that Christians gathered and are to gather, then listen to the voices of the early Christians before Emperor Constantine and before the emergence of the Catholic Church:

• “Wherefore, also we keep the eighth day with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead” (Epistle of Barnabas, A.D. 100).
• “Be not deceived with strange doctrines, nor with old fables, which are unprofitable. For if we still live according to the Jewish Law; we acknowledge that we have not received grace. ... no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord’s Day...” (Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians, A.D. 107).
• “And on the day called Sunday all who live in cities or in the country gather together in one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read..... But Sunday is the day on which we all hold a common assembly, because it is the first day of the week on which God....made the world; and Jesus Christ our Savior on the same day rose from the dead” (Justin Martyr, c. A.D. 145-150).
• “The Mystery of the Lord’s Resurrection may not be celebrated on any other day than the Lord’s Day, and on this alone should we observe the breaking off of the Paschal Feast.” (Irenaeus, c. A.D. 155-202).