The Etymology of Church
The word, church, is originally from the Greek
word, κύριος (kirios, Lord). The church in German is Kirche and in old English is cirice,
meaning the place that belongs to the Lord. The word, ecclesia, which also
means church, is from the Greek word, ἐκκλησία (ekklésia). The Greek word, ἐκκλησία is a
compound word of ἐκ (ek, out from) and καλέω (kaleo, call) – call out of, and occurs 114
times in the New Testament. According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, ἐκκλησία (ekklésia), in the Christian sense, means 1. an assembly
of Christians gathered for worship; and 2. a company of Christians, or of those
who, hoping for eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, observe their own
religious rites, hold their own religious meetings, and manage their own
affairs according to regulations prescribed for the body for order’s sake.[1]
The Church in the Gospels and Acts
Jesus mentions his church first in Matthew
16:18 when Peter answers him, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”
(Matthew 16:16): “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build
my church, and the powers of death (=the gates of Hades, NIV) shall not
prevail against it.” Peter’s old name was Simon, and Peter which means “rock”
was probably named by Jesus.
Jesus says in Matthew 18:17:
“If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to
listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”
What church was this in this verse when Jesus’ church did not start yet? Jesus
probably foretold what the roles of his church would be. Or Jesus and his
disciples’ gathering was already a church although they did not call their
assembly “the church” yet.
The first church that was
formed after Jesus went up to heaven was the gathering of the 120 disciples at
Mary’s house in Jerusalem (Acts 1:12-17). And they selected Matthias by casting
lots as a new apostle who replaced Judas Iscariot and added to the eleven
apostles. They remember what Jesus commanded them while he was still with them
in Acts 1:8: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon
you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria
and to the end of the earth.” So, they stayed together at one place and prayed
hard. On the day of Pentecost, as Jesus foretold, the Holy Spirit has come upon
the disciples like the rush of a mighty wind and tongues of fire, and they were
all filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in other tongues (Acts 2:1-4). Peter
boldly witnessed Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God (Acts 2:14-41). Three
thousand people were added to their number on the day when Peter witnessed
Jesus Christ (Acts 2:41). According to Acts 2:46, every day they continued to
meet together in the temple courts. Acts 4:4 describes another addition of five
thousand people. The church in Jerusalem grew so big.
The church in Jerusalem
continued to grow. However, the work of the church was limited – prayer and
preaching of God’s word and daily distribution of food – only in Jerusalem
(Acts 6:1-4). In addition to the twelve apostles, the church chose seven men
who were known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom (Acts 6:3). They chose
Stephen, Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch
(Acts 6:5-6). Their primary responsibility was to distribute daily food. However,
later they were more known for their witnessing Jesus Christ, spreading the
gospel. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly (Acts 6:7).
What is the most important
mission or role of the church? Jesus already told his disciples and us: “You
will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the
earth.” – spreading the gospel from near to far, beyond the boundary. Stephen
was the first martyr, a true witness (μάρτυς or μάρτυρ) of Jesus Christ (Acts 6:8-7:60). Stephen’s
martyrdom was a signal or starting point of the church being scattered. Saul
was the initiator of the persecution of the church in Jerusalem. Acts 8:3
states: “But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he
dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.” We cannot fathom God’s
plan and his work. Saul and other persecutors tried to destroy the church of
Christ in Jerusalem and human plan of destroying God’s church seemed to be
successful. People except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and
Samaria (Acts 8:1-3). How amazing God’s plan or work is! If the Church had
remained only in Jerusalem, there would have been no more fruit outside
Jerusalem. People at the church in Jerusalem did not want to leave Jerusalem.
God forcefully scattered people at the church in Jerusalem, using Saul the
persecutor. This was for the expansion of God’s economy – his saving plan of
his people.
Philip, one of the seven who
were chosen in Acts 6, spread the gospel in Samaria (Acts 8:5-13). He
proclaimed the gospel about the kingdom of God and Jesus Christ to people in
Samaria, performed miraculous signs, healed the sick people, and baptized
people there. There was a man called Simon the sorcerer among those who were
baptized by Philip. He followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great
signs and miracles that he saw (Acts 8:13). This Simon Magus, the magician or
sorcerer, wanted to buy the power of the Holy Spirit with money, asking Peter
later when he visited Samaria. Simon said to Peter and John in Acts 8:19: “Give
me also this power, that any one on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy
Spirit.” Peter answered to him in Acts 8:20: “Your silver perish with you,
because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!” Simon Magus
later was known for the founder of Gnosticism, a heretical movement of the second
century gnostic church. This name Simon Magus is very important in the study of
heresy in the second and third centuries. More seriously, his name – Simon
Magus – was used in the fight between the Jewish Christianity that was centered
in Rome and the Gentile Christianity that was in centered in Asia Minor and
other areas that Paul had traveled and founded his churches. We can see a hint
of this later fight even in Acts 15, the debate between the Jewish Christians
and Paul and Barnabas, representing their gospel for the Gentiles. The Jewish
Christians insist that people are required to have faith in Jesus, and be
baptized and observe Moses’ law, including the dietary law whereas Paul claims
that people, whether the Jews or the Gentiles, only need to have faith in Jesus
Christ. This early debate did not go too far, separation between the Jewish
Christians (the church in Rome) and the Gentile Christians (the churches in
Asia Minor) as James and Peter intervened in the debate and resolved the issue.
However, later during the second century to the fourth century, the Jewish
Christians in Rome persecuted the Gentile Christians in Asia Minor, claiming
that their Christianity was heresy. The Jewish Christians used Simon in Acts 8,
claiming that this Simon is no other than Paul in disguise. The second century
pseudo-Clementine literature and other New Testament apocryphal books deal with
the confrontation between Peter and Simon, Paul in disguise, whose theme was
derived from Acts 8, the conversation between Simon and Peter.
Philip continued to spread
the gospel further even to an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official who was
in charge of all the treasury of the queen of the Ethiopians (Acts 9:26-39). He
interpreted the Scripture verses that the eunuch was reading (Isaiah 53:7-8)
and let him understand the meaning of the verses. The eunuch wanted to be
baptized and became a Christian. According to the tradition, this eunuch went
back to Ethiopia and spread the gospel there. And this is the beginning of
evangelism in Africa. Philip further spread the gospel in Azotus, other towns
until he reached Caesarea (Acts 8:40).
God’s amazing and mysterious
plan was revealed in Acts 9, changing Saul the persecutor to Paul the
persecutee. Saul was heading for Damascus to take the believers as prisoners to
Jerusalem (Acts 9:2). Then, what happened to him? He encountered Jesus who appeared
to him in the form of light (Acts 9:3-19; 22:6-16; and 26:9-23). Jesus called
Paul to make him an apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15). Paul preached the
gospel in Damascus, instead of catching the believers there (Acts 9:20-22). As
we saw in Chapter 17, Peter, according to God’s plan, was sent to Cornelius’
house to spread the gospel to a Gentile family (Acts 10).
People who were scattered by
the persecution in Acts 8 traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch,
spreading the gospel only among Jews (Acts 11:19). Barnabas visited Paul who
was staying at Tarsus and brought him to Antioch, where they taught the word of
God for a full year. And the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch
(Acts 11:25-26). Paul’s ministry at Antioch played an important role in
establishing his experience at Damascus theologically and providing the basic
structure for his coming mission trips to towns in Asia Minor, Macedonia, and
Achaia. The church at Antioch was very important as it was a base that dispatched
Paul and Barnabas as missionaries for the first time.
God did not let his church
remain stable for a long time. He shook it again more strongly. As we saw in
Chapter 17, James, one the primary church leaders, was beheaded by king Herod
(Acts 12:1-2). Why did God allow his church to be persecuted? God wanted his
church to be scattered further away. Being scattered, God’s household could
include more people. In the midst of persecutions, God’s church did not stop
growing and was scattered. Acts 13:1-3 states: “1Now in the church
at Antioch there were prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called
Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch,
and Saul. 2While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy
Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have
called them.’ 3Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands
on them and sent them off.” The church at Antioch in Syria dispatched Paul and
Barnabas as missionaries to Asia Minor. This was the beginning of sending out
missionaries and the reason why Paul was called by Jesus.
The Church in Paul’s Epistles
Paul used the word ecclesia as a particular
place for worship and religious education, or a meeting of local Christians, or
Christians who belong to Christ as a whole. He probably accepted the existing
meaning of ecclesia, “congregation,” and developed its meaning as an organic
relationship between Christ and his people. Paul calls the church as ‘the body
of Christ,’ Christians as ‘members in one body of Christ’ (Romans 12; 1
Corinthians 12), and Christ as ‘the head of the church’ (Ephesians and
Colossians), which are the characteristic expressions that can be found only in
Paul’s epistles.
1. The Church
as God’s People
For Paul, the church (ecclesia) means a
congregation of people who believed in Jesus Christ and were baptized into
Christ (Romans 6). That is, the church in Paul’s epistles can be understood Christians
as God’s people in the New Testament, like the Israelites as God’s people in
the Old Testament.
2. The Church
as the Body of Christ
For Paul, the church (ecclesia) means a
congregation of people who believed in Jesus Christ and were baptized into Christ
(Romans 6). That is, the church in Paul’s epistles can be understood Christians
as God’s people in the New Testament, like the Israelites as God’s people in
the Old Testament. Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:27 states: “Now you are the body of
Christ and individually members of it.” Paul calls the church the body of
Christ to express the intimate and united relationship between Jesus Christ and
his people. Paul in Ephesians 5:31-32 states: “31For this reason a
man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two
shall become one flesh. 32This mystery is a profound one, and I am
saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” To Paul, the unity of Christ
and his people is just like the unity of a man and his wife. Paul in Ephesians 1:22-23
states: “22And he (=God) has put all things under his feet and has
made him the head over all things for the church, 23which is his
body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” (cf. Colossians 1:18) The
church, the body of Christ, will be directed by Jesus Christ.
3. The Church
as a Local Church
Most early Christian churches in the first century
were small. The church building was not available until the third century. The first
century churches did not have a building but met at rich people’s houses for
worship and Holy Communion, which were house churches. To Paul, the unity or
group of Christians was more important than a place/building as the meaning of
the church. The importance of the church for Paul was not to show its power but
to spread the gospel to expand the household of God. For Paul, the church is a
foundation or a place that can initiate spreading the gospel and/or sharing the
richer people’s possessions with the poorer people to perform the economics of
equality.
The Role of the Church Today
What is the role of the church today? From
the early church till the church today, the most important role of the church
is not to build a large building or buy land but to spread the gospel – kingdom
of God and salvation through Jesus Christ – in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria,
and to the end of this earth.
[1]
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon.
“1577. ἐκκλησία,”
BibleHub. Retrieved from
https://biblehub.com/str/greek/1577.htm
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