LESSON 2
THE MEANING OF ECCLESIA
I.DEFINITION OF TERMS.
A.As previously stated, most scholars agree that the English word “church” comes from a Greek word (kuriakos) which means “the Lord’s” and joined with day (hemera) or supper (deipnon) describe exactly what is refered to as being the Lord’s.
B.When the Greek kuriakos (church) is used to replace ecclesia (assembly), it is used to define what assembly. It is not simply any assembly, It is the LORD’S.
C.I. K. Cross says, “In Acts 19:39-41 the term is used twice. Once to refer to the ‘lawful assembly’ which was called out of the citizens of Ephesus to handle legal matters in the city. The other to refer to the assembly that had been called together to run Paul and his companions out of town. In either case the assembly, or ecclesia (for this is the word used here), was a called out group, called together for a specific purpose, and local in nature. This was the common usage of the term and always the proper definition of an ecclesia. THIS IS WHAT OUR LORD SAID HE WOULD BE BUILDING.”
D.Cross continues, “If Jesus Christ had intended to build another kind of company there were other words in the language He could have used. He could have used the word ‘Synagoga,” a term without such limitations and yet designating an assembly. It would certainly have been more fitting for a ‘universal company.’ He could have also used the word ‘panagris’ if he had a solemn assembly in mind of a massive and festal nature. But these were rejected in favor of the most limiting term in the Greek language with reference to an assembly; a term that can only be properly interpreted as an assembly local in nature” (Ibid).
E.Cross in another place says, “The word ‘ecclesia’ is more than a mere assembly. The word is really a compounding of two words. ‘Kaleo,’ to call; and ‘ek,’ meaning out, or literally ‘to call out.’ Thus, an ‘ekklesia’ is a Called out assembly, implying some conditions. The Lord did not call all Christians in the area that cared to assemble into His ‘ekklesia,’ but he was very selective about it in Matthew 4:17-22; Matthew 9:9; John 1:43,44 and on until he had 120 in that assembly by the time he went back to the Father. I Cor. 12:28 says that ‘God hath set some in the church (ekklesia)…,’ not all. The same passage states that He set the apostles in the ‘ekklesia,’ and on the occasion when the apostles were chosen there was quite a congregation of disciples present of whom he chose the apostles – and Paul says the apostles, not the crowd, were set in the ‘ekklesia’” (Landmarkism on Trial, Cross, p. 7).
F.Overby concurs, “To change the meaning of a word you must have good evidence that the speaker or writer of that word intended it that way. A basic principle that all scholars recognize is that a word must retain its usual meaning as long as the word used makes good sense that way. Only when it will not make good sense are we allowed to give it a new or rare meaning. If we apply this principle in this passage (Matthew 16:18), we will see that ‘assembly’ makes good sense so we cannot agree with those who would try to change the meaning here” (Brief History of the Baptists, Overbey, pp. 26,27).
G.Roy Mason asserts, …I submit the proposition that the church that Jesus founded was the local assembly, and that to use the word ecclesia to designate a ‘universal,’ or ‘invisible’ church is to pervert its meaning, and to fall into serious error” (The Church That Jesus Built, Mason, p. 26).
H.Mason also says, “The word ecclesia rendered ‘church’ in English translations, was not a new word coined by Jesus, but a word already in current use at that time and moreover a word the meaning of which had become definitely fixed and established” (Ibid, p. 27).
I.A. C. Dayton said, “The Greek ‘ekklesia’ consisted of certain individuals who, when assembled and organized, constituted an official body for the transaction of such business as might come before them. It was not merely an assembly, but an official assembly, consisting of persons specifically qualified, and who had each his specific rights and duties as a member of the ekklesia. It was not every resident in the city who was, strictly speaking, a citizen; nor was it every citizen who was a member of the ekklesia to which was intrusted the management of public business; but the ekklesia were called out from the mass… Every assembly was not an ekklesia, nor was every ekklesia an ekklesia of Christ” (Theodosia Earnest, pp. 72, 73).
J.Again, “The Greek ‘ekklesia’ was an assembly of called and qualified citizens, invested with certain rights, and registered in the city records” (Ibid, p. 129).
II.IMPROPER MEANINGS ATTACHED TO ECCLESIA.
A.The worship service (in contrast to Sunday School).
B.The clerical profession (so used in most modern terminology).
C.Building in which Christian assemblies meet:
1.Dayton says, “…history informs us that the Chrisitans had no such buildings (church-houses) for some two hundred years after this, (the time of the apostles), but continued to meet from house to house, or in the Jewish synagogues, or wherever they might. And the word (ekklesia) is never used in the New Testament, or any other Greek book written before or during the time of the apostles, to signify a house or building” (Ibid, p. 81).
2.This usage, so common even among those who know the truth, has come about by an original misconception of the word ekklesia.
D.All of One denomination:
1.That each denomination is a “branch” off the one big church.
2.Thus, the “Methodist Church,” the “Presbyterian Church,” etcl
E.Historical sense – the whole field of ecclestiastical activity in history since the days of Jesus here on earth – “the church in history.”
F.Modal sense:
1.Terms like “a scriptural church” “church of the N.T.,” etc.
2.These terms are not unscriptural as far as teaching, but the terms themselves are found nowhere in the Bible.
G.Universal, invisible sense:
1.That all the saved are in the mystical body, the church.
2.This theory is dealt with thoroughly in a further lesson.
H.From the modern usage of “church” one can easily see that the vast majority of those who use the word are totally ignorant of the Greek ekklesia.
III.QUOTES FROM RECOGNIZED SCHOLARS.
A.Liddell and Scott (Lexicon) – “An assembly of people called together; an assembly called out.”
B.Dean Trench – “Ekklesia, as all know, was the lawful assembly in a free Greek city of all those possessed of the rights of citizenship, for the transaction of public affairs” (Synonyms of the N.T., p. 17).
C.Edward Robinson – “Ekklesia, a convocation, assembly, congregation. In the literal sense a popular, or rather assembly, composed of persons legally summoned” (Lexicon).
D.A. H. Strong – “Ekklesia signified merely an assembly, however gathered or summoned. The church was never so large that it could not assemble” (Systematic Theology).
E.Vincent – “Originally an assembly of citizens, regularly summoned” (Word Studies in the N.T.)
F.Thayer – “Take the entire range of Greek literature in all its dialects, secular and sacred, and there is not one passage in which ecclesia means an invisible and universal spiritual assembly” (Lexicon).
G.Alexander Campbell – “Ekklesia literally signifies an assembly called out from others and is used among the Greeks, particularly the Athenians, for their popular assemblies, summoned by their chief magistrates and in which none but citizens had a right to sit. By inherent power it may be applied to any body of men called out and assembled in one place. If it ever loses the idea of calling out and assembling, it loses its principal features and its primitive use” (Ekklesia – The Church. Ross, p. 7).LESSON 2
THE MEANING OF ECCLESIA
I.DEFINITION OF TERMS.
A.As previously stated, most scholars agree that the English word “church” comes from a Greek word (kuriakos) which means “the Lord’s” and joined with day (hemera) or supper (deipnon) describe exactly what is refered to as being the Lord’s.
B.When the Greek kuriakos (church) is used to replace ecclesia (assembly), it is used to define what assembly. It is not simply any assembly, It is the LORD’S.
C.I. K. Cross says, “In Acts 19:39-41 the term is used twice. Once to refer to the ‘lawful assembly’ which was called out of the citizens of Ephesus to handle legal matters in the city. The other to refer to the assembly that had been called together to run Paul and his companions out of town. In either case the assembly, or ecclesia (for this is the word used here), was a called out group, called together for a specific purpose, and local in nature. This was the common usage of the term and always the proper definition of an ecclesia. THIS IS WHAT OUR LORD SAID HE WOULD BE BUILDING.”
D.Cross continues, “If Jesus Christ had intended to build another kind of company there were other words in the language He could have used. He could have used the word ‘Synagoga,” a term without such limitations and yet designating an assembly. It would certainly have been more fitting for a ‘universal company.’ He could have also used the word ‘panagris’ if he had a solemn assembly in mind of a massive and festal nature. But these were rejected in favor of the most limiting term in the Greek language with reference to an assembly; a term that can only be properly interpreted as an assembly local in nature” (Ibid).
E.Cross in another place says, “The word ‘ecclesia’ is more than a mere assembly. The word is really a compounding of two words. ‘Kaleo,’ to call; and ‘ek,’ meaning out, or literally ‘to call out.’ Thus, an ‘ekklesia’ is a Called out assembly, implying some conditions. The Lord did not call all Christians in the area that cared to assemble into His ‘ekklesia,’ but he was very selective about it in Matthew 4:17-22; Matthew 9:9; John 1:43,44 and on until he had 120 in that assembly by the time he went back to the Father. I Cor. 12:28 says that ‘God hath set some in the church (ekklesia)…,’ not all. The same passage states that He set the apostles in the ‘ekklesia,’ and on the occasion when the apostles were chosen there was quite a congregation of disciples present of whom he chose the apostles – and Paul says the apostles, not the crowd, were set in the ‘ekklesia’” (Landmarkism on Trial, Cross, p. 7).
F.Overby concurs, “To change the meaning of a word you must have good evidence that the speaker or writer of that word intended it that way. A basic principle that all scholars recognize is that a word must retain its usual meaning as long as the word used makes good sense that way. Only when it will not make good sense are we allowed to give it a new or rare meaning. If we apply this principle in this passage (Matthew 16:18), we will see that ‘assembly’ makes good sense so we cannot agree with those who would try to change the meaning here” (Brief History of the Baptists, Overbey, pp. 26,27).
G.Roy Mason asserts, …I submit the proposition that the church that Jesus founded was the local assembly, and that to use the word ecclesia to designate a ‘universal,’ or ‘invisible’ church is to pervert its meaning, and to fall into serious error” (The Church That Jesus Built, Mason, p. 26).
H.Mason also says, “The word ecclesia rendered ‘church’ in English translations, was not a new word coined by Jesus, but a word already in current use at that time and moreover a word the meaning of which had become definitely fixed and established” (Ibid, p. 27).
I.A. C. Dayton said, “The Greek ‘ekklesia’ consisted of certain individuals who, when assembled and organized, constituted an official body for the transaction of such business as might come before them. It was not merely an assembly, but an official assembly, consisting of persons specifically qualified, and who had each his specific rights and duties as a member of the ekklesia. It was not every resident in the city who was, strictly speaking, a citizen; nor was it every citizen who was a member of the ekklesia to which was intrusted the management of public business; but the ekklesia were called out from the mass… Every assembly was not an ekklesia, nor was every ekklesia an ekklesia of Christ” (Theodosia Earnest, pp. 72, 73).
J.Again, “The Greek ‘ekklesia’ was an assembly of called and qualified citizens, invested with certain rights, and registered in the city records” (Ibid, p. 129).
II.IMPROPER MEANINGS ATTACHED TO ECCLESIA.
A.The worship service (in contrast to Sunday School).
B.The clerical profession (so used in most modern terminology).
C.Building in which Christian assemblies meet:
1.Dayton says, “…history informs us that the Chrisitans had no such buildings (church-houses) for some two hundred years after this, (the time of the apostles), but continued to meet from house to house, or in the Jewish synagogues, or wherever they might. And the word (ekklesia) is never used in the New Testament, or any other Greek book written before or during the time of the apostles, to signify a house or building” (Ibid, p. 81).
2.This usage, so common even among those who know the truth, has come about by an original misconception of the word ekklesia.
D.All of One denomination:
1.That each denomination is a “branch” off the one big church.
2.Thus, the “Methodist Church,” the “Presbyterian Church,” etcl
E.Historical sense – the whole field of ecclestiastical activity in history since the days of Jesus here on earth – “the church in history.”
F.Modal sense:
1.Terms like “a scriptural church” “church of the N.T.,” etc.
2.These terms are not unscriptural as far as teaching, but the terms themselves are found nowhere in the Bible.
G.Universal, invisible sense:
1.That all the saved are in the mystical body, the church.
2.This theory is dealt with thoroughly in a further lesson.
H.From the modern usage of “church” one can easily see that the vast majority of those who use the word are totally ignorant of the Greek ekklesia.
III.QUOTES FROM RECOGNIZED SCHOLARS.
A.Liddell and Scott (Lexicon) – “An assembly of people called together; an assembly called out.”
B.Dean Trench – “Ekklesia, as all know, was the lawful assembly in a free Greek city of all those possessed of the rights of citizenship, for the transaction of public affairs” (Synonyms of the N.T., p. 17).
C.Edward Robinson – “Ekklesia, a convocation, assembly, congregation. In the literal sense a popular, or rather assembly, composed of persons legally summoned” (Lexicon).
D.A. H. Strong – “Ekklesia signified merely an assembly, however gathered or summoned. The church was never so large that it could not assemble” (Systematic Theology).
E.Vincent – “Originally an assembly of citizens, regularly summoned” (Word Studies in the N.T.)
F.Thayer – “Take the entire range of Greek literature in all its dialects, secular and sacred, and there is not one passage in which ecclesia means an invisible and universal spiritual assembly” (Lexicon).
G.Alexander Campbell – “Ekklesia literally signifies an assembly called out from others and is used among the Greeks, particularly the Athenians, for their popular assemblies, summoned by their chief magistrates and in which none but citizens had a right to sit. By inherent power it may be applied to any body of men called out and assembled in one place. If it ever loses the idea of calling out and assembling, it loses its principal features and its primitive use” (Ekklesia – The Church. Ross, p. 7).
Bible Analysis Two Rules
TWO PRIMARY RULES FOR RIGHTLY UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE.
This is the most important chapter of this book. To learn the two primary rules here presented is absolutely necessary in order for one to be able to understand the Bible, and be able to teach it without shame.
The late Ben M. Bogard said:
“Perhaps the most misleading idea people have is to think that when they open the Bible, no matter what passage they may read, that the passage applies to them, for they think all the Bible applies to them, but it is not true . . . The student may be startled to learn that much of what we know as the Bible does not apply to us in this age” (The Golden Key, p. 5).
The writer’s personal experiences verify the truths stated in the above quitation. When either a saved or unsaved person reads the Bible with the idea in mind that God does all the talking, everything in the Bible is to be practiced by the reader, the Bible seems to be a confused, nonsensical, out-dated book.
I.TWO PRIMARY RULES
There are two primary rules by which one may learn to arrive at the particular meaning of any passage in the Bible. These rules are both scriptural and scientific. The two rules are
1.the five point question rule, and
2.the proper application rule.
1.The Five Point Question Rule
This rule must be applied by anyone reading the Bible in order to interpret any passage intelligently. One does not have to study this book or this system of study in order to do this. But a study of this rule, as illustrated, will help one to be able to learn the particular teachings of the Bible much more rapidly. One may apply some ponts of the following rule, without knowing such a rule exists. But one who knows the five point rule is enabled to learn the actual meaning of a passage much more quickly than one who does not know such a scientific, scriptural system or rule for analysis of written or spoken matter exists. In reading the Bible one should find out the following five things about every passage:
1.Who is speaking or writing?
2.To whom or about whom is he speaking or writing?
3.“About what subject is he speaking or writing?
4.When or about what time is he speaking or writing?
5.What is the occasion for the speaking or writing?
2.The Proper Application Rule.
This rule is designed to teach one how to apply a given Bible truth, after the truth is determined. This concerns the “how” of applying known Bible truths. Since it has been pointed out that the New Testament and the Psalms are God’s rule and guide for man’s faith in practice today, this proper application rule enables one to know how to determine what doctrinal teachings of the Psalms and new Testament he is to practice today. This proper application rule for understanding the Scriptures has two parts:
1.The general application of a truth or deed to every person.
2.The particular application of a truth or deed to an individual or particular group.
For instance, some Scriptures are written describing the condition of all the unsaved. Other Scroptures describe the condition of particular unsaved individuals or groups. That men who are lost, wicked, shall all be cast into hell is a general application of the Bible’s teaching on the future punishment of the wicked – Psalm 9:17. That some lost people shall suffer more in hell than others is a particular truth, requires a particular application of some passages of Scriptures that tell how and to what extent some shall suffer in hell – Matt. 10:15; 11:24; 23:14-15; Luke 10:12′
II.FIVE POINT RULE ILLUSTRATED
A. One should always, upon reading any passage in the Bible, first ask himself, “Who is doing this speaking or writing?” There are at least seven classes of speakers in the Bible.
1. Sometimes God is speaking.
a. God spike to Adam and Eve, Gen. 3:9.
b. God spike to Noah, Gen. 9:8
c. God spoke to Abraham, Gen. 12:7; 22:1,3.
d. God spoke to Moses, Exodus 3:4, 14.
e. God spoke to all present, Matt. 3:17, 17:5.
f. God spoke to Saul, Acts 9:5
2.Sometimes angels are speaking.
a. An angel spoke to Hagar, Gen. 16:7-11.
b. An angel spoke to Abraham, Gen. 22:11.
c. An angel of the lord spoke to Balaam, num. 22:31.
d. An angel of the Lord spoke to Manoah, Judges 13:13-14.
e. An angel spoke to Elijah, I Kings 19:5; II Kings 1:3.
f. An angel of the Lord spike to Haggai, hag. 1:9, 12.
g. An angel spoke to Joseph, Matt. 1:20; to Zacharias, Luke 1:11-20; to Mary, Luke 1:26-37; to the Marys, Matt. 28:2-8; to the shepherds, Luke 2:9-14; to the apostles, Acts 5:9-10; to Paul, Acts 27;23-34
3.Sometimes the Devil is speaking.
It is true that both God and good angels are sometimes speaking as one reads portions of the Bible. But it is also true that sometimes the Devil is speaking. Whatever truth the Devil might relate, that is put in the Bible, was spoken by the Devil as a means of ensnaring men. The Defvil never told the truth or any truth for any good or holy purpose. The first conversation in which Satan ever engaged with man was hel to deceive man. And before he finished he lied to Eve, saying, “Thou shalt not surely die.” One should not use the Devil’s language and apply it to the Lord. In the following passages of the Bible the Devil spoke in person:
a. To Eve, Gen. 3:1-4.
b. To God, Job 1:7, 9-11; Job 2:2, 4-5.
c. To Jesus, Luke 4:3, 6, 7, 9, 10.
d. Devils (demon spirits) spoke, Luke 4:41.
4.Sometimes prophets are speaking.
From Aaron and Moses (Ex. 3:10; 7:1; Deut. 18:14) to Malachi (Mal. 1:1), every prophet of God sought to reveal God’s will. They were true prophets.
But there were also false prophets, whose words are recorded in the Old Testament. Should their words be taken for practice? (See Jer. 14:13, 14; 23:21-32; 27:8-15; Luke 6:26; Matt. 24:24-26; Acts 13:6-10.)
5.Sometimes wicked men are speaking.
Should one accept what a wicked man says at face value, as a matter to be practiced? And when the Bible quotes what wicked men have said, one should not take the words of some wicked man for his personal practice. Wicked men, or unsaved men, spoke in the following recorded passages:
a. The fool, psalm 14:1; Luke 12:16-20.
b. The harlot, prov. 7:13-20; John 4:19, 20.
c. Pilate, Matt. 27:24.
d. Man born blind, unsaved, John 9:31, 35, 36. Some use the words of this unsaved man to try to prove that God will not hear a sinner pray. Such is an abuse of intelligent interpretation of the Bible.
e. Examples in Acts 3:5-7; 6:11; 18:12-16; 24:1-9.
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