ECCLESIOLOGYECCLESIOLOGY (STUDY OF THE CHURCH)(STUDY OF THE CHURCH) Part 1Part 1 By : Servant of the Cross The Living Spring

ECCLESIOLOGYECCLESIOLOGY It comes from two words in Greek : Ekkles - meaning "assembly Logo - meaning "word Combining to mean : "the study of the church." Ecclesiology is the study of the church. The Living Spring

ECCLESIOLOGYECCLESIOLOGY Church Establish the usage of the word first. Purpose of it being established Today Study is about: 1. The Nature of the Church 2. The Purpose of the Church The Living Spring

ECCLESIOLOGYECCLESIOLOGY What is a Church? Is it a building? Is it an institution? It is a Church Universal? Church What is the Church? The Living Spring If you read the NT you will find that every time the church is mention it is always in the context of a local church. The concept of a universal church is very faint.

The Usage of the Word Church?The Usage of the Word Church? The English dictionary reveals that the English word "church" which is used in our English Bible is taken from the late Greek word "kyridakon" not "ekklesia." The Greek word "kyridakon" is not found in the New Testament and only came into being in the 16th Century long after New Testament times. Thus the English word "church" cannot be translated back into Greek because there is no word in the New Testament Greek that is the equivalent of the understanding of the English word. The early translators of the English Bible mistranslated the word "ecclesia" using the English word "church" instead of "assembly" or "congregation." The Living Spring

The Usage of the Word Church?The Usage of the Word Church? 1. a building for public Christian worship 2. a religious service in such a building. 3. the world body of Christian believers; Christendom 4. a Christian denomination or congregation. 5. organized religion as distinguished from the state. Webster English DictionaryWebster English Dictionary The Living Spring We need to understand the modern use of the word it is of little significance in understanding the use of the word the New Testament. It is essential that we understand its original meaning as it was used in New Testament times.

The Usage of the Word Church?The Usage of the Word Church? In the English NT the Greek word, "ekklesia" is translated in most places "church" . It is found in 115 places in the New Testament.. 1.Church = 113 times. 2.Assembly = 2 times. In New Testament times the word was exclusively used to represent a group of people assembled together for a particular cause or purpose. It was never used exclusively to refer to a religious meeting. English Bible : Ekklesia = Church.English Bible : Ekklesia = Church. The Living Spring

The Usage of the Word Church?The Usage of the Word Church? In the New Testament the word could refer to different kinds of assemblies with the context of the word or the use of a word modifier explaining who was meeting. For example, in Acts 2:47 the context of the verse tells who was meeting, "Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." Acts 2:41 specifically identifies these people who were meeting as those who were saved on the day of Pentecost. The Context is the key.The Context is the key. The Living Spring

The Usage of the Word Church?The Usage of the Word Church? Another example of a modifier being used to identify who was assembling is Acts 8:1 "And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem." The assembly in this case was the believers in Jerusalem. The Context is the key.The Context is the key. The Living Spring

The Usage of the Word Church?The Usage of the Word Church? For example, the word "ekklesia," is used in Acts 19:32,39,41 and demonstrates this word was used to refer to a civil assembly of local towns people of Ephesus which included idol makers. Acts 19:24-25 records that a man named Demetruis, a silversmith who made idols, called all workman of like occupation together for a meeting. The reason for the meeting was to discuss the problem that they were having with people who were being saved and who were abandoning their idols which was hindering their businesses. Verse 39 says, "the assembly was confused." The word "assembly" is the Greek word "ekklesia" and is the same word that is translated elsewhere in the New Testament as "church." Here the "ekklesia" was a meeting of idol makers and the word is properly translated "assembly." The Context is the key.The Context is the key. The Living Spring

The Usage of the Word Church?The Usage of the Word Church? Another example is found in Acts 7:38 which refers to the nation of Israel that was congregated at Mt. Sinai as the "church in the wilderness." The word translated "church" is the Greek word "ekklesia." It is incorrect to refer to Israel as a church and the word should be properly translated "assembly" or "congregation." It is confusing to refer to the Nation of Israel as a church which could be misunderstood to support Amillennialism. The Context is the key.The Context is the key. The Living Spring

The Usage of the Word Church?The Usage of the Word Church? The first English Bible translated from Greek did not translate the word "ekklesia" as church. William Tyndale's translation (1526) correctly used the term "congregation." Tyndale completed the translation of the New Testament and part of the Old Testament before he was martyred. John Rogers, an assistant and friend of William Tyndale, completed the translation of the Old Testament using some work from Coverdale and published the first entire Tyndale Bible under the pen name "Thomas Matthew." This Bible was called the Matthew's Bible (1537) and also used the term "congregation." The next English Bible, the Great Bible (1539), also used the term "congregation." However, in 1557 the Geneva New Testament, produced by William Whittingham, was the first to translate "ekklesia" as "church." It is important to note the Protestant source of this translation. Bibles Translation of Ekklesia.Bibles Translation of Ekklesia. The Living Spring

The Usage of the Word Church?The Usage of the Word Church? Because the Geneva Bible was printed in Europe and not in England the English people desired a Bible published in their native country. This was the reason for the next English Bible, the Bishops Bible (1568) which was a revision of the Geneva Bible and this translation continued the use of the term "church" as has all subsequence English translations including the King James Version. This shows that the use of the word "church" instead of "assembly" or "congregation" came from those who had a bias towards a hierarchical and unscriptural form of church government. To have translated the word "ekklesia" accurately into "assembly" or congregation" would have exposed their form of church government as being in error. Bibles Translation of Ekklesia.Bibles Translation of Ekklesia. The Living Spring

The Church as an Organism.The Church as an Organism. The Epistle to the Ephesians is a great exposition of the doctrine of the church considered as a spiritual organism. In Ephesians the Church is presented under three or four different figures, and it is well to study these figures carefully. These figures are A Body, 1:22-23; 4:15,16; 5:23) A Bride , 5:30-32; (2 Corinthian 11:2-3, in its local aspect) A Building, 2:20-22; A Family or Brotherhood 2:19 The Church has been called :The Church has been called : The Living Spring