Question:
What is the meaning of the word “church” in the New Testament?
Answer:
The word rendered “church” in the New Testament comes from the Greek word ekklesia, from the verb ekkaled. Liddell and Scott’s Standard Greek Lexicon defines it as “to call out or forth, to summon forth.” Our “ecclesiastical” comes from the same word. Ekklesia means “an assembly of the citizens regularly summoned, the legislative assembly,” as opposed to a sullogos, a mere crowd or concourse, which might be “legal or riotous.” The word ekklesia is used in the Scriptures to describe the congregation of Israel in the wilderness (Acts 9:38), the “assembly” at Ephesus (Acts 19:32, 39, 41), and the various congregations of Christians associating together, as well as the general body of Christians. In fact, the word “church” in both singular and plural, where it is used in the New Testament Scriptures, comes, with one exception, from the Greek word ekklesia, meaning “called out,” “an assembly of citizens regularly summoned.” The exception is Acts 19:37, rendered in the Revised Version “temples,” its proper meaning. The church of God or of Christ is, therefore, composed of those whom God has called out of the world, citizens of His kingdom, “regularly summoned” by His gospel call.
