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The meaning of the Greek word 'ekklhsia' in the New Testament, which is often translated as 'church.' The author argues that the true meaning of 'ekklhsia' is 'assembly' or 'meeting,' and that the early Christian communities were local, visible assemblies of saved believers. The text also discusses the importance of adhering to the Bible as the only source of truth for these assemblies.
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A. The Word "Church" Never Occurred in The Greek Language
formed by combining two Greek words: a. The first word is ek , a preposition which means "out of" or "out from within." b. The second word is kalein , which is the infinitive form of the verb kaleō , and means "to call."
called out (ones)" or "assembly."
for a meeting of officials who were called to discuss the business or affairs of a free state.
led out from among the other citizens to discuss the business of the government entity.
sembly.
shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen. 25 He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: "Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. 26 Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. 27 So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship." 28 Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" 29 So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul's travel companions. 30 And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him. 31 Then some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater. 32 Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people. 34 But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" 35 And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: "Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Zeus? 36 Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess. 38 Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly. 40 For we are in danger of being called in question for today's uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering." 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
age brought into England in the fifth and sixth centuries by the German invaders and there developed. The word church was then circe. The mistake made about this time was to associate the words, Lord's house (the meeting place of the assembly), with the congre- gation" (Ibid.).
"church." It must be noted that this improper translation was made, not to clarify the meaning, but rather to force the words of the Bible to fit a tradition of the Church of England.
A. This Is The Only Scriptural Pattern
established.' 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.
The assembly which Jesus started had all of these things, given by Jesus Himself while He was still on the earth. His assembly was clearly started BEFORE the Day of Pentecost.
Thus, it must be concluded that Jesus built His assembly during His personal ministry, and the above definition conforms to the character and nature of that assembly.
As a footnote, it must be noted that the events which happened on the Day of Pentecost, constituted the once-and-for-all-time em- powering of the Lord's assemblies. Jesus had given His assembly His authority before He ascended back to heaven, yet He empowered them on Pentecost. B. The Teachings of The Lord's Assemblies
1 Timothy 3:15 outlines the teachings of an assembly of Jesus Christ: These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; 15 but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
The only thing that remains is to discover the source of truth. a. Jesus stated in His prayer in John 17:17: Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. b. Paul wrote to Timothy the words in 2 Timothy 2:15: Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. c. Paul further stated in 2 Timothy 3:16, 17: All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteous- ness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly
equipped for every good work.
true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 15 Shall we pay, or shall we not pay? But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it. 16 So they brought it. And He said to them, Whose image and inscription is this? They said to Him, Caesar's. 17 And Jesus answered and said to them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marveled at Him. (2) Paul stated in Romans 13:1-7: Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing. 7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
world is for the hearts of men to be changed!
another assembly.
c. Buildings, property and finances.
"Much misunderstanding in Christianity has been caused by the misinter- pretation of certain key words in the King James translation. For example, the Greek word 'baptizw' ( baptizo ), which means to immerse or dip, was not translated at all; rather it was simply transliterated as the word, baptize. This seemingly insignificant oversight has caused much confusion among English speaking Christians today. An accurate translation of the word in its literal sense of, 'to immerse or dip,' could easily be understood without confusion. The word, 'baptize,' however, now is frequently under- stood as including 'sprinkling or immersion.' The meaning of the word, however, does not allow the idea of 'sprinkling.' "The next word that has caused much confusion is the Greek word 'ekklhsia' ( ekklesia ), which the King James translators translated as 'church.' There are not many language students who fail to understand the meaning of 'ekklhsia' as assembly. At first glance, this change does not appear significant; however, instead of the word 'assembly,' which could be easily understood as 'a local visible assembly,' the word 'church' has taken on a new meaning that is almost mystical in character. This erroneous con- cept of a 'church' teaches the possibility of an invisible, universal church. This difference will be made clear as the study unfolds...." (Dewayne Hoppert, Free , 1999, pp. 191, 192). Note: To transliterate a word is simply a matter of converting its original letters into the corresponding letters of another language. Transliteration is not translation.
A set of rules governing the translation of the King James Bible translation was prepared by Richard Bancroft. Bancroft was the Bishop of London and a high-church Anglican. King James "recommended" these fifteen rules be "carefully observed." Rules #1 and #3, in particular, impacted the transla- tion of the Greek word ekklhsia: "1. The ordinary Bible, read in the church, commonly called the Bishop's Bible, to be followed, and as little altered as the original will permit.... "3. The old ecclesiastical words to be kept; as the word church, not to be translated congregation, &c...."