What is “Church”?

The Greek word for “church” is ekklēsia (ἐκκλησία), which simply means “assembly”. It denotes a group of people gathered together.

The Common Use of Ekklēsia

Ekklēsia was a common Greek word. It was used in a secular manner long before Jesus was even born. During the time of Jesus and the first Christians, no one perceived that ekklēsia was a distinctively Christian or religious term. The secular use of ekklēsia is even found in the New Testament:

Acts 19:32, 39, 41 ESV Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly [ekklēsia] was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. ... But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly [ekklēsia]. ... And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly [ekklēsia].

In this passage, the gathered mob of people is called an ekklēsia. So, ekklēsia was not a special word that was invented by Jesus or the first Christians. Rather, they used a common word which simply means “assembly”.

The Historical Jewish Use of Ekklēsia

During the third and second centuries BCE, Greek-speaking Jews used the word ekklēsia as the equivalent term for the Hebrew word qāhāl (קָהׇל), which also meant “assembly”. For example, the Hebrew text of Psalm 22:22 reads,

In the midst of the qāhāl I will praise you.

In Hebrews 2:12, this passage is quoted in Greek as,

In the midst of the ekklēsia I will sing to you.

In the Jewish Scriptures, the Hebrew word qāhāl is used to describe the community of God’s people as an “assembly”. When Greek-speaking Jews wanted to refer to the concept of the qāhāl in the Jewish Scriptures, they would use the Greek word ekklēsia. For example, Stephen described the Israelites as the “ekklēsia in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38).

The Christian Significance of Ekklēsia

In many English Bible translations, the word “church” only appears in the New Testament and never in the Old Testament. This has given the false impression that the concept of “church” was something new which only came into existence after Jesus came, and did not exist before that. However, this is not the case.

When Jesus mentioned his ekklēsia (Matt. 16:18), the disciples were not puzzled about what he was talking about. Rather, they were using ekklēsia in its Jewish-Greek sense, representing the concept of qāhāl in the Jewish Scriptures. Jesus and the first Christians used the term ekklēsia to describe themselves as the “assembly” of God.

In a universal sense, the ekklēsia of God is the “assembly” of all Christians all around the world. No matter we are, we are all “assembled” before God, united by a common faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.