This word is used about 118 times in the Greek New Testament. Our study is from the Lord's usage of the term when He said; "upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). The Greek word εκκλεσια (Strong's #1577), translated "church" in our text is a compound word from the preposition εκ (Strong's #1537), "out of, forth" and the verb καλεω (Strong's #2564), "to call;" thus, literally, "the called out." This word, as is characteristic of many others in the New Testament, originally had a secular significance that made it especially suited to the sacred usage it was henceforth to have. Moulton and Milligan state it "meant originally any public assembly of citizens summoned by a herald."F1 Thayer defines it, "an assembly of the people convened at the public place of council for the purpose of deliberating: (Acts 19:39)."F2 Campbell writes, "It is an assembly of the called, or those who are brought together by one leader, or profession."F3 And, Smith and Hackett add, "The word εκκλεσια is no doubt derived from εκκαλειν, and in accordance with its derivation it originally meant an assembly called out by the magistrate, or by legitimate authority."F4 Thus, it is clear that the basic meaning of the word is, "an assembly, summoned or convened." That this was its Septuagint significance is likewise clear from the fact that Stephen, an inspired disciple (Acts 6:10), designated the "congregation in the wilderness" - Israel called out of Egypt, by this word in his defense before the High Priest (Acts 7:38). In the New Testament, the word represents the spiritual body of Christ, composed of all the called. The term "church" signifies, the body of baptized believers (1 Corinthians 12:13), who have been called out of the world by the gospel (2 Thessalonians 2:13,14), over which Christ rules as head (Ephesians 1:19-23), and in which the Spirit dwells (1 Corinthians 3:16). It is the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22, 23), made up of individual saints (1 Corinthians 12:20), comprised of all the saved (Ephesians 5:23-25). "For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ . . . Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular" (1 Corinthians 12:12, 27). Therefore, the church is made up of individual saints, called out from the world, and which often meet in called assemblies.
The word "church" not only expresses the called out feature of believers in Christ but it also is described in three different classifications in the New Testament: 1st) in the general sense, it includes, the whole church, all of the Lord's faithful followers on earth (Matthew 16:18), comprised of one church, as there is but one body of Christ (Ephesians 4:4-6); 2nd) in the local or geographical sense, it designates congregations of faithful believers banded together for the purpose of worship and service to God, such as, "the church of God which is at Corinth" (1 Corinthians 1:2); "the churches of Galatia" (Galatians 1:2); "the church of the Thessalonians" (1 Thessalonians 1:1); or, a group of such congregations not otherwise geographically identified: "All the churches of Christ salute you" (Romans 16:16); and 3rd) in a congregational (assembled) sense, it designates an assembly of Christians, convened for religious ends (1 Corinthians 14:34, 35). Thus, there is a general sense, a geographical sense, and a congregational (assembled) sense in which the word finds usage in the New Testament. In the text we are studying, when Jesus said: "upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18), He added, "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 16:19). That means the keys of the kingdom fit the door of the church. The word "kingdom" simply denotes the governmental feature of the same institution. The church is metaphorically described as a divine monarchy. Jesus is the head of the church (Ephesians 5:23) and the King of the kingdom (Revelations 1:5, 6). We are members of the church (1 Corinthians 12:12, 27) and citizens of the kingdom (Philippians 3:20). The New Testament is the constitution of the church (1 Corinthians 9:14) and the decrees of the kingdom (John 15:10; 1 John 2:3). The church and the kingdom are not different bodies or organizations; they are simply descriptive words of the same body of people. Thus, it is clear that when Jesus said, "upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18), He was speaking of His spiritual body of faithful followers called out from the world, over which He is head, and which, He rules and reigns as King.
FOOTNOTES:
F1: James Hope Moulton, D.D., D.THEOL and George Milligan, D.D., The Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: W.M. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), pg. 195.
F2: Joseph Henry Thayer, D.D., Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (New York: American Book Company, 1889), pg. 196.
F3: Alexander Campbell, Living Oracles, (Gospel Advocate Company, reprint), appendix pg. 77.
F4: Dr. William Smith and Professor H. B. Hackett, D.D., Dictionary of the Bible Four Volume Set, Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, reprinted 1981), pg. 453.
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Bill Klein has been a pastor, counselor, and educator for the past 41 years. He has had extensive training and education in biblical languages, and has authored a Biblical Greek course.
He is currently serving as Professor of Biblical Greek at Master's Graduate School of Divinity, and president of BTE Ministries - The Bible Translation and Exegesis Institute of America, a non-profit organization located in California that provides Bible study tapes and Greek study materials through their website BTEMinistries.org.