Information Related to "The Historical Background of the Term Church"
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Sidebar: The Historical Backround of the Term Church
The Historical Background of the Term Church
The Holman Bible Dictionary, in its article "Church," explains the background
of the word church:
"Church is the English translation of the Greek word ekklesia. The use of the
Greek term prior to the emergence of the Christian church is important as two streams
of meaning flow from the history of its usage into the New Testament understanding
of church.
"First, the Greek term which basically means 'called out' was commonly used
to indicate an assembly of citizens of a Greek city and is so used in Acts 19:32,39. The citizens who were quite conscious of their privileged status over against
slaves and noncitizens were called to the assembly by a herald and dealt . . .
with matters of common concern. When the early Christians understood themselves as
constituting a church, no doubt exists that they perceived themselves as called out
by God in Jesus Christ for a special purpose and that their status was a privileged
one in Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:19).
"Second, the Greek term was used more than one hundred times in the Greek translation
of the Old Testament in common use in the time of Jesus. The Hebrew term (qahal)
meant simply 'assembly' and could be used in a variety of ways, referring for example
to an assembling of prophets (1Sam. 19:20), soldiers (Num. 22:4), or the people
of God (Deut. 9:10). The use of the term in the Old Testament in referring to the
people of God is important for understanding the term 'church' in the New Testament.
"The first Christians were Jews who used the Greek translation of the Old Testament.
For them to use a self-designation that was common in the Old Testament for the people
of God reveals their understanding of the continuity that links the Old and New Testaments.
The early Christians understood themselves as the people of the God who had revealed
Himself in the Old Testament (Heb. 1:1-2), as the true children of Israel (Rom. 2:28-29)
with Abraham as their father (Rom. 4:1-25), and as the people of the New Covenant
prophesied in the Old Testament (Heb. 8:1-13).
"As a consequence of this broad background of meaning in the Greek and Old Testament
worlds, the term 'church' is used in the New Testament of a local congregation of
called-out Christians, such as the 'church of God which is at Corinth' (1Cor. 1:2),
and also of the entire people of God, such as in the affirmation that Christ is 'the
head over all things to the church, Which is his body' (Eph. 1:22-23)" (emphasis
added).
©1999 United Church of God, an International Associtaion
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