Ἐκκλησία in the New Testament
Part One: The Classification of Each Use of
Part Three: Quotations from Sources on the Meaning and Use of
Part Four: The Concept of
Part Five: The Meaning of
A Brief Synopsis of Part One: The Classification of Each Use of Ἐκκλησία in the Greek New Testament
Ἐκκλησία is the Greek word which is commonly translated “church” in English Bibles, but ἐκκλησία is more properly translated gathering, meeting, congregation, or assembly. This study covers 118 uses of the word ἐκκλησία in the Greek text of the New Testament.
Though the word ἐκκλησία had several specialized uses for specific gatherings in first century Greek speaking culture (such as certain informal spontaneous impromptu gatherings, certain formal planned regular gatherings, or certain official required institutional gatherings), nevertheless these specialized uses never strayed from the sense of (a.) an actual gathering, a meeting, a congregation, an assembly of persons together at one time in one location, or (b.) that group of persons who at some time made up such an actual gathering at some location, or who commonly made up an actual gathering at various times and (possibly) various places.
In other words, the meaning of ἐκκλησία is rather narrow: if there is no actual gathering of certain persons at a certain time and place, then there is no ἐκκλησία, and the word ἐκκλησία does not refer to any more than (1) this gathering of persons at a certain time and place, or (2) those persons who make up this gathering.
Christians commonly assign special senses to the English word church which cannot be reconciled to the normal usage of the Greek word ἐκκλησία. Though the Scriptures do indeed use the term ἐκκλησία in specialized senses, the Scriptures do not use the term ἐκκλησία in a sense which is contrary to the normal usage of the term ἐκκλησία in first century Greek speaking culture.
If we find a usage of ἐκκλησία in the New Testament which, in its context, will not fit within the normal range of usage for ἐκκλησία, (i.e. it cannot refer to an actual gathering, or to the persons who make up the actual gathering), then we may have warrant to discern from the context some special sense. Otherwise, we have no warrant, and any attempt to substitute a special sense into the passage amounts to adding to and taking away from the Word of God (Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32; Proverbs 30:6; Jeremiah 8:8; Matthew 15:3-6; Luke 11:52; 2 Corinthians 4:2; Revelation 22:18,19).
We will discuss briefly in this article some of these special senses which Christians commonly assign to the English word church (and indirectly impose upon the Greek word ἐκκλησία), but we will discuss these special senses more extensively in a following article [The Meaning of Ἐκκλησία in the Greek New Testament]. Our point in this article is simply to display and demonstrate that the common usage of ἐκκλησία in the New Testament falls within the normal range of usage for the word in Greek speaking culture.
It has not been an easy task to classify each and every use of ἐκκλησία in the New Testament. Though I have carefully examined each use of ἐκκλησία in its context, and I have carefully translated into English each text from the Greek text, this does not guarantee that I have it quite right. Discerning the various classifications of meaning is difficult. Discerning which sense is meant for certain texts is even more difficult. Several notes indicate alternative classifications. Some texts belong under more than one classification, so several notes indicate dual classification. A few texts are tricky – without careful attention, a portion of the context might distract someone from discerning just how the word ἐκκλησία is actually being used. I have worked on this project over a span of twenty-five years, regularly reviewing, revising, and reclassifying. I have carefully reconsidered each text dozens of times. This is a condensation of all of my studies on the usage of ἐκκλησία in the New Testament. My studies on the meaning and on the concept of ἐκκλησία will be published separately.
1.0 — Singular Ἐκκλησία for a Specific Local Gathering (50 Uses)
1.1 — Singular Ἐκκλησία for a Local Gathering in an Identified Private House (5 Uses)
1.2 — Singular Ἐκκλησία for an Unidentified Local Gathering (3 Uses)
1.3 — Singular Ἐκκλησία for a Local Gathering in an Identified City (24 Uses)
1.4 — Singular Ἐκκλησία in Directives for a Local Gathering When It Actually Meets (7 Uses)
1.5 — Singular Ἐκκλησία for a Local Gathering Considered as a Group (5 Uses)
1.6 — Singular Ἐκκλησία for a Generic and Hypothetical Local Gathering (6 Uses)
2.0 — Plural Ἐκκλησίαι for Specific and Generic Local Gatherings (38 Uses)
2.1 — Plural Ἐκκλησίαι for Identifiable Regional Groupings of Local Gatherings (28 Uses)
2.2 — Plural Ἐκκλησίαι for Many or All Local Gatherings Generally (7 Uses)
2.3 — Singular Ἐκκλησία Generically Implying Plural Local Gatherings (2 Uses)
2.4 — Plural Ἐκκλησίαι for Regularly Repeated Meetings of the Local Gathering (1 Use)
3.0 — Singular Ἐκκλησία for the Jerusalem Gathering (9 Uses)
3.1 — Singular Ἐκκλησία for the Jerusalem Gathering (7 Uses)
3.2 — Singular Ἐκκλησία for an Actual Meeting in Jerusalem (2 Uses)
4.0 —Singular Ἐκκλησία for the Generic Local Gathering (4 Uses)
4.1 — Singular Ἐκκλησία for the (Then) Future Generic Local Gathering (1 Use)
4.2 — Singular Ἐκκλησία for Saul’s Persecution of the Generic Local Gathering (3 Uses)
5.0 — Singular Ἐκκλησία for the Mystical-Body Gathering (12 Uses)
6.0 — Ordinary Uses of the Singular Ἐκκλησία (5 Uses)
6.1 — Singular Ἐκκλησία for an Old Testament Gathering (2 Uses)
6.2 — Singular Ἐκκλησία for a Gentile Gathering at Ephesus (3 Uses)
7.0 — Texts Which Confuse or Do Not Actually Use Ἐκκλησία (4 Texts)
8.0 — Special Phrases Using Ἐκκλησία (Repeated from among the above, 17 Uses)
8.1 — The Ἐκκλησία [Gathering] of God (7 Uses)
8.2 — An Ἐκκλησία [A Gathering] of God (2 Uses)
8.3 — The Ἐκκλησίαι [Gatherings] of God (3 Uses)
8.4 — The Ἐκκλησία [Gathering] in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Uses)
8.5 — The Ἐκκλησίαι [Gatherings] of Christ (1 Use)
8.6 — The Ἐκκλησίαι [Gatherings] in Christ (2 Uses)