\n<\/a>What is a Church?<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n
When a Church is Not a Church, Part 3<\/strong><\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/44\/2011\/10\/Rockwell-freedom-speech-4.jpg\")
<\/a>\nIn my last two posts, I suggested that the Greek word ekklesia<\/em>, which is usually translated as \u201cchurch\u201d in our English New Testaments, did not have the religious overtones we naturally hear when \u201cchurch\u201d is spoken. Because of this, I\u2019ve even suggested that \u201cchurch\u201d is not the best translation for ekklesia<\/em>. \u201cAssembly,\u201d it seems to me, is better, even though it doesn\u2019t quite represent the nuances of ekklesia<\/em>. You may recall that ekklesia<\/em> had a common and quite specific meaning. It denoted the gathering of citizens in a Greek city, those who had authority over the city much like a city council might today. (In actuality, the ekklesia<\/em> would be like a peculiar combination of the voters in a city and the city council. Perhaps the town meeting in a small New England town would be the closest modern equivalent. )<\/p>\nThe Earliest Usage of Ekklesia<\/em> in the New Testament<\/h3>\nUnquestionably, the earliest written use of ekklesia<\/em> in the New Testament comes from the letters of Paul. Scholars differ on which of Paul\u2019s letters was the earliest. Some opt for Galatians; while others prefer 1 Thessalonians. I\u2019m in the \u201cothers\u201d group for reasons I won\u2019t go into here. When Paul wrote his first letter to the Christians in Thessalonica (in Macedonia, an area of northern Greece), he began in this way:<\/p>\nPaul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the ekklesia<\/em> of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thes 1:1)<\/p>\nPresumably, of course, he had taught the Thessalonian Christians to think of themselves as an ekklesia<\/em>, so they would know what he was referring to when he used this word.<\/p>\nThe phrase \u201cekklesia<\/em> of the Thessalonians\u201d would have had an established, commonly-understood meaning in this city. It denoted the gathering of citizens to govern the city. But Paul qualified his use of this phrase and therefore limited misunderstanding by adding \u201cin God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d The Christians gathered in Thessalonica were not equivalent to the civic ekklesia<\/em>. Rather, they were an alternative assembly, one that met \u201cin God and Christ.\u201d \u201cIn\u201d means something like \u201cby the work of\u201d or \u201cunder the authority of\u201d or \u201cfor the sake of.\u201d<\/p>\nGiven what we\u2019ve seen earlier about the meaning of ekklesia<\/em>, it\u2019s quite likely that Paul was referring to the actual gathering of Christians in Thessalonica, not some ideal assembly. He envisioned that his letter would be read in this gathering and he was addressing the people who were in fact present. There\u2019s no evidence that he was thinking, as we might think, of all the members of the Thessalonian church, whether they were present for the reading or not. Paul was addressing a real assembly, an actual gathering of people. These were the ekklesia<\/em> of the Thessalonians in God and Christ.<\/p>\nSupport for this understanding of church comes also from Paul\u2019s letter to Galatians. He addresses this letter to: \u201cThe churches [ekklesiais<\/em>] of Galatia\u201d (1:2). The use of the plural is telling here. When Paul writes a letter to the Christians in the region of Galatia (in the center of modern Turkey), he does not think of them as some sort of spiritual group that could be called a single ekklesia<\/em> that never gathered together in the same place. Rather, they were a bunch of ekklesiai<\/em>, \u201cassemblies\u201d in the plural.<\/p>\nIn some of Paul\u2019s later writings, notably Colossians and Ephesians, he expands the sense of ekklesia<\/em> beyond this basic, literal sense. As a matter of fact, I even think it\u2019s possible to speak of the \u201cscattered church.\u201d I\u2019ll discuss these matters later. For now, however, I want to make the simple point that the essential meaning of ekklesia<\/em> includes the notion of an actual gathering of real people. Paul wouldn\u2019t know what you meant if you said, \u201cThe Thessalonian ekklesia<\/em> didn\u2019t meet today.\u201d From his point of view, there would still have been a few dozen Christians in Thessalonica, and they would still have had many ties together in Christ and in the Spirit, but they wouldn\u2019t have been an ekklesia<\/em> if they didn\u2019t actually meet.<\/p>\nIt may seem like I\u2019m making an academic and linguistic point here that is of interest to scholars but otherwise of little practical value. On the contrary, I think what I\u2019ve just said has profound implications for our actual understanding and practice of church today. I\u2019ll explain this in my next post in this series.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Part 8 of series: What is a Church? When a Church is Not a Church, Part 3 In my last two posts, I suggested that the Greek word ekklesia, which is usually translated as \u201cchurch\u201d in our English New Testaments, did not have the religious overtones we naturally hear when \u201cchurch\u201d is spoken. Because of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16470],"tags":[484,16577,16578,16529],"class_list":["post-2007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church-what-is-a-church","tag-church","tag-ekklesia","tag-thessalonians","tag-what-is-a-church"],"yoast_head":"\n
When a Church is Not a Church, Part 3<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Part 8 of series: What is a Church? When a Church is Not a Church, Part 3 In my last two posts, I suggested that the Greek word ekklesia, which is usually\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/2011\/11\/01\/when-a-church-is-not-a-church-part-3\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When a Church is Not a Church, Part 3\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Part 8 of series: What is a Church? 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The Earliest Usage of Ekklesia<\/em> in the New Testament<\/h3>\nUnquestionably, the earliest written use of ekklesia<\/em> in the New Testament comes from the letters of Paul. Scholars differ on which of Paul\u2019s letters was the earliest. Some opt for Galatians; while others prefer 1 Thessalonians. I\u2019m in the \u201cothers\u201d group for reasons I won\u2019t go into here. When Paul wrote his first letter to the Christians in Thessalonica (in Macedonia, an area of northern Greece), he began in this way:<\/p>\nPaul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the ekklesia<\/em> of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thes 1:1)<\/p>\nPresumably, of course, he had taught the Thessalonian Christians to think of themselves as an ekklesia<\/em>, so they would know what he was referring to when he used this word.<\/p>\nThe phrase \u201cekklesia<\/em> of the Thessalonians\u201d would have had an established, commonly-understood meaning in this city. It denoted the gathering of citizens to govern the city. But Paul qualified his use of this phrase and therefore limited misunderstanding by adding \u201cin God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d The Christians gathered in Thessalonica were not equivalent to the civic ekklesia<\/em>. Rather, they were an alternative assembly, one that met \u201cin God and Christ.\u201d \u201cIn\u201d means something like \u201cby the work of\u201d or \u201cunder the authority of\u201d or \u201cfor the sake of.\u201d<\/p>\nGiven what we\u2019ve seen earlier about the meaning of ekklesia<\/em>, it\u2019s quite likely that Paul was referring to the actual gathering of Christians in Thessalonica, not some ideal assembly. He envisioned that his letter would be read in this gathering and he was addressing the people who were in fact present. There\u2019s no evidence that he was thinking, as we might think, of all the members of the Thessalonian church, whether they were present for the reading or not. Paul was addressing a real assembly, an actual gathering of people. These were the ekklesia<\/em> of the Thessalonians in God and Christ.<\/p>\nSupport for this understanding of church comes also from Paul\u2019s letter to Galatians. He addresses this letter to: \u201cThe churches [ekklesiais<\/em>] of Galatia\u201d (1:2). The use of the plural is telling here. When Paul writes a letter to the Christians in the region of Galatia (in the center of modern Turkey), he does not think of them as some sort of spiritual group that could be called a single ekklesia<\/em> that never gathered together in the same place. Rather, they were a bunch of ekklesiai<\/em>, \u201cassemblies\u201d in the plural.<\/p>\nIn some of Paul\u2019s later writings, notably Colossians and Ephesians, he expands the sense of ekklesia<\/em> beyond this basic, literal sense. As a matter of fact, I even think it\u2019s possible to speak of the \u201cscattered church.\u201d I\u2019ll discuss these matters later. For now, however, I want to make the simple point that the essential meaning of ekklesia<\/em> includes the notion of an actual gathering of real people. Paul wouldn\u2019t know what you meant if you said, \u201cThe Thessalonian ekklesia<\/em> didn\u2019t meet today.\u201d From his point of view, there would still have been a few dozen Christians in Thessalonica, and they would still have had many ties together in Christ and in the Spirit, but they wouldn\u2019t have been an ekklesia<\/em> if they didn\u2019t actually meet.<\/p>\nIt may seem like I\u2019m making an academic and linguistic point here that is of interest to scholars but otherwise of little practical value. On the contrary, I think what I\u2019ve just said has profound implications for our actual understanding and practice of church today. I\u2019ll explain this in my next post in this series.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Part 8 of series: What is a Church? When a Church is Not a Church, Part 3 In my last two posts, I suggested that the Greek word ekklesia, which is usually translated as \u201cchurch\u201d in our English New Testaments, did not have the religious overtones we naturally hear when \u201cchurch\u201d is spoken. Because of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16470],"tags":[484,16577,16578,16529],"class_list":["post-2007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church-what-is-a-church","tag-church","tag-ekklesia","tag-thessalonians","tag-what-is-a-church"],"yoast_head":"\n
When a Church is Not a Church, Part 3<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Part 8 of series: What is a Church? When a Church is Not a Church, Part 3 In my last two posts, I suggested that the Greek word ekklesia, which is usually\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/2011\/11\/01\/when-a-church-is-not-a-church-part-3\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When a Church is Not a Church, Part 3\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Part 8 of series: What is a Church? 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Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the ekklesia<\/em> of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thes 1:1)<\/p>\n Presumably, of course, he had taught the Thessalonian Christians to think of themselves as an ekklesia<\/em>, so they would know what he was referring to when he used this word.<\/p>\n The phrase \u201cekklesia<\/em> of the Thessalonians\u201d would have had an established, commonly-understood meaning in this city. It denoted the gathering of citizens to govern the city. But Paul qualified his use of this phrase and therefore limited misunderstanding by adding \u201cin God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d The Christians gathered in Thessalonica were not equivalent to the civic ekklesia<\/em>. Rather, they were an alternative assembly, one that met \u201cin God and Christ.\u201d \u201cIn\u201d means something like \u201cby the work of\u201d or \u201cunder the authority of\u201d or \u201cfor the sake of.\u201d<\/p>\n Given what we\u2019ve seen earlier about the meaning of ekklesia<\/em>, it\u2019s quite likely that Paul was referring to the actual gathering of Christians in Thessalonica, not some ideal assembly. He envisioned that his letter would be read in this gathering and he was addressing the people who were in fact present. There\u2019s no evidence that he was thinking, as we might think, of all the members of the Thessalonian church, whether they were present for the reading or not. Paul was addressing a real assembly, an actual gathering of people. These were the ekklesia<\/em> of the Thessalonians in God and Christ.<\/p>\n Support for this understanding of church comes also from Paul\u2019s letter to Galatians. He addresses this letter to: \u201cThe churches [ekklesiais<\/em>] of Galatia\u201d (1:2). The use of the plural is telling here. When Paul writes a letter to the Christians in the region of Galatia (in the center of modern Turkey), he does not think of them as some sort of spiritual group that could be called a single ekklesia<\/em> that never gathered together in the same place. Rather, they were a bunch of ekklesiai<\/em>, \u201cassemblies\u201d in the plural.<\/p>\n In some of Paul\u2019s later writings, notably Colossians and Ephesians, he expands the sense of ekklesia<\/em> beyond this basic, literal sense. As a matter of fact, I even think it\u2019s possible to speak of the \u201cscattered church.\u201d I\u2019ll discuss these matters later. For now, however, I want to make the simple point that the essential meaning of ekklesia<\/em> includes the notion of an actual gathering of real people. Paul wouldn\u2019t know what you meant if you said, \u201cThe Thessalonian ekklesia<\/em> didn\u2019t meet today.\u201d From his point of view, there would still have been a few dozen Christians in Thessalonica, and they would still have had many ties together in Christ and in the Spirit, but they wouldn\u2019t have been an ekklesia<\/em> if they didn\u2019t actually meet.<\/p>\n It may seem like I\u2019m making an academic and linguistic point here that is of interest to scholars but otherwise of little practical value. On the contrary, I think what I\u2019ve just said has profound implications for our actual understanding and practice of church today. I\u2019ll explain this in my next post in this series.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Part 8 of series: What is a Church? When a Church is Not a Church, Part 3 In my last two posts, I suggested that the Greek word ekklesia, which is usually translated as \u201cchurch\u201d in our English New Testaments, did not have the religious overtones we naturally hear when \u201cchurch\u201d is spoken. Because of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16470],"tags":[484,16577,16578,16529],"class_list":["post-2007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church-what-is-a-church","tag-church","tag-ekklesia","tag-thessalonians","tag-what-is-a-church"],"yoast_head":"\n