The Meaning of 'ekklesia'

ekklesia, usually translated as "church" in most English versions of the Bible, is a compound word meaning "out of" (ek) and "called" (kaleo). Etymologically it means "the called out".

Whereas it's unwise to accept the etymological meaning of a word as its actual meaning ("pineapple" has nothing to do with either pines or apples [except somewhat for it's appearance in the eyes of medieval botanists]), in this case it's pretty safe.

The earliest usage of the word appears to date back to early Greek City-States, and refers to political restructuring, when citizens might be "called out" of a city to form, as a group, a new government structure. A political coup, so to speak.

By New Testament times it was a little less political, a little less revolutionary, sometimes referring to simply a crowd, even a rowdy one, like when the town clerk dismisses the rioting mob in Acts 19:41, using the word ekklesia.

(The "churches of Christ" in Rom 16:16 could be rendered just as accurately as the "mobs of the Messiah".)

When Jesus announced that he would build his church, he was essentially saying that he was going to call out from the world a people of his own, to form a new government, and we see this sort of description both in earlier scripture:

WEB Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever.

and later scripture:

WEB 1 Pet 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Originally published at:

http://kentwest.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-meaning-of-ekklesia.html

Christianity Was Exclusively Jewish in the Beginning

Some believe that when the earliest Christians were in the temple of the Jews, they were there only to preach, and no longer behaved as Jews did within the temple.

 

How did Theophilus understand the words of Luke in Acts 2:46-47?

 

You will recall that the book of Acts is essentially The Book of Luke to Theophilus, Vol 2. What did Theophilus learn from Vol 1?

Luke 24:52-53 (WEB) They worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

When Theophilus later read:

Acts 2:46-47 (WEB) Day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. The Lord added to the assembly day by day those who were being saved.

it is unlikely that he understood the disciples to not be praising God in the temple, but rather to be praising him elsewhere.

 

Rather, he probably understood them to be praising God in the temple and in their homes, both. There is no reason to understand Luke as saying, "They praised God in the temple, until Pentecost, and then they stopped praising God in the temple and praised him only in their homes, but I'm not going to clearly indicate that."

 

We know that after questioning by the temple authorities, Peter and John "returned to their company", and that a congregational prayer was then offered up to God (Acts 4:23ff), and that their company congregated in the Porch of Solomon (Acts 3:11; 5:11-12).

 

Paul was in the temple praying (Acts 22:17), not "disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd" (24:12). The temple was a "house of prayer" (Matt 21:13), and that's exactly the purpose for which Paul used it; he did not use it at all as a preaching location, which tells us that the Apostles were not in the temple only to preach.

 

The text indicates that the Jewish believers continued being Jewish - they kept circumcising their children, and they kept their Jewish customs (Acts 21:17ff). Even Peter at first resisted the call to go to the "unclean" Gentiles, because that was "against the law" (Acts 10, esp v. 28), and it required a heavenly vision three times to overcome his resistance. The Jewish brothers with Peter were astonished that God's favor was no longer exclusively for the Jewish, but "also" for the Gentiles (Acts 10:45). The other church leaders in Jerusalem also initially condemned Peter for his visit to an unclean Gentile (Acts 11:3), but finally admitted that Gentiles were now welcome into the church:

Acts 11:18 (WEB) When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life!”

It seems clear that in the beginning, the earliest Christians believed that Christianity was exclusively Jewish.

 

Fourteen years later, there was still a question of what was required of Gentiles to become Christians, and a significant portion of brethren believed that such required the Gentiles to become Jews, via circumcision and the keeping of the law of Moses:

Acts 15:1 (WEB) ​ Some men came down from Judea and taught the [Gentile] brothers, “Unless you are circumcised after the custom of Moses, you can’t be saved.” ... Acts 15:5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise [the Gentile believers], and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

And here's the kicker: the Apostles did not have a definitive, authoritative answer for the question about Gentile believers. It took "much discussion" (Acts 15:7) to come to a decision; not to a "thus saith the Lord", but rather to a "it seemed good to the holy spirit and to us" (Acts 24:28) "decision" (Acts 21:25). Here we see put into action the promise to Peter that whatever is bound on earth will be bound in heaven.

 

So what message does the Bible present? That in the very beginning, the church was exclusively Jewish, continuing to do things in the Jewish ways, abiding by the law of Moses, believing that circumcision and the keeping of the law of Moses was required to be a Christian. It took visions and miracles and much discussion and years to realize that Gentiles don't have to become Jewish to be saved.

 

When we get to Paul in Acts 21, we find this exact same situation: the Jewish believers were zealous for the law of Moses and their customs, but the Gentile believers were not bound by these things:

Acts 21:20 (WEB) They, when they heard it, glorified God. They said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law. ... Acts 21:25 But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written our decision that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from food offered to idols, from blood, from strangled things, and from sexual immorality.”

I believe it is incorrect to believe that the earliest Christians stopped behaving in the temple as Jews behaved within the temple. They were Jews within the temple; they were not something else. What was new about these Jews was not that they behaved differently than the other Jews in the temple, but that they had found their long-awaited Chosen One, their Messiah.

 

Originally published at:

http://kentwest.blogspot.com/2022/08/christianity-was-exclusively-jewish-in.html