The Greek word, Ekklesia. is translated church in the New Testament. Strong's Concordance says ekklesia is from a compound ek and kaleo. It is translated in the Authorized version - church 115 times, assembly 3 times for a total 118 times. In the times of the New Testament is was a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly.
2) History of the Greek Cities Assemblies
Ekklesia or ecclesia is a compound word formed from the words "ek" and "kaleo" meaning "out of" and "to call" respectively. In the Greek city states of the past, the word ekklesia was a group of people called out by a town crier or trumpeter to assemble for the purpose of carrying our city business. There is an example of such an assembly (ekklesia) in Acts 19:32-39. Jesus did not create a new word, He simply took a word already in common use and made it His own, qualifying it as His ekklesia, His assembly. (See Matthew 16:18) It was understood as a local assembly then and could not be understood as universal since something that is universal cannot be assembled and an assembly cannot be made universal the words by their definition and history are mutually exclusive. One is the opposite of the other. Something cannot be a universal and at the same time assembled. Words mean nothing if we don't hold to their accepted definition.
3) Comparing Scripture with Scripture
An examination of the 117 N.T scriptures referring to the church shows they refer directly to a local, visible assembly. A group of people coming together to carry out the Lord's work in a specific location in Ephesus, Colossi, Philipi, or meeting in a house such as Philemon.
4) The Institutional Sense of Church
The only time the word ekklesia is used in a verse which does not directly refer to a local, visible assembly it is used in an institutional sense. In Matt 16:18. To refer to the institution of the church means that once Jesus established the church it would continue to exist and grow. It refers to all true churches in existence at any one time.
Though the church exists as an institution this does not mean it is something other than a local, assembly. Any time an example of the institution must be seen, that example is a local, visible body.
Jesus uses the word church in the same way a entrepreneur might say about his new store, "I will build my business and the competition will not beat it out." Yet if you asked him to show you his business he would then take you to a local store, or several local stores. This "business" would grow into more and more stores each on in several locations, but all of them visible and local.
5) The Universal, Invisible Church Error
The universal, invisible church is defined as all believers on the earth at any given time. The error of the universal, invisible church was begun not by a study of scripture but by opposition to another error, the universal, visible church which was and is the Roman Catholic church. The Protestants not wanting to be associated with the Roman Church, chose to change their understanding of a universal church from visible, (with it's head the pope at Rome) to invisible (with it's head in heaven). This ignored the authority of the local church, which most Protestant denominations still do. Such a belief leads to weak local churches and strong denominational hierarchies. It denies that Jesus can and must be the head of each local assembly and replaces Him with a bishop, cardinal or council.
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