Often translated as Church, ἐκκλησία (ekklesia) actually means a regularly summoned assembly. It is used of a legislative body, casual gathering, or an assembling of people. The English word “Church” is derived from the Greek word κυριακόν (kyriakon), meaning “pertaining to the Lord,” which was used to describe the place of meeting, the Lord’s house, referring to the building the assembly meets in. Due to its predominant use to describe the building or place of meeting, over the centuries, Church became the word of choice to describe more than just the physical building, incorporating within its meaning the local meeting of the members of the body of The Christ as well as the institution of Christianity. In Anglo-Saxon England, the word circa was used to refer to both the congregation and the building. This use influenced modern English translations to adopt Church over the Greek word assembly.
In Matthew, chapter sixteen, verse eighteen, Jesus speaks to Peter about an assembly He will build with its foundational rock being Christ Himself, Matthew 16:18. Context clarifies that Jesus is not speaking of the Jews but an assembly of people to come. After the resurrection of Christ, this assembly came into existence on the day of Pentecost when the promise of the Holy Spirit was poured out on the believers in the upper room who were waiting as Christ had instructed them before His last ascension. Assembly is used to describe this group of believers in the resurrection of Jesus, indicating their uniqueness from the general population of Jews, Acts 2:47.
Assembly is used to describe the gathering of Israel in the wilderness at Mount Sinai, Acts 7:38. However, this does not refer to those who are in Christ, for nothing at that time had been revealed concerning what was coming, 1 Corinthians 2:9.
When Demetrius of Ephesus stirred up the whole city against Paul because the teaching of Christ was highly impacting his business of making idols from silver, everyone rushed into the theater, filled with confusion. This gathering is referred to as an assembly, Acts 19:32.
Predominately in the New Testament, the English word church is used concerning the assembly that belongs to God, Acts 20:28. This assembly is uniquely separated from Israel and the Gentiles as God’s assembly, 1 Corinthians 10:32. Before his conversion, Paul persecuted this assembly, driving them out of Jerusalem, 1 Corinthians 15:9.
Synagogue means a gathering together and is a Greek word used to translate the Hebrew word for assembly ( עֵדָה – Exodus 12:3). In the New Testament, synagogue (a place of leading together) is not used for the Church because it is translated from the Hebrew for the meeting places of the Jews; therefore, from the very beginning the gatherings of those who believed in the death for sin and resurrection of Christ three days later are referred to as assemblies, Acts 2:47; 5:11. This also shows a distinction between the synagogues and the assemblies of believers in Christ and that even the Jews who believed in the resurrected Messiah were not counted among Israel anymore.
Assembly ἐκκλησία (ekklesia) is not a word specifically used to describe those in the Body of the Christ. Due to the influence of the Anglo-Saxon, as the Greek and Hebrew were translated into English, the more commonly used term circa, which came from κυριακόν (kyriakon) meaning “pertaining to the Lord,” was used to replace the word assembly ἐκκλησία (ekklesia) when it is used of those in the Body of the Christ. Although care was given to ensure that “church” was only applied to the saints of the Dispensation of Grace, confusion can arise when examining the original Greek word without understanding its uses, which is applied to any gathering of people, not just the saints. Therefore, the reader needs to consider the context to determine the group described by the use of “church” and the original Greek word assembly ἐκκλησία (ekklesia).
