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Ekklesia
God’s conceptof ‘church’ 
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build mychurch, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
-Matthew 16:18
EkklesiaI.IntroductionII.Greek Word StudyIII.ScripturesIV.ObservationsV.Final ThoughtsVI.Discussion QuestionsVII.References
 
I. Introduction
What comes to mind when you read the following word…
church
? Abuilding? A choir? A pastor? Worship music? Hypocrisy? An offeringplate? Steeples? Christians? Scandals? Suits and dresses? In ourcurrent culture, church is very a broad conceptthat carriesmanydifferent meanings to many different people. However,what isultimately essentialfor Christians to embrace is God’s concept of  ‘church’.The goalof this study is to strip away our preconceived notions of  ‘church’ and build a truly biblical concept of church. This is not tosay that our preconceived notions of church are wrong, but theyshould be backed up with Scripture and notions that are not biblicalshould be questioned and possibly discardedif they opposeScripture.Wheneveryou see the word ‘church’ in the Scriptures it istranslated from the Greek word
Ekklesia
which occurs 111times inthe New Testament. There are hundreds of Scriptures thatdirectlyand indirectly allude to the
Ekklesia
; however, this study focusesonlyonScripturesthat contain the Greek word
Ekklesia
. Therationale behind this decision is that this is a Greek word study on
Ekklesia
and not a comprehensive topical study on the Body of Christ
(Ekklesia)
which is beyond the scope of a Greek Word Study.Section IIof this study is an in-depth Greek Word Study of 
Ekklesia
. Section III is a collectionof all 111Scriptures that containthe Greek Word
Ekklesia
.As you study these Scriptures, it is vitallyimportant look them up in your Bible and read the surroundingcontext of each. Context will help reveal the true meaning of eachScripture. Section IV is a listing of general observations from theScriptures on
Ekklesia
. Section V includesthe author’s finalthoughts. Section VI is a listing of discussion questions for personalor group use.It is the author’s firm belief that as you study the origins andoccurrences of 
Ekklesia
in Scripture you will begin to develop God’sconcept of ‘church.’Psalm 119:160 tells us that the sum of God’sWord is truth. So if you allow God’s Word to be your sole source of information you will have a truly biblical concept of ‘church.’ 
II. Greek Word Study
Ekklesia
(ek-klay-see’-ah)
Word Origin
From a compound of Ek (‘out of’) and Kaleo (‘to call’)
1
 
Definition
1.Those who are called out
2
2.An assembly of Christians gathered for worship
3
3.Those who [regardless of location] are united into one body4.The whole body of Christians scattered throughout the world5.The assembly of faithful Christians already dead andreceived into heaven6.The members of the Christian community on earth or saintsin heaven or both7.The Ekkletoi (those called out) constitute the Ekklesiaa.Ekkletoi derives from Ekkaleo (to call out)b.Ekklesia was a common term for a congregation of the Ekkletoi8.The Christian community was designated for the first timeas Ekklesia to differentiate it from the Jewish community(Sunagoge) in Acts 2:479.Ekklesia denotes the N.T. community of the redeemed in itstwofold aspecta.All called by & to Christ for all times worldwideb.A local assembly of believers
 
1
 New Testament Greek Lexicon
, http://www.biblestudytools.com/Lexicons/NewTestamentGreek/.
2
Zodhiates,
Key Word Study Bible
.
 
3
Thayer,
Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.
 
III. Scriptures
Matthew 16:18
"And I also say to you that you are Peter,and upon this rock I will build Mychurch;and the gates of Hades shall notoverpower it.
4
Matthew 18:17
"And if he refuses to listen to them, tell itto thechurch; and if he refuses to listeneven to thechurch, let him be toyou asa Gentile and a tax-gatherer.
Acts 5:11
And great fear came upon thewholechurch, and upon all who heard of these things.
Acts 7:38
"This is the one who was inthecongregationin the wildernesstogether with the angel who wasspeaking to him on Mount Sinai, and whowas with our fathers; and he receivedliving oracles to pass on to you.
Acts 8:1
And Saul was in hearty agreement withputting him todeath.And on that day agreat persecution arose againstthechurchin Jerusalem; and they wereall scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Acts 8:3
But Saul began ravaging thechurch,entering house after house; and draggingoff men and women, he would put themin prison.
Acts 9:31
So thechurchthroughout all Judea andGalilee and Samaria enjoyed peace,being built up; and, going on in the fearof the Lord and in the comfort of the HolySpirit, it continued to increase.
Acts 11:22
And the news about them reached theears of thechurchat Jerusalem, and theysent Barnabas off to Antioch.
 
4
All Scripture quotations are from the
 New American Standard Bible
Acts 11:26
And when he had found him, he broughthim to Antioch. And it came about thatfor an entire year they met withthechurch, and taught considerablenumbers; and the disciples were firstcalled Christians in Antioch.
Acts 12:1
Now about that time Herod the king laidhands on some who belonged tothechurch, in order to mistreat them.
Acts 12:5
So Peter was kept in the prison, butprayer for him was being made ferventlyby thechurchto God.
Acts 13:1
Now there were at Antioch, inthechurchthat was there, prophets andteachers: Barnabas, and Simeon whowas called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene,and Manaen who had been brought upwith Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
Acts 14:23
And when they had appointed elders forthem in everychurch, having prayed withfasting, they commended them to theLord in whom they had believed.
Acts 14:27
And when they had arrived and gatheredthechurchtogether, they began to reportall things that God had done with themand how He had opened a door of faith tothe Gentiles.
Acts 15:3
Therefore, being sent on their way bythechurch, they were passing throughboth Phoenicia and Samaria, describingin detail the conversion of the Gentiles,and were bringing great joy to all thebrethren.
Acts 15:4
And when they arrived at Jerusalem,they were received by thechurchand theapostles and the elders, and theyreported all that God had done withthem.
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