Kingdom People: Ekklesia

18 Jul

What do you picture when you hear the word ‘church?’

‍Recently, I was speaking to a lady at our toddler group who had visited our Sunday service for the first time. She was explaining how modern our church was compared to more traditional churches she had been in, and it made me think about how often we see the word ‘church’ as referring to a building. However, the biblical idea of church is much richer than just a building or location.

‍Ekklesia, the word we use for church, comes from the ancient Greek (ἐκκλησία, ekklesía) referring to an assembly or gathering of people.

‍The word “ekklesia” (Greek: ἐκκλησία) is derived from the verb ἐκκαλέω (ekkaléō), which combines ἐκ (ek, “out of”) and καλέω (kaleō, “to call”), literally meaning “called out” or “summoned.”

It implies the congregation of believers, therefore, who are called out by God[1] from darkness into His wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9).

‍A further understanding of Ekklesia relates to God’s ruling council here on earth. In Matthew 16:18 (TPT), Jesus refers to the Ekklesia as a legislative assembly which is an important function, indicating that Jesus has given governmental authority in His Kingdom to the church.[2]

‍There are several other contexts to note, in which Ekklesia has been used:

In ancient Greece (especially in Athens):
It referred to the citizens’ assembly—a political gathering where people met to discuss and decide public matters. It was a place of authority and influence.
In Matthew 16:18[3], Jesus uses the word ‘Ekklesia’ when he refers to building the church. He then uses it again in Matthew 18:17.
In early Christianity:
The word was adopted to mean the community of believers—not just a building, but the people who form the church. Many of Paul’s letters used the word ‘Ekklesia’ to describe both local and universal gatherings of Jesus-followers (Ephesians 1:22-23) [4] with Christ as the head of the Ekklesia (Ephesians 5:23).
In modern usage:
It’s the root of the English word “ecclesiastical” (relating to the church), and sometimes used more generally to mean a church or religious congregation.

So, what does this mean for us today?

1) As Kingdom People, we don’t see church as just attending a building, but we join with a body of believers, both locally and universally and this forms our identity. Relationships, not a building, are key.

2) Jesus must be the Head and Lord of our personal lives, as He is of the wider Ekklesia.

3) We live as ‘called out’ people of the light, manifesting God’s Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. There can be no mixture of light with darkness in the Kingdom of God.

Understanding Ekklesia changes the way we think about who we are as followers of Jesus. We are not simply people who attend a service — we are a people who belong to one another, who carry a shared vision, and who are called to represent God’s Kingdom, fulfilling the Great Commission so that many others will become disciples of Jesus too.

- Susie Raybould

Next Steps:

1) Join a Home Church: https://www.allnations.org.uk/homechurch

2) See here for further reading:

https://biblehub.com/q/what_is_the_definition_of_ekklesia.htm

https://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/ekklesia.html

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Footnotes:

[1]https://biblehub.com/q/what_is_the_definition_of_ekklesia.htm

[2]https://www.bible.com/bible/1849/MAT.16.TPT

[3] Matthew 16:18 TPT. See footnote here: https://www.bible.com/bible/1849/MAT.16.TPT

[4]https://biblehub.com/q/what_is_the_definition_of_ekklesia.htm