What is the Ekklesia?
Ekklesia:
(ek-klay-see'-ah)
A called-out assembly or congregation. The church.
This blog post is written as an adaptation from our first bible study as a new church - Ekklesia. I started the process of planting Ekklesia in January 2022. We had our first mid-week gathering on June 22. The church is named Ekklesia, so I found it fitting for our first service to explain what the word means, and what it means for us as a church. NOTE: in this article, I’m using the words ekklesia, church, gathering, and assembly interchangeably as they mean the same thing.
What is the church?
What even is the church? How do we define it? If you ask a dozen people that question you may get 12 different answers. Some positive. Some negative. Some indifferent. But what is the right answer? Is there a right answer? To answer these questions for my congregation we turned to the scriptures to see what the church meant to the earliest followers of Jesus.
What does ekklesia mean?
When I started telling people that the church I’m planting would be called Ekklesia, some people loved it (mostly my theology-nerd friends). Some people didn’t know what it meant. Most people wondered how you pronounce it. (For the record, the correct Greek pronunciation is ek-klay-see'-ah, but as an English-speaking American it’s easier to pronounce uh-klee-zee’-ah.)
Ekklesia is a Greek word that means a called-out assembly or congregation.
The New Testament often (but not always) translates the word as “church”. In fact, every mention of the church in our English New Testaments is the Greek word ekklesia. However, the New Testament also translates ekklesia as assembly, gathering, or congregation - and the meaning of each use may vary depending on the context.
The first use of ekklesia in the New Testament
The first time we see the word ekklesia used in the New Testament is in Matthew 16:13-18.
“13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is? ” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But you,” He asked them, “who do you say that I am? ” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God! ” 17 And Jesus responded, “Simon son of Jonah, you are blessed because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church [(or “my ekklesia”)], and the forces of Hades will not overpower it.”
Matthew 16:13-18 (HCSB)
Notice how the disciples didn’t scratch their heads and say “on this rock you’ll build your what?”. Though this is the first time we see the word in the New Testament, when the disciples heard it, it was a very familiar word. It wasn’t new to them, and it didn’t necessarily have religious connotations.
Ekklesia was a common word, and not necessarily religious
This is important to realize. In our context (as 21st-century westerners), when we hear the word church we can’t help but to associate it with a religious establishment because it’s never used in any other context. However, when the early followers of Jesus heard it for the first time they just heard a common word that meant a called-out assembly or gathering.
Even the New Testament doesn’t always translate ekklesia as the word church. For example:
Acts 7:38 - “He [(Moses)] was in the assembly (ekklesia) in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us.”
Acts 19:32 - The assembly (ekklesia) was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there…
Acts 19:39 - If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly (ekklesia).”
…to name a few.
To state the point one last time - the word church (ekklesia) had a particular meaning for those who originally heard it from Jesus’ mouth, and the meaning did not inherently have religious connotations. Words often lose meaning over time because of how they’re used and what they eventually become associated with. However, some words shouldn’t lose their meaning. I believe ekklesia is one of them. I believe it’s vital in understanding our identity in Christ, as His gathering, to understand what He meant when He said “upon this rock I will build my [assembly of called-out ones]”.
So what did Jesus mean?
Ekklesia never referred to a building, but to an assembly. This means the church is people, not a place. More Christians recognize this nowadays, and many churches are becoming more intentional with reminding congregants of this truth. It’s important, however, to take it one step further. Not only do we need to understand that the church is people, we need to understand what type of people or assembly Christ is referring to. When Jesus says He’s going to build His church, He is talking about a particular type of gathering. One that’s different than the gatherings or assemblies of the world.
Looking back at our key text in Matthew 16, Peter told Jesus “‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God! ” And Jesus responded, “Simon son of Jonah, you are blessed because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it.’” (Matthew 16:16-18)
The church, according to Jesus, is at its foundation (its core… its essence…) a gathering of called-out ones who believe and confess Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God. After this declaration and baseline definition from the Lord of what the church is, we have the rest of the New Testament which paints the picture of the formation, organization, dispersion, and even the correction of the church.
Jesus’ prophesy of the church was fulfilled at Pentecost
Jesus’ declaration in Matthew 16 was a prophecy of how His church would be built; namely - upon the confession of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God. In Acts 2 we see the fulfillment of this prophecy. Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit, and when He came He would empower them to be witnesses of this confession throughout the ends of the Earth (see Acts 1:8). As Jews from the surrounding nations assembled in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fell upon a small gathering of disciples in a prayer meeting. They all started speaking the mysteries of God in the various languages the visiting onlookers could understand (see Acts 2:1-13). As Peter had the crowd’s attention, he proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus, drawing from Old Testament prophesy.
Towards the end of Peter’s sermon, he reiterated the initial confession He made in Matthew 16 - “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”(Acts 2:36). This was the exact confession Peter initially made to Jesus, which Jesus said His church would be built upon. The crowd’s response was incredible:
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (Acts 2:37-41)
Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God was now the gathering’s confession, and the church was born.
The particular people lived a peculiar life
So far we’ve established that the church was (and is today) a particular type of gathering called out from the world and assembled under the shared confession of Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the Son of the living God. That’s the definition of ekklesia. But what does this type of gathering look like in everyday life? We have the rest of the New Testament which gives us a picture of the life, doctrine, and practice of the first churches in various locations and cultural contexts. It’s too much to cover in this article, but what I want to draw our attention to is the earliest days of the new church. Acts 2 not only shows us when Jesus’ prophesy of His ekklesia was fulfilled, it also shows us the life and practice of the earliest form of His assembly.
The Fellowship of the Believers
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)
This passage is astounding. We see the first ekklesia devoted themselves to at least four elements of worship, and incorporated four daily habits. We also see how God blessed their assembly.
4 elements of their devotion:
The Apostle’s teaching (they taught the Gospel of Jesus through the scriptures)
Fellowship (a partnership, or sharing, or connectedness)
Breaking of bread (likely a partaking of the Lord’s Supper over a shared meal)
Prayer (a corporate communing with God)
These are things they devoted themselves to in their worship gatherings. Each of these elements should be further explained, but for the purposes of this article it’s important to just note that these are the things that made up the early church’s worship gatherings. The byproduct of this kind of regular worship gathering was that “everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles” (Acts 2:43).
What’s interesting about these 4 elements of devotion is that they promoted a type of gathering that was about the assembly, not about the leader. There were Apostles, for sure. But the Apostles functioned as a way to serve the gathering, and the gathering had a partnership in devotion. It seems very different than what we see today with pastor-centric gatherings. Those churches where everyone gathers to watch a select few super-Christians exercise their spiritual gifts. In these types of gatherings, the Christian’s primary duty is to come and watch, rather than to partner, share, and partake. It is no wonder why so many believers can sum up their Christian duty as being decent humans, and attending church.
Their daily lives consisted of at least 4 habits:
Togetherness and commonality (“All believers were together and had everything in common” v.44)
Sacrifice, generosity, and benevolence (“They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need” v.45)
Daily devotion or elements of worship with other believers (“every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts” (v.46)
Regularly sharing meals with other believers (“they broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts” v.46)
It seems in today’s church culture there is a distinct separation between my church life and my everyday life. This wasn’t the case for the first ekklesia. The elements of their devotion seemed to bleed over into the elements of their everyday lives. It doesn’t mean they all quit their jobs and lived in a commune spending all day every day in worship. There are the obligations and duties of your everyday life: work, family, friends, community, etc. However, there seemed to be a much deeper presence of the gathering in everyday life than a couple of hours once a week.
The result of this type of assembly:
Do you feel there’s something missing from your spiritual walk? Is there something inside you that knows there’s more to be experienced in Christ? Do you feel a disconnect from the gathering of the saints? Is there a separation between your church life and your everyday life? The first church experienced an elevated level of worship, deeper relationships, and an exponential increase in evangelistic effectiveness than any of us have ever seen. “…praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).
So where do we go from here?
I hope it’s not discouraging if my answer is I don’t know where we go from here. It’s important to note that this picture of the first gathering is a description, not a prescription. There was no one giving a mandate that this was the type of life they needed to live. It was the natural byproduct of people radically changed by the Gospel and filled with the Holy Spirit. Therefore I’m not suggesting that we should simply change the rules or change the format if we want God’s blessing. The sinful heart craves a law. I don’t have any easy answers.
Rather, I’m inviting the church (us - the assembly of called-out ones gathered under the banner of Christ’s Lordship) to lay down our model of what we think church should look like on God’s altar. May we be willing to sacrifice our preferences and traditions for the sake of honoring Christ. This type of life is not going to feel natural for our flesh. But if we’re led by the Holy Spirit and open to following Him whatever the cost or consequence, I believe we will see a different picture of the church that more closely resembles this first gathering.
If there is more to be experienced in Christ, do you want it? If this type of connection to the body of Christ is possible, are you willing to do what it takes to have it? We can’t make the excuse of “well, that was then; today’s culture and society are different”. That’s true. However, this type of devotion and lifestyle seemed countercultural, even for the early church. These were peculiar people. It wasn’t normal. And we should seek to be normal. The world doesn’t need a normal-looking gathering. The church is the light of the world. We should stand out. I don’t have all the answers. I don’t know what this might look like today. But I’m committed to pursuing it whatever the cost or consequence. Will you join me?
This article was adapted from the below sermon “We Are Ekklesia” preached on 6/22/22 at Ekklesia in Fresno CA.