Church

Church



A church is an association of people who share a particular belief system. The term church originated from the pre-Christian Germanic kirika. The term later began to replace the Greek ekklesia and Basilicae within Christendom, c300 AD.

The Christian concept "Church" (Greek εκκλησία — ekklesia, ref. Strong's Concordance — 1577) is mentioned in the New Testament. Of the 114 occurrences of the term in the New Testament, Three are found in the Gospel accounts, all spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my ekklesia, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it" (Mt 16:18); and "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the ekklesia; and if he refuses to listen even to the ekklesia, let him be to you as the Gentile and the tax-collector" (Mt 18:17).

The Greek term εκκλησία — ekklesia, which literally means a "convocation", was a governmental and political term, used to denote a national assembly, congregation or council of common objective (see Ecclesia (ancient Athens), Ecclesia (Church)). It was a team that worked together to resolve a problem faced by the wider community or society, but did not signify a "building".

The Christian use of this term has its direct antecedent in the Koine Greek translation of the Old Testament (see also Septuagint), where the noun ekklesia has been employed 96 times to denote the congregation of the Children of Israel, which Christians regard as a type of the "Body of Christ", as they also call the Christian Church of Christ.

The Church, as described in the Bible, has a twofold character that can be described as the visible and invisible church. As the Church invisible, the church consists of all those from every time and place, who are vitally united to Christ through regeneration and salvation and who will be eternally united to Jesus Christ in eternal life. The Church visible consists of all those who visibly join themselves to a profession of faith and gathering together to know and serve the Head of the Church, Jesus Christ. The visible church exists globally in all who identify themselves as Christians and locally in particular places where believers gather for the worship of God. The visible church may also refer to an association of particular churches from multiple locations who unite themselves under a common charter and set of governmental principles. The church in the visible sense is often governed by office-bearers carrying titles such as minister, pastor, teacher, elder, and deacon.

Major forms of church government include hierarchical (Roman Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodoxy), presbyterian (rule by elders), and independent (Baptist, charismatic, other forms of independency).

[edit] Metaphors