Ecclesiology: Understanding the Mystery and Unity of the Church
The study of the church, including its nature, ordinances, ministries, mission, and governmental structure, is called Ecclesiology. Evolving from the Scottish word kirk, the English word “church” derived from the Greek Kuriakos, meaning “belonging to the Lord.”[i] It is found only twice in the New Testament, an adjective applied to the Lord’s supper and the Lord’s day. The frequent word ekklesia was translated into the English expression “church” that we employ in the New Testament today.[ii] Neither Kuriakos nor ekklisa were used to refer to a building or place of gathering until the Greeks, in post-Apostolic times, substituted the term kuriakos, meaning “the Lord’s House,” to designate a church building.[iii] In the New Testament, the words used for a religious place of assembly are exclusively temple or synagogue.[iv]
The word ekklesia means “an assembly of people,” derived from the Greek ek, meaning “out from,” and kaleo, meaning “to call.” It is used in the New Testament in a general sense to describe any assembly of people, even for non-religious purposes, constantly referring to a group of people, a congregation of Christian believers, and not a building or denomination.[v] Over time, the meaning of the word ekklesia evolved into an accepted figure of speech, a metonymy, where the container is used to refer to its contents. While there is no harm in calling a sanctuary or place of worship a church, we should only do so by knowing the church's real nature.
While Paul sent instructions to local churches, he also greeted clusters of churches in geographic areas, often appointing elders or instructing those churches to appoint officers over their regions. Still, none of these groups formed any denominational identity. The word church was never attached to names of leaders or doctrinal tenants that identify distinct ecclesiastical organizations. Unfortunately, as the primary religious body departed from scripture, reformations would reject the parent system, forming separate bodies that would later become denominations.
The church on earth and in heaven was and is to be of universal unity in doctrine and organization, true believers, united in spirit and co-laboring together in their communities to bring the Gospel of the Kingdom to the ends of the earth. When Paul stipulated what many refer to as the five-fold ministries, he said, “He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-13, NKJV).[vi] And there can be no unity of faith nor a perfect man in Christ while the church remains divided. Yes, we can and should have our local congregations, but we must be one body in the spirit and the natural and strive to serve one another.
When Jesus used the word ekklesia, it was to designate His body, implying the Hebrew word kahal used in the Old Testament and its Greek translation, the Septuagint, to refer to the congregation of Israel.[vii] Jesus used this word to refer to a select and chosen group of people that He was calling out to be gathered as one universal family of believers unified in faith, doctrine, and organization.[viii] While the word was occasionally rendered in the New Testament as “synagogue (synagōgēn, συναγωγὴν),” Jesus, in essence, was calling the Jewish people to come out from their current synagogue and join his new congregation, one that was not tied to the Old Covenant of the Law and the judgment that came with it but to a New Covenant by which men and women are saved by God’s grace and His propitiation on the cross.[ix] Hence, when Jesus said, “On this rock I will build My church” (Mathew 16:18), His emphasis was placed on the word “my,” not “church,” inferring possession of those who rightfully belong to Him.
It is evident that Israel’s becoming a great nation fulfills one of several promises given to Abraham. However, there are other mysterious promises the Lord gave him as well. He promised Abraham, saying, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Genesis 22:18). Here, God promised the coming of the Messiah through Abraham. And in saying, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body” (Genesis 35:11). God also promised that many other nations would come from Abraham besides Israel.
Therefore, the church is unique for several reasons, not the least of which is that the church is a called-out assembly of believers who belong to Jesus. But even more so, the church is God’s mystery revealed, first to Israel and later to the Gentiles. While it was hidden, it was also birthed through Israel. We read, “When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). Paul’s statement “in the fullness of time” affirms God’s sovereignty in preparing the nations for the coming of the Messiah through His covenant nation, Israel.[x]
The Apostle Paul told of these mysteries, saying, “This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:32). The mystery among the Gentiles was not previously known to Israel, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body of Israel and partakers of God’s promise to Israel in Christ through the gospel.[xi] In his letter to the Colossians, Paul said, “To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Jesus is the hope of Israel and the light to the Gentiles.
Still, these mysteries were foretold, as the Lord said: From Abraham, “A nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body” (Genesis 35:11). God’s redemptive plans have always included the nations, as it is written: “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles” (Isaiah 42:1); “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles” (Isaiah 42:6); “For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious” (Isaiah 11:10).
The mark of God’s seal and deposit of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, while it signifies our individual salvation, also initiates the construction of God’s spiritual house and Temple. This house is assembled from His living stones, as we read, “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). In other words, God’s house is one yet diversely comprised of many unique stones—some Jewish and others gathered from the Gentiles.
The clear implication in all these verses is that God’s Kingdom and His family are more expansive than just the nation of Israel. The Lord said: “Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession” (Psalm 2:8). With the inclusion of the Gentiles, the church is now a partial fulfillment of the covenant promises given to Abraham. As Paul said, “To those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). And while God had already revealed Israel to every nation, the Advent of Christ and His church was concealed. Hence, there is a distinction between the church and Israel as the church was hidden, but Israel was not. And while Israel in scripture is called a “nation” (goyee, plural goyeem in Hebrew), the church is exclusively referred to as the ekklesia.
These differences have led some theologians to incorrectly believe that Israel and the church are entirely separate entities; some even falsely think that the church replaces Israel as a new entity or a “new Israel.” These opinions create several problems scripturally. If Israel and the church are entirely separate, God has two chosen groups—Israelites and Gentiles. Some even claim that Israel is God's bride and the church is the bride of Christ. And yet, Jesus Himself said, “Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16).
Part of the confusion arises from Peter’s declaration that the church is “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation [ethnos], His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). The Greek word ethnos (ethnē plural) is consistently translated as “nation.” However, where does Israel fit into God’s Kingdom if the church is now God's chosen people? Does God now have two covenant nations, the church and Israel?
For God to violate His covenant with Israel, He would also defile His name by making himself a liar. But God is perfect and truthful, and He declared, “If My covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth, then I will cast away the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captives to return, and will have mercy on them” (Jeremiah 33:25-26).
The first-century Apostolic church was deeply rooted in Israel’s Patriarchal fathers—Abrah, Isaac, and Jacob. Both Abraham and King David understood God’s justification by faith alone, as the Apostle Paul later affirmed in his epistles, saying, “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all” (Romans 4:16). Even the prophets of old moved in every gift of the Spirit seen in the early church, except for the gift of tongues, the only new sign given on the Day of Pentecost.
Paul’s glorious description of the church as a single man, the Messiah, and the corporate body, as in the congregation of Israel, is seen in the ancient prophets of Israel, most notably Moses.[xii] We read, “For the Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance. He found him in a desert land And in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye” (Deuteronomy 32:9-10). King David similarly wrote, “The vineyard which Your right hand has planted, And the branch that You made strong for Yourself… Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself” (Psalm 80:15, 17). And Isaiah declared, “The Lord has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, And made Me a polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden Me… You are My servant, O Israel, In whom I will be glorified” (Isaiah 49:1-3).[xiii]
Therefore, we must see the entire scripture as God’s work of redemption and restoration with and through His only covenant nation, Israel, from whom God’s only begotten Son would come as one continuing dispensation. In doing so, we can understand how the church and Israel, while distinct, are also eternally united as one diverse family of God.
Jesus said, “Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:10). And Paul affirmed this, saying: “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in. Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith” (Romans 11:19-20); “For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called.’ That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed” (Romans 9:6-8).
In other words, God was willing to remove dead branches from Israel so that He might graft in those He was calling out from amongst the nations. He did not take away the covenants He made with Israel. He merely transferred the covenant rights to those who would receive them by faith—the Gentiles. And just as the Lord had promised that Israel would become to Him a “kingdom of priests,” now, all who in Christ are kings and priests unto the Lord—a royal priesthood. We, collectively, are the church, the redeemed of the Lord—a great nation, who is Israel, and a company of nations joined to her—the commonwealth of Israel.
In this regard, seeing the church as anything but one with Israel is impossible. And this united Israel only comprises genuinely believing Christians—Jews and Gentiles. Hence, the church is not the replacement for ancient Israel, but the fulfillment of God’s covenant promises to her. Those of Israel who are in Christ have been called out of ancient Israel into a new congregation. And those of the Gentiles in Christ have been also called out of the nations to join the congregation of redeemed Israel. Not a new Israel, but a spiritually reborn and soon-to-be resurrected people who collectively are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9). This collective, universal catholic church (not to be confused with Roman Catholic), no matter where we live or whether we attend a local congregation or a house church, comprises genuine believers from every tongue, tribe, nation, and people.[xiv] We are the “Israel of God,” spiritually united as one new man in Christ.
[i] 1 Corinthians 11:20, 26. Revelation 1:10.
[ii] Matthew 16:18, 18:17. Acts 2:47, 9:31, 13:1, 14:23, 15:22, 16:5, 20:17, 28. Romans 16:4-5. 1 Corinthians 12:28. Ephesians 5:23-29. Colossians 1:18. Revelation 1:4, 11.
[iii] Duffield, Guy P. and Van Cleave, Nathaniel M. Foundations of Pentecostal Theology. Foursquare Media. 1910.
[iv] Acts 5:42. James 2:2.
[v] Acts 19:32.
[vi] All Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Bible (NKJV) unless otherwise noted, Thomas Nelson Inc., 1982.
[vii] Acts 7:37-38.
[viii] 2 Corinthians 8:1-19, 23-24. Titus 1:5.
[ix] James 2:2.
[x] Ibid. Schmitt, 3.
[xi] Ephesians 3:6.
[xii] Schmitt, Charles P. Floods Upon the Dry Ground. Revival Press, an imprint of Destiny Image Publishers, Inc. 1998.
[xiii] Daniel 7:13-14, 7:18, 22, 27.
[xiv] Matthew 16:18, 18:17. Romans 16:1, 5, 23. Colossians 4:5, 16. Galatians 1:2, 13, 22. Acts 9:31, 14:23, 27, 20:17. Hebrews 10:24-25. 1 Corinthians 10:32, 12:28, 14:23, 15:19, 16:19. Philemon 1:2, 3:6. 1 Timothy 3:15.