The Assembly

New Testament references to the “assembly” or “church” in English are based on the language of Israel when the nation was assembled before Yahweh for worship in front of the Tabernacle. The Greek noun translated this way is ‘ekklésia’, meaning “assembly, congregation, convocation.” In secular Greek, it could refer to an “assembly” of citizens gathered to conduct matters of state. However, that is not the sense found in the Greek Bible.

In the Bible, the term ‘ekklésia’ occurs only twice in the four gospel accounts, and both times on the lips of Jesus. Thus, its original application to congregations of disciples can be traced to him - (Strong’s Concordance - #G1577 - Matthew 16:18, 18:17).

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The term occurs over one hundred times in the Greek New Testament, most often applied to congregations of believers. The Apostle Paul’s usage of it is the most distinctive and instructive for followers of Jesus.

Firstly, Paul employs both the singular and plural numbers when applying ‘ekklésia’ to local groups of believers, but he does so with discrimination. Invariably, when referring to a local congregation, he uses the singular form or the “assembly in Corinth,” for example - (1 Corinthians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 1:1).

Secondly, he uses the plural noun form when referring to multiple groups of believers together. For example, to the Assembly in Corinth, he wrote that God is not “a God of confusion, but of peace, as in all the assemblies of the saints.” To the believers in Rome, he remarked that “all the assemblies of Christ salute you” – (1 Corinthians 14:33, Romans 16:16, 1 Thessalonians 2:14).

This does not mean that each city church was independent of the others, and certainly not that each maintained distinct doctrinal traditions and practices. However, each congregation represented THE “church” assembled for worship in its respective location.

Several times, Paul described the local congregation as the “Assembly of God,” and collectively, he labeled all his congregations the “ASSEMBLIES of God” - (1 Corinthians 1:2, 10:32, 11:16, 1 Thessalonians 2:14).

Paul’s usage reflects the influence of the Hebrew Bible, especially its descriptions of the “Assembly of Israel” gathered for worship before the Tabernacle in the wilderness. Several times, Israel gathered before the Tabernacle was called the “Assembly or the convocation of Yahweh” or the ‘qahal Yahweh’ in Hebrew - (Exodus 12:6, Leviticus 16:17, Deuteronomy 23:1-2).

The ancient prohibition against Israelites in an “unclean” state participating in the “Assembly of Yahweh” is echoed in several of Paul’s declarations about proper and improper behavior in the Church. For example:

• (1 Corinthians 11:22) – “What! Have you not houses for your eating and drinking? Or the assembly of God do you despise and put to shame those who have nothing? What am I to say to you? Shall I praise you? In this, I praise you not.”

• (1 Corinthians 14:34) – “As for the women, in the assemblies let them be silent, for it is not permitted them to be speaking; but let them be in submission, even as the law declares.”

• (1 Timothy 3:15) – “But if I should tarry that you may know how it behooves you in a house of God to behave, the which is an assembly of a living God, a pillar and basement of the truth.”

Rather than ritual impurities, Paul was concerned with conduct in the “Assembly of God.” Immorality was unacceptable among believers gathered for worship.

Thus, the “church” or “Assembly” is not a building or the designation for a sect or denomination. It is the local Assembly of saints gathered before the Lord in worship, the place where God’s presence dwells among His New Covenant people.

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SEE  ALSO:

• One Spirit, One People - (By his Death and Resurrection, Jesus formed one covenant community - One New Man - based on faith in him – Ephesians 2:11-22)

• Where God Dwells - (The New Testament applies Temple language from the Hebrew Bible to the Assembly, the Body of Christ, the true Sanctuary of God)

• The Mission - (The mission of the church between now and Christ’s return is to announce the Good News of his Kingdom to all nations – Matthew 24:14)