Greek word - (ekklesia G1577)
Quiz - Choose the answer that is closest to what you think CHURCH is.
A - an assembly
B - a building for worship
C - a congregation
D - a service of worship
Problem - Incorrect, Misused
KJV Example - "Likewise greet the church that is in their house" (Romans 16:5a).
Explanation
To understand this word in the Bible, look at the Greek word behind it, ekklesia. Ek means out. Klesia means invited or called. So its literal meaning is called out. It is not referring to people who happened to be in the same place at the same time. It is a gathering of people who have been invited to the gathering. We would call something like this, a meeting or an assembly.
It is used two ways in the New Testament. It refers to the people in a meeting or the meeting itself.
Notice that the Greek word is not theoekklesia (God assembly) or agiekklesia (holy assembly). It is simply ekklesia (assembly).
The English term, church, on the other hand usually refers to a religious building or a religious organization.
Church is the wrong translation for ekklesia because church has always been a religious term. Ekklesia is not. It is a secular term.
It is used of secular meetings in the book of Acts (19:32, 39, and 41) and in other Greek writings.
Some claim that King James in an attempt to bolster up the Church of England insisted that ekklesia be translated church in the King James Version. It is known that he gave a speech to the King James translators to that effect.
This term was translated church before that time (by John Wycliffe, a Roman Catholic, and in the Church of England's previous authorized versions), but it was translated congregation and company in the other early English versions. Back then a congregation was a gathering or an assembly. Today congregation has a different meaning, it is the people of a church.
The words, church and congregation, carry with them a shade of meaning that ekklesia does not have.
Just because ekklesia is usually used in the New Testament of the place where Christians assemble, does not mean that it should be translated as church. That would be like calling every rug that a Christian owns, a prayer rug, or every meal he eats, a sacrifice.
Ekklesia is an assembly.
After the resurrection of Jesus, Christians assembled together in homes and halls. These were called assemblies or the assemblies.
In the Bible, church is assembly.
Modern Synonym - assembly
Bible Version Tally (how other versions translate this word) - church (43 of 50), congregation (3 of 50), assembly (3 of 50)
Breakthrough Version - "And say hello to the assembly throughout their house" (Romans 16:5a).