THE CHURCH: ITS CALLED AND ASSEMBLED CONTEXT

This is a resumption of the series on the church I started a few months ago.

The common NT word for church, ekklesia, is correctly taken to mean to be called out from. It is derived from two Greek words ek and kaleo, respectively meaning out of or from and to call. While this meaning is lexically tenable, more importantly ekklesia carries the meaning of an assembly or gathering together. That is to say, the church is God's covenant community which He calls out from the world unto Himself in order to assemble in His presence. The idea of assembly is pervasive and weighty in its New Testament use, a brief overview of which follows:

Most Frequently A Gathering Of Believers In A Definite Locality:
Whether To Worship
Acts 5:11 So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.

11:26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

1 Cor 11:18; etc.

Or Not
1 Cor. 16:1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also

Gal. 1:2 and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:

Etc.

A Church Or Assembly Or Gathering In An Individual's Home
Rom. 16:23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.

1 Cor 16:19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.

Col 4:15; etc.

A Group Of Local Churches
Acts 9:31 Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.

The Universal Body Of Worshipping And Professing Believers
1 Cor. 10:32 Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God,

11:22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.

As God's covenant assembly the ekklesia intrinsically bears the idea of the congregation of the Lord which gathers in His presence for His worship. In this context, it has an intimate relationship with the Exodus event in which the sovereign God effects a monergistic redemption of His people. What was the purpose of Yahweh’s redemption? Primarily and ultimately, to bring glory to His Name and to publish His works among the nations, Ex 9:16; 4:4; Ps 76:10 (NIV); Rom 9:16; etc. Proximately, it was for His worship by His people on Mount Sinai. This latter dimension occupies a pervasive and thematic significance in the Exodus event. For example, it is stated in God’s initial revelation of His redemptive purpose to Moses in:
Ex 3:12 He said, "But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain."

18 And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.'

4:23 and I say to you, "Let my son go that he may serve me." If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.'"

and it is sustained in 5:1-3; 7: 16; 8:20, 25-29; 9:1, 13; 10:3, 7-11, 25-26. From these facts we must dutifully conclude that the Exodus event is the redemptive context of God’s people being freed in order to come together, to be gathered by Him, to offer Him worship.

It is of great import that Peter echoes this very theme in the New Covenant when he charges the suffering Asia Minor church to remember that she is “.. a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Pe 2:9. This quote from Ex 19:5, 6 affirms that the Exodus theme is inextricably woven into the very fabric of the church.

So, the assembly of God, that is His called people, has a dual character: (1) it is called out of the world unto Him (2) in order to serve and worship Him forever.

Next Issue: The Calling/Gathering and Sending Aspect.