Use of "Ekklesia" in the New Testament
Text: Matthew 16:18
Series: Restoration Sermons
Date:
Speaker: Ed Rangel
Location: Waupaca Church of Christ
Bible Version: NASB 1995
Sermon Type: Expository (word study)
Learning Objectives
By the close of this lesson the hearer should be able to:
- Define ekklesia and state what the word does and does not establish by itself.
- Recognize the range of New Testament uses — local, universal, and household.
- See that ekklesia is never used of a denomination.
Thesis
The Greek word ekklesia means "called out," and a survey of its New Testament uses shows it applied to the local congregation (in several senses), to the one universal church, and to the household assembly — but never to a denomination.
Burden
Doctrine often turns on a word, and few words carry more weight than ekklesia — "church." People assume the word itself proves the church is "the called-out of the world," or that "church" can mean a denomination. This outline does the patient work of laying every New Testament use of the word side by side, and the result is clarifying: the word means "called out," but its meaning in use is fixed by how the inspired writers actually employ it — for local congregations and for the one universal body, never for a sect. The burden of this study is to let the New Testament's own usage, not our assumptions, define the church.
Introduction
It is profitable to study the New Testament use of ekklesia, the word translated "church." The outline examines first its definition, then its actual uses across the Epistles — singular and plural. This is a study more than a sermon, but its payoff is doctrinal: usage, not etymology alone, tells us what the church is.
I. The Definition of the Word (Matthew 16:18)
- Ekklesia is a compound Greek word — ek ("out") plus kaleō ("to call") — meaning "called out."
- But the word does not, by etymology alone, prove the doctrine that the church is "God's called-out of the world." Word-origins suggest; they do not by themselves establish meaning.
- Rather, the New Testament's actual use of the word shows what it means. This is the sound principle: define a biblical word by how the inspired writers use it, not merely by its root. It is the same ekklesia Christ promised to build (Matt. 16:18).
II. "Ekklesia" in the Epistles — The Singular Use
The word in the singular is applied in several distinct ways:
- (a) To the church at Jerusalem specifically (1 Cor. 15:9; Gal. 1:13; Phil. 3:6 — "I persecuted the church").
- (b) To the church of a named city (Rom. 16:1; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:1 — "the church of God which is at Corinth," etc.).
- (c) To the particular congregation being addressed (Rom. 16:23; 1 Cor. 6:4; 14:5, 12, 23; 1 Tim. 5:16; Jas. 5:14).
- (d) To an individual congregation in general (1 Cor. 14:4; 1 Tim. 3:5, 15 — "how to behave in the church of the living God").
- (e) To the one universal church as represented in the local (1 Cor. 10:32; 11:22).
- (f) To the one universal church absolutely (Eph. 1:22; 3:10, 21; 5:23-32; Col. 1:18, 24 — "Christ... head of the church, which is His body").
- (g) To a household or "domestic" church — believers meeting in a home (Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Philem. 2 — "the church in their house").
III. "Ekklesia" in the Epistles — The Plural Use
- (a) The sum of congregations in a named region — Judea (Gal. 1:22; 1 Thess. 2:14), Galatia (1 Cor. 16:1; Gal. 1:2), Macedonia (2 Cor. 8:1), Asia (1 Cor. 16:19; Rev. 1:4).
- (b) Churches generally, not of one region nor the sum of all (Rom. 16:4, 16; 2 Cor. 8:23; 9:8 — "the churches of Christ greet you").
- (c) Some, but not all, of the congregations (1 Cor. 7:17; 2 Cor. 8:18, 24; 12:13; 2 Thess. 1:4; with a few citation numbers in this cluster OCR-garbled and left flagged in the source split).
Application
The lesson of the catalog is quiet but important. First, do not build doctrine on etymology alone — the word ekklesia means "called out," but what the church is comes from how the New Testament actually uses the word, not from the dictionary. That principle guards against a hundred errors. Second, notice the two great senses that fill the New Testament: the local congregation — the church at Corinth, at Jerusalem, in someone's house — and the one universal church, the body of Christ. Those are the only two churches the New Testament knows. There is no third sense — no denominational "church" standing between the local and the universal, no "branch" of Christendom. When you read "church" in your New Testament, it is always either the congregation in a place or the whole body of the saved — never a sect. Be content, then, to be simply a member of the local church and of the one universal body, wearing no name and claiming no membership the New Testament does not give.
Conclusion
Ekklesia means "called out," but its meaning is settled by use: the New Testament applies it to local congregations, to households of believers, and to the one universal church — and to nothing else. There is the church in a place and the church of all the saved; there is no denominational church between them. Let the New Testament's own usage define the church for us.
Invitation
The ekklesia — the "called out" — is entered by answering God's call in the gospel. "Those who had received his word were baptized... and the Lord was adding to [the church] day by day those who were being saved" (Acts 2:41, 47). Answer the call: believe on the Lord Jesus, repent of your sins, confess Him, and be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38), and the Lord will add you to His church — local and universal, and no sect at all. Come while we sing.
Word Study
| English Term | Greek Term | Basic Meaning | Usage in This Sermon | Sermon Significance | Key Texts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ekklesia | ekklēsia | "the called-out assembly." In secular Greek it named the citizens called out to assemble; in the New Testament it names those God calls out by the gospel | used of the local congregation and of the whole body of Christ | used of the local congregation and of the whole body of Christ | — |
| Called | kaleō | the root verb; the church exists because God calls | through the gospel (2 Thess | through the gospel (2 Thess. 2:14) — so the church is defined by His call, not by any human founding or naming | — |
Scripture Interlock Table
| Theme | Boles' Outline | Supporting Scripture |
|---|---|---|
| The church Christ builds | Text / I | Matt. 16:18 |
| The church at Jerusalem | II(a) | 1 Cor. 15:9; Gal. 1:13; Phil. 3:6 |
| The church of a named city | II(b) | Rom. 16:1; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:1 |
| The congregation addressed | II(c)(d) | Rom. 16:23; 1 Cor. 6:4; 14:4-23; 1 Tim. 3:15; 5:16; Jas. 5:14 |
| The universal church | II(e)(f) | 1 Cor. 10:32; 11:22; Eph. 1:22; 3:10, 21; 5:23-32; Col. 1:18, 24 |
| The household church | II(g) | Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Philem. 2 |
| Churches of a region | III(a) | Gal. 1:22; 1 Thess. 2:14; 1 Cor. 16:1, 19; Gal. 1:2; 2 Cor. 8:1; Rev. 1:4 |
| Churches generally | III(b)(c) | Rom. 16:4, 16; 2 Cor. 8:23; 9:8; 1 Cor. 7:17; 2 Thess. 1:4 |
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Converted from H. Leo Boles, Outline 50. Doctrinal audit: core-framework (ekklesia = "called out," defined by NT usage not etymology alone; the word denotes the local congregation and the one universal church, never a denomination — a key restoration point); no correction. Presented as a teaching word-study, its proper genre. Style audit: heavy OCR cleanup of dense citation clusters; several citation numbers were OCR-garbled (e.g., the original "II John 9:10," "9:28," "9:16" in the plural cluster) and are reproduced as best-read with uncertain ones flagged in the raw split rather than guessed — per Ed's no-guessing rule. Source note: no primary-text line; Matt. 16:18 (the church Christ builds) supplied as text and flagged. Representative references retained from Boles' catalog; the tag `word-study` added to frontmatter to mark the genre.
