What is or was the Church?
Ekklesia= assembly; e.g. "the assembly of Israel"; Implies a distinct community that has members, which is not open to those who flaunt rebellion against the Lord.
Koinonia=partnership/community; Used in connotation with business partnerships; a sharing/partnership with each other as a community of believers and with God and the Holy Spirit.
It is world-wide
It is a community of people
It is a people who shares with one another—share joy, peace, Holy Spirit, gifts from God, resources.
It is separate from those who are outside of God, whether they claim to be of God or not.
It can be distinguished by geographic area: "The Assembly at Antioch" "The Assembly of Judea, Samaria and Galilee" "The Assembly of Anawim in Gresham"
What a church is:
Synagoug—assembly in OT; used specifically of the gatherings of the non-Christian Jews throughout the NT, but once used of a Christian assembly—James 2
Primarily a social unit, reflective of the cultural expectations of the religious people who set them up. Speakers, readings, propriety, etc.
I Cor 14—Not speaking of order for the sake of propriety—for the sake of communicating that this is "religious"; rather, the concern is what was expressed in ch 13—that the ekklesia would be built up, that all would be done for the purpose of building the kingdom of God, of loving the brothers and sisters in the church at large, not just the one gathering.
What was the early church?
It is neither identified with the Jewish synagogue system, nor is it separated from it.
It had gatherings, which was roughly based on synagogue rules, but has distinct charactaristics.
It had great variety from gathering to gathering, but certain principles always remained intact—the teaching of Jesus, the Lord’s supper, the reading of Scriptures, the singing of hymns, baptism as membership entrance, sharing of resources for those in need.
It had a message that was not understood by any of the synagogues, so that it was called "new".
As a whole, the church was not conformed to society, Jewish or otherwise; it was instead trying to create a transformation of society through the Holy Spirit and the life and teaching of Jesus.
Koinonia=partnership/community; Used in connotation with business partnerships; a sharing/partnership with each other as a community of believers and with God and the Holy Spirit.
It is world-wide
It is a community of people
It is a people who shares with one another—share joy, peace, Holy Spirit, gifts from God, resources.
It is separate from those who are outside of God, whether they claim to be of God or not.
It can be distinguished by geographic area: "The Assembly at Antioch" "The Assembly of Judea, Samaria and Galilee" "The Assembly of Anawim in Gresham"
What a church is:
Synagoug—assembly in OT; used specifically of the gatherings of the non-Christian Jews throughout the NT, but once used of a Christian assembly—James 2
Primarily a social unit, reflective of the cultural expectations of the religious people who set them up. Speakers, readings, propriety, etc.
I Cor 14—Not speaking of order for the sake of propriety—for the sake of communicating that this is "religious"; rather, the concern is what was expressed in ch 13—that the ekklesia would be built up, that all would be done for the purpose of building the kingdom of God, of loving the brothers and sisters in the church at large, not just the one gathering.
What was the early church?
It is neither identified with the Jewish synagogue system, nor is it separated from it.
It had gatherings, which was roughly based on synagogue rules, but has distinct charactaristics.
It had great variety from gathering to gathering, but certain principles always remained intact—the teaching of Jesus, the Lord’s supper, the reading of Scriptures, the singing of hymns, baptism as membership entrance, sharing of resources for those in need.
It had a message that was not understood by any of the synagogues, so that it was called "new".
As a whole, the church was not conformed to society, Jewish or otherwise; it was instead trying to create a transformation of society through the Holy Spirit and the life and teaching of Jesus.
posted by Steve Kimes | 8:48 PM
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