New Testament Concepts of the Christian Ekklesia – Universal, Worldwide, and Regional

Our English word “church” (and the German “kirche” and Scottish “kirk”) comes from the Greek word kuriake, meaning ‘belonging to the Lord’.  It is only used twice in the New Testament, but not referring to the church:

1 Corinthians 11:20, So when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s supper [the kuriakon deipnon].

Revelation 1:10, I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day [the kuriake hemera].

In later Greek usage it came to refer to God’s property or house (sometimes with the Greek word for house, kuriakon doma), and hence came to mean the place where the church assembles. In modern Greek it is the word used for Sunday (the Lord’s day).  But that is not the Greek word used by the New Testament writers when they refer to what we have translated by the word “church” in English.  They used the word ekklesia, and it never referred to the place where Christians met, but to the Christians themselves in assembly.

But the use of ekklesia when referring to the assembly of Christians or the people of the Lord Jesus Christ, could be rather broad, giving us a bigger picture of Christ’s understanding of the church.

The Universal Church

Jesus and the apostles could mean by the word “church” all believers in heaven or earth, past, present and future. And of course, there is only one such church.

Mt. 16:18, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

Eph. 1:22,23, “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

Ephesians 5:23, For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.

Colossians 1:24, Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.

Hebrews 12:23, [You have come] to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect.

These uses are not talking about some specific church in a specific locality, but every believer in every locality (even heaven, Hebrews 12:23), whether living on earth or dead and gone to heaven, whether now or in the past or in the future (Jesus is still building His church).

The Church Worldwide

The apostle Paul could also conceive of the church as every congregation of Christians throughout the world, considered as one church.

1 Corinthians 12:28 “And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then …”

1 Corinthians 15:9 “For I am the least of the apostles and do not even desire to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”

The church does not need apostles, prophets and teachers in heaven. When the perfect, the kingdom, comes (1 Corinthians 13:10), that which is incomplete will be done away with. And Paul certainly was not persecuting the church in heaven, and not just the church in Jerusalem, but the church wherever he found it. He thought of the worldwide church as one entity.

The Regional Church

Paul could refer to the sum of the churches of any region considered as one church.

Acts 9:31 “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace.  It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.” 

Galatians 1:2, [I Paul write], and all the brothers and sisters with me, To the churches in Galatia.

Galatians 1:22, I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.

Romans 16:4, They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.

Interestingly, he uses the plural at times to refer to the churches of a region, but in Acts 9:31 the singular, “church,” is used, highlighting that regional churches, like the church worldwide, could be considered one church.

Is this still true today? The fracturing of the church into Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant, and the many denominations within each, does not seem to admit of one church worldwide or regionally. But if we think of the church as all who believe in Christ for salvation, there really is only one church, whether identifying with one or another traditions. And only true believers make up that church.