{"id":10,"date":"2008-05-27T07:20:00","date_gmt":"2008-05-27T14:20:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2019-05-13T12:23:35","modified_gmt":"2019-05-13T19:23:35","slug":"got-potential-2008-05-27-142000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/gods-purpose\/got-potential-2008-05-27-142000","title":{"rendered":"Is ‘Church a Dirty Word? Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Purpose<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Vol. 2 Issue 21<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

May 27, 2008<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Weekly Newsletter of True Potential Publishing<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153And 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.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em>(Matthew 16:18)<\/p>\n

Is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Church\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a Dirty Word? Part II<\/p>\n

Last week we started talking about \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d We brought out our trusty old Webster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Dictionary<\/em><\/span> to tell us what \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d meant. According to Webster \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is:<\/p>\n

1. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a building for public and especially Christian worship\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em>
\n
\n2. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the clergy or officialdom of a religious body\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n

3. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153often capitalized: a body or organization of religious believers: as<\/em><\/p>\n

a) the whole body of Christians<\/em><\/p>\n

b) DENOMINATION c) CONGREGATION\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n

4. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a public divine worship \u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n

5. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the clerical profession \u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

According to Webster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/span><\/em> first three definitions (we talked about those last week), \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is either a building<\/em>, a bureaucracy<\/em>, or an organization of religious believers.<\/em><\/p>\n

Definition four, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a public divine worship,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> still has us going<\/em> somewhere; like to a church<\/em> (definition one). Only this going to church<\/em> sounds more like going to an event<\/em>, or a happening<\/em>, than a building. Maybe we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re getting closer.<\/p>\n

Definition five has \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153profession<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153career<\/em>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I guess that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where the guys who make up the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153clergy<\/em> or<\/em> officialdom<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d come from.<\/p>\n

*****<\/strong><\/div>\n

I apologize if all of this sounds a bit confusing or repetitive, or circular \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s confusing, repetitive and circular.<\/p>\n

Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the point \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Webster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/span><\/em> is a dictionary. Its job is to define a word accurately in light of its present meaning. What that<\/em> means is that today<\/span> \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d means just what Webster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/em><\/span> says it means. What Webster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/span><\/em> doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t tell us is that its definition is what \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d has come to mean<\/span>. Webster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/em><\/span> is a modern definition. In this century \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d means exactly what Webster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/em><\/span> say\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s it does.<\/p>\n

Bummer.<\/p>\n

You want to know why bummer?<\/p>\n

Because what \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d means today isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily what it<\/em> meant twenty centuries ago. That means you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re trying to reconcile a first-century idea of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with a twenty-first-century definition. And most of what \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d means today isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t what \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d meant back when Jesus first introduced the idea. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a follower of Jesus rather of a follower of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church,<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d maybe that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re so frustrated with \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s certainly why I am.<\/p>\n

If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re starting to get your feathers fluffed a little, just relax and hear me out. You may have a great church, a wonderful church, a church that meets all your needs. I may not be talking about your church at all \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 of course, maybe I am.<\/p>\n

All we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re really interested in is what the Bible says \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is. And if your (or Webster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/em><\/span>) definition of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t jibe with what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in the Word \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, then I guess you have a decision to make, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you?<\/p>\n

Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s start with what \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d isn’t<\/span>, according to the Bible. Since Webster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/em><\/span> has given us a pretty good idea of what \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d means in the 21st century, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll hold its definitions up \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcto the light of scripture\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> to see if they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re light-proof.<\/p>\n

Webster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/em><\/span> # 1: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a building. We all know that. Depending on where you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re from, churches<\/em> are made out of limestone blocks, red brick, white clapboard, or metal siding and I-beams. Most of the time they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got a steeple and a lot of those have a cross on top. One thing we can all agree on – a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a building.<\/p>\n

I wonder if Jesus meant \u00e2\u20ac\u0153building<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d when first introduced the idea of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to His disciple Peter? \u00e2\u20ac\u0153And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church<\/span>, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em>(Matthew 16:18)<\/p>\n

He says \u00e2\u20ac\u0153build my church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d maybe He does mean that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is supposed to be a building. Seems to make sense reading the verse. It must be a pretty strong building too; \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the gates of Hades will not overcome it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em>
\n
\n<\/em>There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one teensy-weensy little problem with the verse though, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d better bring it up. Jesus didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in this verse; He said \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ekklesia<\/em>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Our word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d comes from the Middle English word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153chirche<\/em>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chirche<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d comes from the Old English \u00e2\u20ac\u0153cirice<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d; that comes ultimately from Late Greek \u00e2\u20ac\u0153kyriakon<\/em>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Kyriakon<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153kyriokos<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d means \u00e2\u20ac\u0153belonging to the Lord (or lord).\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Kyriokos<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d appears in the New Testament but usually in reference to the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Lord\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Supper<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Lord\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Day\u00e2\u20ac\u009d;<\/em> never in relation to what we know as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

So why the Middle English\/Old English\/Late Greek lesson? Is it really so important to know all this root word history stuff? What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the problem with just reading the Bible as it is and taking the preacher\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s word for what it means?<\/p>\n

Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where the teensy-weensy problem in Matthew 16:18 becomes a big problem. The King James translators got the word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ekklesia<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d wrong the first time it appeared \u00e2\u20ac\u201c here where Jesus introduced the idea to Peter. Then they went on to get it wrong 114 more times.<\/p>\n

But they did get \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ekklesia<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d right three times. The word means literally, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153called out ones<\/em>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It has the connotation of being \u00e2\u20ac\u0153called out<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153assembly<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or an assembled group of people.<\/p>\n

The three times the King James translates \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ekklesia<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d correctly, as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153assembly<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d are all lumped together in the back half of Acts 19.<\/p>\n

Luke is telling the story of a group of Christians, they were called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the Way\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> back then, were in a city called Ephesus; telling people about their new faith. So many Ephesians were coming to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the Way<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that it began to affect business.<\/p>\n

Ephesus was a temple town. And their temple was for the goddess Artemis. The city\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s craftsmen made and its merchants sold statuettes, idols, to everyone who came to worship \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the great goddess Artemis<\/em>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The Ephesians even had their own fight song, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> What they were saying in effect was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Artemis is great and our Artemis is greater than yours.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em>
\n
\n<\/em>Well, when people started believing in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the Way\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> they didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need Artemis anymore \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 or the little statuettes that kept the city\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s economy humming along. So the merchants and craftsmen started a riot and called the whole city into a great \u00e2\u20ac\u0153assembly<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d at the local stadium. This \u00e2\u20ac\u0153assembly<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of Ephesians rioting and chanting their Artemis fight<\/em> song<\/em> is the only time in the KJV that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ekklesia\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> is rightfully translated \u00e2\u20ac\u0153assembly.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n

*****<\/strong><\/div>\n

Back to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as a building.<\/p>\n

You want to know something else that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pretty interesting? The only time \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is referred to as a building <\/span>(the Greek word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153hieron\u00e2\u20ac\u009d means \u00e2\u20ac\u0153temple\u00e2\u20ac\u009d) is in this same story. It was these guys again, the Ephesians, talking about their temple of the goddess Artemis.<\/p>\n

So, at this point we know a couple of things:<\/p>\n

When the KJV Bible says \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (115 times total), 114 times the original word is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ekklesia<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153assembly<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d; one time the original word is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153hieron<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153temple<\/em>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (By the way, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not picking on the KJV. All English translations use \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to translate \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ekklesia<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 just not as much.)<\/p>\n

The English word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d comes, ultimately from the Greek word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153kyriokos<\/em>,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which means \u00e2\u20ac\u0153belonging to the L(l)ord.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> The problem is, when Jesus and the apostles talked about the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (114 times) they never said \u00e2\u20ac\u0153kyriokos<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d; they said \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ekklesia<\/em>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Any way you shake it, when Jesus and the apostles spoke about the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ekklesia<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d they weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t talking about a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153hieron<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d – a temple or building.<\/p>\n

But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not how it is today. And I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve still got to agree with Webster’s<\/span><\/em>; a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d among other things is a building. The problem, as we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen, is that when Jesus told Peter, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153upon this rock I will build my church<\/span>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d;<\/em> he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153church<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said \u00e2\u20ac\u0153assembly<\/em>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Jesus wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t talking about a building.<\/p>\n

Next week we’re talking more about what Jesus wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/em><\/span> talking about. Maybe we can get to what He was<\/em><\/span> talking about.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Purpose Vol. 2 Issue 21 May 27, 2008 The Weekly Newsletter of True Potential Publishing \u00e2\u20ac\u0153And 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.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d(Matthew 16:18) Is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Church\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a Dirty Word? Part II Last week we started talking about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[438,586,6,43,82,10,131,16,186,334,8,276,7],"tags":[637,639,882,640,635,644,636,205,645,641,642,638,633,643],"class_list":["post-10","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community","category-fear","category-gods-purpose","category-heaven","category-hell","category-israel","category-justice","category-love","category-money","category-obedience","category-peace","category-prayer","category-purpose","tag-assembly","tag-buildings","tag-church","tag-congregations","tag-definition","tag-denomination","tag-ekklesia","tag-ephesians","tag-hieron","tag-kyriokos","tag-religious","tag-the-way","tag-websters-dictionary","tag-worship"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}