Ekklesia... Puzzled?

Ekklesia(ek-klay-see'-ah). This is the Koine(common) Greek word for our translated word 'church'. It is found 114 times in the New Testament.

I would imagine that many, if not all, of us can remember the root meaning of the word. You know, we the church are the 'called out'. I remember having to recall this definition for tests in college and using it as valuable information in sermons and Bible classes. But the most vivid memory, though, is not having a complete grasp on "what are we called out from?"

The reason for my confusion was because of the patented answer given...the world. Really?...We are to be 'called out" of the world? That was so puzzling to me, because did not Jesus proclaim, "Go into all the world..." (Mark 16:15), and Paul announces, "I have become all things to all men, that I by all means save some" (I Corinthians 9:22).

This 'puzzlement' stayed within me until just a couple of years ago. Rummaging through the religious books at Gardner's, I found a couple of small books on New Testament word studies by William Barclay. And yes, you guessed correctly, one of the words in one of the books was ekklesia.

According to Barclay's study, this word also at its root meaning has the idea of 'summoning' or 'calling forth'.

Click . . . BINGO . . .The Puzzle is Finished!!!

For me, it finally all came together. The church is 'summoned forth' to share the Good News of Jesus, to invade the lives of individuals, and to "proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light" (I Peter 2:9). God's intent for the church is to be inclusive, not exclusive. A city set on a hill, not hidden away somwhere. No wonder the pieces would not fit together.

And one final thought, what Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 now made sense to me, too. Hell has erected gates to keep the church out, because the church has been summoned, and she is moving forward penetrating those places of darkness that Hell wants to protect.

Ahhh...ekklesia