“Called Out” and “Assembly” not a contradictionįirst, the idea of being a “called out” body and an “assembled” body are not mutually exclusive expressions. Respectfully, I would like to offer the following response. Roberts argued the assembly-only theory in 1972 (27-36), as did Everett Ferguson two decades later (1996, 130ff). Robertson stated that “originally ekklesia was a ‘calling out’ of the people,” but “that usage soon passed away.” He opted for “assembly,” but conceded that there are New Testament passages “where the idea of assembly is impossible,” e.g., Acts 8:3 (1919, 174 emphasis added). In the third edition of his Historical Grammar, A. It is their inflexible view, one that ridicules a considerable body of scholarship that conflicts with their personal perspective that I feel is misguided.Įither they are unaware of the wider range of scholars who dispute their theory or else they have fixated on a position and are not open to any other possibility. My criticism is not that these brothers are uncomfortable with the “called out” sense of the term - that is their privilege, however incorrect I believe it to be. Most concede that the original etymology is “called out,” but, it is contended, with the passing of time the root meaning faded away and gave place simply to “assembly, gathering, congregation.” What the writer failed to mention, however, is that there is a considerable body of evidence directly antagonistic to the premise of his article regarding the term ekklesia.
The writer then calls attention from a number of scholarly sources to the danger of going overboard in the matter of etymology, which most serious Bible students recognize. The definition is simply ‘assembly,’ ‘congregation,’ ‘meeting’ and ‘church’” (Redden, 2010, 30 emphasis added). For these, etymology plays no role in determining the meaning of ekklesia in the New Testament.
Others, including me, disagree with loading the word with such theological meaning based upon etymology. “Many adhere to the view that ekklesia means the ‘called out.’ They emphasize a complete theological thought, namely that the church is composed of those who are called out of the world (the kingdom of darkness) and are called into the body of Christ (the saved). An article appearing in the Gospel Advocate vigorously pressed for this conclusion. These new voices contend that ekklesia “does not mean ‘the called out’ as some mistakenly suggest,” and “it never meant that” (emphasis added). Supposedly, they argued for a meaning of ekklesia that is not consistent with the New Testament use. Some rather stridently allege that our earlier brethren have not “intensively studied the languages of Scripture” and that they have been “irresponsible.” A few recent voices within the church echo this sentiment.
The word is a compound of two segments: ek, a preposition meaning “out of,” and a verb, kaleo, signifying “to call” - hence, “to call out.”įor a good while some scholars have disputed this. 14:34-35).įor years gospel preachers have called attention to the etymology of ekklesia.
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