My wife and I were driving along Highway 50 in the State of Colorado, and we noted a white van parked on a high piece of land along side the road for all to see. An obvious message was emblazoned on the side, which read, “The Old King James Bible Baptist Church.” Clearly, some zealous and sincere people decided to advertise this very unusual name for a church for passers-by to see.

I pondered, how did they come up with that name? Did they know about the questionable history of King James? Were they aware of the king’s dalliances? Did they know of other translations of the Bible before the new “Authorized Version” was ordered by James I in 1603? Was there an understanding of the political climate that created the need to spend eight years on a new translation when a very good one already existed, “The Geneva Bible”? What was the motivation for this change?

Had they known the answers to those questions, they may have chosen a completely different name for their church!

A name is a very important thing. It makes a statement about who and what you are and what you know and believe. This group apparently “believed” and emphasized their uniqueness as a group by connecting themselves with the King James Version (KJV) Bible printed in 1611. However, is this really a question of “belief”? I don’t think so, since a belief is a religious conviction about something that is not seen and is a matter of faith (Hebrews 11:1). That is not the case with a physical Bible. This is especially so considering the innumerable translations now available.

In America, there are probably thousands of names for church organizations in this land of smorgasbord religion. This reality exists thanks to the freedom we have in our day and age that allows us to enjoy a metaphorical “soup du jour.” Religious freedom has provided tolerance for the creation of every possible version and variation of “Christianity,” whether it be church identity or form of worship. Benjamin Franklin viewed this situation as each denomination being children of the same family, having different Christian names.

Churches are named after individuals: Martin Luther or John Calvin for example. Churches are also named after movements like Catholicism or Anglicanism. “Ism” on the end of the word denotes a system, principle or ideological movement. We also use names based on events, such as the Seventh Day Adventist or Latter Day Saints. Then we use a chronological element such as “End Time” or the Second Coming followed by some other description.

From there we move on to describing the kind of church like “True Gospel,” “Full Gospel,” “Universal,” “Reformed,” “First Reformed,” “Restored,” “Renewed” and “Refreshed.” The list could go on and on.

What is the Origin of the Word “Church”?

“ORIGIN Old Englishcir(i)ce,cyr(i)ce, related to Dutchkerkand GermanKirche, based on medieval Greekkurikon, from Greekkuriakon (dōma) ‘Lord’s (house),’ from kurios ‘master or lord.’” (Oxford Dictionary).

Notice the origin is from the Greek language and means “Lord’s House” or the “Master’s House.” Of course, in the passage of time the meaning of words change along with the migrations of people and language. Why do we have so many names for the Lord’s house? That term was used for the Tabernacle tent and later the Temple in ancient Israel. Refrains of this may be seen in Jerusalem and its “Temple Mount.”

So, where did we get to the place where “church” indicated a building, name or an organization?

History gives us the answer. Briefly, after Jesus established the early New Testament Church (or “Primitive Church” as theologians refer to it), it disappeared quite quickly around the turn of the first century. As historians Edward Gibbon and Jessie Hurlbut describe in historic terms, a cloud of darkness descended through which we can see little. Out of that “lost century” emerges something quite different from that which Jesus and His disciples evidenced.

From that point on, the Catholic Church emerges. Constantine creates a state religion, which dominated until the Fall of Rome in A.D. 476. The Dark Ages emerged with the domination of the Catholic Church and declined with the emergence of the Protestant Reformation. This violently erupted in the 16th century. That’s when all of the various names began to emerge. England’s Henry VIII broke from Rome and established the Church of England. Thanks to the reformers Luther, Zwingli, Calvin and Knox, the floodgates opened. The freedom that seeped through and eroded dogma—allowing the environment of diversity, organization and beliefs—climaxed in what we have today. No longer are doctrines forced on people with threatening demands by those in positions of power and control.

Today, we have a multitude of churches with great variety of doctrines, names and organizations—and a great deal of confusion! We use the word church in many different ways whether or not we realize it. Which one did Jesus mean?

What is a Church?

Let’s step back for a moment and ask a question. What does the Bible actually say about a church? As any casual reader of the New Testament would be able to see, none of the names mentioned earlier can be found in the Bible. The only biblical name I can find for a “church” is “the Church of God” (mentioned some 13 times and with some slight variation a total of 114 times) in the New Testament (see Acts 12:15, 20:28; 1 Corinthians 1:2, 10:32, 12:28, 15:9; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:13; Ephesians 1:22; 1 Thessalonians 1:1 and 2 Thessalonians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:5).

Let’s go to the scripture where Jesus establishes His Church and see what it says.

Jesus first uses the word “church” in Matthew 16:18 when speaking with His disciples. The New Testament was preserved in the Greek language, but probably written in Aramaic, which is a derivation of Hebrew. This presents some interesting translation problems we need to consider. What did Jesus mean when He said “church”?

He could not have meant a building, as the Temple in Jerusalem was still present. He did not mean a corporation that has tax exempt status and all of our legal requirements today. He could only have meant a gathering or assembling of individuals.

Jesus called it “My church.” The English word “church” is translated from the Greek word ekklesia.

The Gospel Scriptures were probably originally communicated in Aramaic. Jesus was a Jew (Hebrews 7:14) and brought up in the “Jewish religion” (Luke 2:39-51). There is little doubt that His primary language would have been Hebrew/Aramaic. So what is the Hebrew word for church? Since there are no instances in the Old Testament where the word “church” appears in any translations, we must look at the New Testament for references back to the Old Testament. Acts 7:38 says about Moses: “This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness...” (emphasis added). The center margin in my New King James translation gives this explanation for the word “congregation”: “Greek ‘ekklesia, assembly or church’”—the same word as Jesus used. Based on this connection, it’s clear that the New Testament writer of Acts considered the word ekklesia appropriate to describe the assembly of Israel in Sinai. The nation gathered (or assembled) together as it records in Exodus 12:3.

There are two Hebrew words that describe a gathering of peoples: the noun eda and another noun, qahal. The first word, eda, means “a gathering of people for worship or legal matters.” The second word, qahal, basically means the same thing: “A gathering of a great body of people for civil or religious or other occasions” (Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, “Assembly,” p.43).

Many times in Exodus, the Lord called for an assembly of God’s people for various reasons. So when God’s people gather together in what the Bible calls an “assembly” or “congregation,” the two Hebrew nouns noted above are used. In the New Testament, with its Greek influence, the termekklesia is used. In the centuries since the Bible was first translated into English, the word has been changed from “assembly” into “church.”

When we read Matthew 16:18 and 18:17 in context, we must conclude that those disciples who Jesus worked with were an assembly of His people that comprised what He called “My church.” It did not originally mean a building or corporation. This follows the clear use of the “church or assembly of God’s people” used throughout the New Testament.

In modern times, the word “church” has evolved to mean many different things, including a building, a local congregation, a corporation, a denomination, etc. UCG has developed rules to differentiate between the different uses (see below), which when combined with context, can differentiate between the meaning intended in each case.

Who comprises God’s Church?

In short, we do not know. Understanding that God is the one that calls and opens minds (John 6:44, 65), it is wise not to make exclusive evaluations one way or another. Clearly, there are many organizations that focus on grace and worship and do not follow the examples of Jesus and His disciples. “What Would Jesus Do?” and “What Did Jesus Do?” are two totally different things.

However, I know of people not associated with the church corporation with which I am affiliated, but believe the same teachings as I do. Should I tell them they are not in the right church, building or organization? That seems a bit arbitrary considering that such an approach is quite judgmental. Do we really need to make that judgment?

Next time you read something using the word “church” in it, stop and consider. What exactly is the word referring to? Put it in its context, be it building, corporation or assembly, and be aware that only the last one means God’s called-out ones. The last one is an inclusive term indicating all people that God the Father has called across the time-frame of history, wherever they were or are. These called-out ones have or had His Holy Spirit and live(d) obeying His commandments. They are not necessarily dependent on an organization or meeting in a building. They are individuals who understand a way of life inspired by God’s Spirit and His Word that leads to salvation.

We do not know who everyone is that is in God’s assembly or congregation. A reading of Hebrew 11 tells us that God knows who they are. So keep an open mind. Fellowship with like minds (Hebrews 10:24-25) realizing that only God the Father and His Son ultimately know the answer to who has been “called out.” 

UCG’s Style Guidelines for the Word “Church”

When reading United Church of God publications, look for context and capitalization to deduce which meaning of the word “church” is being used. Below are the capitalization guidelines used by UCG editors.

“The word Church (with a capital C) refers to the faithful Church that Jesus Christ founded. The word church (with a small c) refers to local groups of believers, other physical organizations and buildings. References to the United Church of God are capitalized. Proper names of organizations are capitalized (e.g. Catholic Church). Since church is not capitalized in the Bible translations quoted, all scriptural quotations—whether referring to the Body of Christ or a local congregation— use church with a small c.”