The Biblical Understanding of Church
The word Church in other language that is translated from Greek is known as “kuriakos” which gives the meaning “belonging to the Lord”. The Greek translation “ekklesia” refers to a gathering or assembly of persons in the circular sense. This is the same meaning that is found in the Acts 19:32, 39 and41. Other than that in classical Greek it also carries the meaning of a religious fellowship or cultic guilt which refers to their business meetings and not to the union itself.
In Hebrew there are two term to explain the word church, “qahal” and “edah”. The word “qahal” is said derived from the word voice which refers to a summon of the assembly and the act of the assembling. It does not refer to the member of the assembly as a designation of the occurrence of assembling. In the Bible it is used in Deut. 9:10; 10:4; 23:1-3, which comes with the religious significances. In 1 Kings 12:3 it denotes more general assembly of the people, while in Jer. 44:15 it’s for the gathering of woman and in Ezra 10:1 and Neh. 8:2 it denotes children.
The word “edah” is more relevance to us as it appears in Pentateuch with mainly being mentioned in Book of Numbers. It refers to the people gathering before the tent of meeting as it first occurs in Exodus 12:3 which suggestion to “congregation”. The Bible also describe the church with a few images and the important ones are the church is known as the people of God, the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit.
The Kingdom of God
The Kingdom is the rule of God, while the church is the human community under the rule. The church is the manifestation of the kingdom or reign of God that is on earth. The Kingdom is also the manifestation of God’s sovereign rule in our hearts. The kingdom can found wherever God rules in human heart. The most important thing is that the Kingdom of God is found wherever His will is done.
The term Kingdom of God occurs mainly in the Gospel of Mark , Luke and in Matthew it is mentioned as the “Kingdom of Heaven. It is said that Jesus began His ministry by announcing “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand” Mark 1:14-15. The word fulfilled gives us the understanding that the past promise is to come to pass. The Gospels also declare that Jesus will be the bringer of the Kingdom through his life. This includes his miracles, his teachings, his death and his resurrections.
Therefore Jesus and his apostles knew and understood that the Kingdom of God is the fulfilment of the hopes and promises recorded in the sacred Scriptures of the OT. Even though there is no mentioned about the Kingdom of God in the OT but the creation narrative in the book of Genesis gives us the idea of the rule of God over every creation.
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Hi Eunice, from what I have read in your posting, I understood that Jesus came to commence the Kingdom's rule first in the hearts of men who eventually became a colony of people under God's ruling power on the earth. Do you think this colony will finally grew and succeed in establishing or bringing the rule of God to its completion or consummate end eventually in the future? In your opinion, will she succeed in fully colonizing the earth? It was in Genesis that God first gave man the charge to subdue everything in the earth. Thanks for your comment..aa
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