The most common NT word that is translated into church is ekklēsia (ἐκκλησίᾳ), which literally means a calling out or an assembly of people. It is variously used in the NT to mean the whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth, a local assembly, and the entire network of local assemblies. But the English word church is not derived from ekklēsia. Rather, it is derived from the word kuriake, (kυριακή) which means belonging to the Lord. It is therefore helpful to understand that the word church in Bible translations does not have the same religious implications as it does in normal English usage.
After Pentecost, the first church was naturally located in Jerusalem. It consisted basically of three groups of people. There were (1) the people that had followed Jesus, headed by Peter and the apostles; (2) Jews who had not followed Jesus but then converted, headed by James the brother of Jesus, and (3) Greek converts, headed by Stephen. After the killing of Stephen and the imprisonment of Peter, James increasingly became the de facto Christian leader in Jerusalem. When James was executed in 62 CE, conservative Jewish Christians were left without a clear leader.
The killing of Stephen resulted in many Christians fleeing Jerusalem and relocating to more Hellenized areas. This resulted in the Gospel being increasingly preached to Greeks. This trend increased exponentially with the conversion of Paul, who nurtured new Christian communities throughout Asian Minor, Greece, and eventually to Rome itself (though as a prisoner under house arrest). These local assemblies were run by appointed elders, but the general understanding was that the Church consisted of all believers. There was one catholic church (catholic with a lower-case C, meaning universal).
The rise of heresies forced Christian leaders to distinguish between true churches and false churches. True churches were led by bishops who were direct successors of the apostles and therefore could be trusted to preach the true teaching of Christ. The true church therefore consisted of all local assemblies headed by a bishop whose history of succession could be traced to the apostles. Overall church matters were decided by this group of bishops, and the true church was now described as catholic and apostolic.
As the number of local churches continued to grow, the overall church increasingly developed a hierarchy of authority that ultimately resulted in the Bishop of Rome being head of the universal church. The justification was that the Roman bishop was the successor to Peter, who was crucified in Rome. Jesus says to Peter, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Mt 16:18). The church headed by the Bishop of Rome (i.e., the Pope) is therefore called the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church gradually began to consider itself the Kingdom of God on earth. Louis Berkhof attributes three major effects of this understanding:
“(1) It required the everything be brought under the control of the Church: the home and the School, science and art, commerce and industry, and so on. (2) It involved the idea that all the blessings of salvation come to man only through the ordinances of the Church, particularly through the sacraments. (3) it led to the gradual secularization of the Church, since the Church began to pay more attention to politics that to the salvation of sinners, and the Popes finally claimed dominion also over secular rulers.”[i]
The Reformation resulted in Protestant churches that were no longer affiliated with the Roman Catholic church. It therefore became necessary for a Protestant understanding of the distinguishing characteristics of a true church. Martin Luther maintained the unity of the Church but recognized the difference between the invisible and visible church as discussed above. John Calvin agreed, but was more specific with regards to local churches. He writes, “The distinguishing marks of the church are the preaching of the word and the observance of the sacraments.”[ii] Calvin’s position is codified in the Augsburg Confession of 1530, which states:
“Also they teach that one holy Church is to continue forever. The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered. And to the true unity of the Church it is enough to agree concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments. Nor is it necessary that human traditions, that is, rites or ceremonies, instituted by men, should be everywhere alike. As Paul says: One faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all, etc. Eph. 4:5-6.”[iii]
To the present time, these conceptions of the visible church remain. The Roman Catholic Church understands itself as the true church and the Kingdom of God on earth, headed by the Pope who serves as the legitimate successor of Jesus. Protestants believe in the universal invisible Church of all true believers and local visible churches that teach and preach the true Gospel and properly administer the sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion (some also include the proper exercise of church discipline).
[i] Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, Eastford, CT: Martino Fine Books, 1941: 560.
[ii] Alister McGrath, The Christian Theology Reader, Wiley-Blackwell, 2017: 416 (citing Calvin).
[iii] Augsburg Confession, Article VII, Of the Church.
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