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of appointed officers. This meaning of the word is somewhat in the foreground in the First
Epistle to the Corinthians, 10:32; 11:22; 12:28, but was, it would seem, present also in the mind
of Paul, when he wrote the letter to the Ephesians, though in that letter the emphasis is on the
Church as a spiritual organism, cf. especially Eph. 4:11-16.
e. Finally, the word in its most comprehensive meaning signifies the whole body of the faithful,
whether in heaven or on earth, who have been or shall be spiritually united to Christ as their
Saviour. This use of the word is found primarily in the Epistles of Paul to the Ephesians and the
Colossians, most frequently in the former, Eph. 1:22; 3:10,21; 5:23-25, 27, 32; Col. 1:18,24.
We should bear in mind that the names “Church,” “Kerk” and “Kirche” are not derived from the
word ekklesia, but from the word kuriake, which means “belonging to the Lord.” They stress the
fact that the Church is the property of God. The name to kuriakon or he kuriake first of all
designated the place where the Church assembled. This place was conceived of as belonging to
the Lord, and was therefore called to kuriakon. But the place itself was empty and did not really
become manifest as to kuriakon until the Church gathered for worship. Consequently, the word
was transferred to the Church itself, the spiritual building of God.
3. OTHER BIBLICAL DESIGNATIONS OF THE CHURCH.
The New Testament contains several
figurative designations of the Church, each one of which stresses some particular aspect of the
Church. It is called:
a. The body of Christ.
Some in our day seem to regard this appellation as a complete definition
of the New Testament Church, but it is not so intended. The name is applied not only to the
Church universal, as in Eph. 1:23; Col. 1:18, but also to a single congregation, I Cor. 12:27. It
stresses the unity of the Church, whether local or universal, and particularly the fact that this
unity is organic, and that the organism of the Church stands in vital relationship to Jesus Christ
as her glorious head.
b. The temple of the Holy Spirit or of God.
The church of Corinth is called “a temple of God,” in
which the Holy Spirit dwelleth, I Cor. 3:16. In Ephesians 2:21,22 Paul speaks of believers as
growing into “a holy temple in the Lord,” and as being built together for “a habitation of God in
the Spirit.” There the name is applied to the ideal Church of the future, which is the church
universal. And Peter says that believers as living stones are built up “a spiritual house,” I Pet.
2:5. The connection clearly shows that he is thinking of a temple. This figure emphasizes the
fact that the Church is holy and inviolable. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit imparts to her an
exalted character.
c. The Jerusalem that is above, or the new Jerusalem, or the heavenly Jerusalem.
All three of
these forms are found in the Bible, Gal. 4:26; Heb. 12:22; Rev. 21:2, cf. the verses 9 and 10. In