THOSE OLD ECCLESIATICAL WORDS
Bible Correctors complain about the translation of the word church
in the New Testament, advising us that Ecclesia should be translated “assembly”
or “congregation” (even though civil assemblies were called such). Bible Correctors
do this to fault and disparage the KJB. Let us examine the etymology and
reasoning in regard to the word “church.”
Some say that the English word church comes from the Old English
cirice or circe, which came from the Latin curia or the Greek adjective kuriakos.
This Greek adjective which comes from the Greek noun kurios (lord, ruler, or
master) and which means "of or belonging to the lord" is only used
twice in the Greek New Testament. It was used at 1 Corinthians 11:20 (Lord's
Supper) and at Revelation 1:10 (Lord's Day). Indeed, it is the Lord’s CHURCH
(MY CHURCH), congregation, and assembly. The Scottish “kirk” and the German
“Kirche” all follow this same etymology from the Greek “KURIAKOS.”
Others say that the English word church was derived from the
secular Greek usage of this Greek adjective in referring to the imperial palace
(the lord's house). The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology noted that the
English word church developed from the Old English cirice that meant a
"public place of worship" (p. 171).
Nevertheless, at first, some churches were in their private homes.
The Latin Bibles also use the word for the congregation or “people” as well as
the building? Especially when Christians are God’s building and Lively stones?
– Herb Evans
In his 1828 dictionary, Noah Webster gave the following as
the first definition for the word church: "A house consecrated to the
worship of God, among Christians; the Lord's house.
As long as one understands that the word “house” has multiple uses
there is no problem. The house of prayer, the house of the Lord, the house of
God all fit the synagogue and also the church, in regard both to the people and
to the edifice that houses them (by extension).
Church versus the Synagogue
Psa 74:8 They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together:
they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. –KJB and
Geneva
Psa 74:8 Yea, they sayde in their heartes, let vs make hauocke of
them altogether: thus haue they burnt vp all the houses of God in the
lande. – Bishop’s
My house shall be called the house of prayer . . . – Matt.
21:13
For the Son of man . . . left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work,
and commanded the porter to watch. -- Mark 13:34
And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon's
house – Luke 4:38
How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the
shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him . . . -- Luke 6:4
. . . Go out. . . and compel them . . . that my house may
be filled. – Luke 14:23
1Ti 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou
oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church
of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. -- 1 Tim. 3:15
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the
house of God:
Other Sources
The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church also points out that the English
word church applied originally to a church building (p. 344). The Oxford
Encyclopedia of the Reformation noted that the term congregation
"described a gathering or assembly" while the term church
"suggested a structure or organization" (IV, p. 190).
Lam 1:10 The enemie hath stretched out his hande vpon al her
pleasant things: for she hath seene the heathen enter into her Sanctuarie, whom
thou diddest commande, that they shoulde not enter into thy Church. –
Geneva Bible
This is a half truth in that the word “church” and the word
“synagogue” has been applied to both the people and the edifice that housed
them. If churches meant only buildings, why did the Geneva Bible render
congregation CHURCH and other Bible render it congregation and assembly
in Lam 1:10?
William Tyndale used the English word “church” for buildings or temples as seen in
Acts 14:13 [“the church porch”] and Acts 19:37 [“robbers of churches”].
In Acts 14:13, there is wide latitude among the early English
Bibles in that the word meant a portal, porch, or gate. It was clearly a
heathen sacred place to bring garlands. Tyndale has said church porch. Still
the great Bible says porch. Other Bibles saay gates like the KJB. The RSV
interprets the place to be a temple without any underlying Greek support. Since
the heathen priest stood before the city; it is reasonable to say that it was
the heathen temple entrance.
In the case of Acts 19:37, the softer word for temple is used here
and other places with a literal meaning of sacred PLACE, either of the
Jews or the heathen. Tyndale’s convention was obviously to use church for
sacred places, whether heathen or Christian. That Acts 19:37 rendering was kept
in the KJB, the Great Bible, and Bishop's Bible.
Miles Coverdale used the English word “church” or “churches” for buildings
intended for worship. For example, the 1535 Coverdale’s Bible has “churches” at
Hosea 8:14 where the KJV has “temples.”
The choice here seems to be either “palaces” or ornate “temples.”
The YLT, the Bishop’s, and the ASV render it “palaces, while the KJB and the
Geneva go with “temples.” Still, the conclusion that a church was only a
building is being read into all this.
It also has “churches” (Lev. 26:31, Amos 7:9) where the KJB has
“sanctuaries.” In a sermon in the official Church of England Homilies,
it is stated: “We have in the first part of this Homily declared by God’s Word,
that the temple or church is the house of the Lord” (Griffiths, Certain
Sermons, pp. 170-171). It also stated: “The material church or temple is a
place appointed for the people of God to resort together unto” (p. 164).
Various Bibles and their Cross References
The Geneva, the YLT and the KJB have sanctuaries. You could find
the same idea today in an Episcopal or Catholic church. In Psalm 22:22, the
KJB, the Bishop’s, and the Geneva translate the word “congregation.” But now
Bible Correctors have a real problem. There is a cross reference to this
passage in the New Testament.
Psa 22:22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst
of the congregation will I praise thee.
Psa 22:22 I wyll declare thy name vnto my brethren: I wyll prayse
thee in the middest of the congregation. – Bishop’s
Psa 22:22 I wil declare thy Name vnto my brethren: in the middes
of the Congregation will I praise thee, saying,
Heb 2:12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the
midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. – KJB
Heb 2:12 Saying: I wyll declare thy name vnto my brethren, in the
myddes of the Churche wyll I prayse thee. – Bishop’s
Heb 2:12 Saying, I will declare thy Name vnto my brethren: in the
middes of the Church will I sing praises to thee. -- Geneva
Mat 26:30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went
out into the mount of Olives.
We ask our Bible Correcting friends as to where be this church
building? It is one thing to quote dead men and another to quote the scriptures
to support your view. I think that some are going to be in big trouble with God
at the JSOC (or the White Throne). So much for church/assembly/congregation
synonymy!
