ἐκκλησία (Ekklēsia)

MEANINGAssembly, congregation, church. The NT word for the gathered covenant community --- the Greek equivalent of the OT's qahal. The corporate elected body in the new covenant age.

GRAMMARFrom ek (out of) + kaleō (to call). Literally 'the called-out assembly.' The LXX uses ekklēsia to translate qahal in the OT, establishing the continuity between Israel's corporate assembly and the NT church as the expanded corporate elected people.

SIGNIFICANCEThe ekklēsia is the corporate elected body in Christ --- the expanded qahal that now includes Gentiles (Ephesians 2:11-22). Thread 2's claim: God elected a people (corporate), not a pre-selected list of individuals. The ekklēsia is the body in Christ that individuals enter through genuine faith.

KEY VERSE / SCRIPTURESMatthew 16:18; Acts 2:47; 1 Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-32; Revelation 2-3 (the seven letters to the seven ekklēsiai).

CROSS-REFERENCESקָהָל qahal (OT equivalent) · Ephesians 2:11-22 · ἐν αὐτῷ en autō