BiblicalFoundationsofEcclesiology

8/2/2019 BiblicalFoundationsofEcclesiology

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Biblical Foundations of Ecclesiologyand Discipleship

Introduction

Any theology of Church or discipleshipin the Christian communitymust begin with the Sacred Scriptures.

In turn, such a theologybegins with the Jewish roots

of both church and discipleship.

Origin of the word church

The English word church

comes from a group of Anglo-Saxon words:English church,

Scottish kirk,

German kirche,

Dutch kerk

all of which are derived from the Greek word kyriakon,

meaning "the Lord's house."

The Greek word ekklesiain classical Greek

meant the assembly of the citizens of a city

for legislative and deliberative purposes.This assembly included only the citizens

who enjoyed full rights,

and thus the word implies two things:(1) the dignity of the members

and (2) the legality of the assembly.

Hence, in classical Greek the word ekklesia

had no religious usage.It was, however, adopted by the Septuagint translators

to render the Hebrew word kahalwhich signifies the religious assembly of the Israelites.

For the assembly of Israelites (later Jews)living in the Dispersion (outside of Palestine)

the intertestamental writers chose the Greek word

synagogefor the religious assembly.


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In the New Testament

In the 27 books of the New Testament,

the noun for "church" in Greek is ekklesia.

It means "an assembly of people,"

"a congregation,""a community of believers."It never refers to a building,

or to an organizationin the modern, western sense of the word.

The noun ekklesia

is derived from the Greek verb ekaleo

meaning "to call out."When the verb is used in the Septuagint

it often has God as the subject(the one doing the calling)

with the object of the verb usually being God's people(the ones being called).

As mentioned above,the Septuagint translators

of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament)

chose the noun ekklesia

to translate the Hebrew noun kahal,

meaning "an assembly of people."Usually in the Hebrew text the noun goes along with God.

So you have for example,

the kahal YAHWEH,

or the kahal adonaimeaning "the assembly of God."

In addition, the noun kahalappears

in conjunction with the benai Israel.

When put together, the kahal benai Israel

means "the assembly of the children of Israel."

(What later theology refers to as the people of God.)


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In the Gospels

In the Gospels, the noun ekklesiaappears only in Matthew (see Matthew 16:18 & 18:18).

In Matthew the foundations of the idea ofekklesia

are based on Jesus forming a group of disciples.Of these disciples,Jesus demanded personal attachment to himself

even at the cost of separationfrom friends and family.

Indeed this choice of becoming a disciplemight cause a separation

between them and the world at largewhich could result in the disciples death.

Against this background,

the use of the word ekklesiain Matthew 16:18is clearly identified with the group

which Jesus himself formedand which he commanded to be continued

by his disciplesafter his departure.

In Matthew 16:18 the foundation of the ekklesia(church)

is the rock (petros) solid faith of Peter,who for the Matthean community

represents the whole church (ekklesia).

But the faith of Peter is not so much in Jesus himselfas in the teachings of the Master,

the secrets of the Reign of Godwhich Jesus revealed.

It is faith in a Way of Life,a way of treating others,

of prayer,of the search for the inner light.


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In Acts of the Apostles & Paul

The noun ekklesiaappears 23 timesin Acts of the Apostles

and refers to a local community,

like for example, the church of Jerusalemor the church of Antioch.In Acts these local churches

are small house assemblies of disciplesnot giant buildings or congregations.

Similarly in the 65 uses ofekklesia

in the Pauline letters(which, of course, antedate

the composition of the Gospels)the noun always means

a local assembly of disciples of Jesus.

The ecclesiology of Acts of the Apostles and Paul

understands the ekklesiaas

those having been called out by Jesusto be made disciples.

The functions of the ekklesia(assembly of disciples) are:

diakonia(service),

koinonia(fellowship),

marturia(witness),

and liturgia(worship).The baptized who take their baptismal promises seriously,

are disciples,called out by Jesus

to serve one another and the world,to establish fellowship with one another,to witness to the faith even to the point of death,

and to engage in worship,namely the celebration of the Eucharist.

No one of these four functions is superior to the other.


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Discipleship

The ecclesiology we have been discussing,from a New Testament point of view,presumes that one becomes a disciple of Jesus.

It is important to notethat Jesus was not the only one

to have disciples in New Testament timesJohn the Baptist had disciples

as well as the Phariseesand other religious leaders of various stripes.

However, what was different wasthat Jesus took the initiative to call persons

to follow him.Not so for his contemporary rabbis.

In their cases, a future disciple sought out the Rabbito see if he would accept him into his discipleship.

A rabbinical disciple followed Torah,a Jesus disciple followed

the life and teachings of Jesus.Further Jesus had female disciples (see Luke 8:1-3)

which his Jewish contemporaries did not.

Call stories in the Gospels

In all four Gospels there are call storiesin which Jesus calls people into relationship with him.

In each case

it is Jesus who takes the initiative, the recipient of the call has done nothing to merit it. It happens in an ordinary life situation

(not in a vision or a trance)

and it requires the person to abandon his or herformer lifestyle for a new one--of following Jesus.

It is basically a call to conversion,to metanoia.

In most of the call stories

Jesus issues the call in the form of an imperative"follow me!"

The use of the imperative in Greek


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demands an immediate response form the hearer.

The Greek noun for "disciple" is mathetes.It means "one who follows" either literally,

like ducks in a row,or one who follows a teacher,

or a particular set of teachings.In English it might be rendered apprentice.

The Greek noun mathetes(disciple)

is a translation of the Hebrew talmid hakammeaning a "follower of wisdom."

The idea was that you learned from a sagelike Jesus

how to develop the wisdom (not knowledge) to live life.

A mathetes( disciple)

followed a didaskolos(the Greek noun for "teacher).

The Hebrew equivalent is rab

meaning "teacher" or rabbimeaning "my teacher."

The greatness of a teacherdid not come from the knowledge or content

he or she impartedbut from the way he or she helped you

to learn to live.

The later term Master or the Latin Magister

acquired a meaning of imparter of knowledgenot found in the biblical understanding.

Magistercomes from the noun magus.

It is also important to notethat the English words "disciple" and "student,"

do not capture either the Hebrew or Greekmeanings of "discipleship."

The English word "disciple"

comes from the Latin verb discipere

meaning "to grasp at somethingor to figure something out."


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Whereas the English word "student"

comes from the Latin studensmeaning someone who "grasps intellectually.

The Greek noun mathetes(disciple)

does not have these meanings.It suggests a person who embracesa life-style with all of one's heart,

mind,and soul.

Thus from a New Testament point of view,"disciples" in the church

are those who are trying to live a faith lifestyle.

The community of faith -- the ekklesia(church)

forms the baptized person in this lifestyle.

In Catholic understanding,this means being called

into the priestly,prophetic,

and kingly ministry of Jesus Christ.And we enter into that lifestyle of faith

at baptismby entering into the death of the Lord.

In the end, its all about the Paschal Mysteryand about living each day

as a journey of dying and rising with Christ.

by Richard P. McBrien in Catholicism, pages 579ffedited for use by Bill Huebsch

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