Practical Theology: Method of Christ (Ecclesiology / Personal
Disciple Making)
Curriculum Project
Gaspar A. Cortez
THEO 530: Systematic Theology II
February 25, 2024
Introduction
This curriculum project is designed for a Sabbath day study, targeted towards young
adults who have become mature in their beliefs toward the Scriptures. The course is aimed at
encouraging and educating younger adults in strengthening their roles in the body of Messiah.
It will include the basic definitions of the Assembly. Where, when, and how did it start? Why did
it start? And what do we do in the Assembly?
Curriculum Project/A Sabbath Day Study
Shabbat Shalom and blessings. Welcome to this week’s Sabbath study. I hope you all
enjoyed today’s service. Before we really get into today’s study, I want to mention that I am big
on origins and definitions, especially when we talk Scripture and how we are to walk in it. So,
expect to hear a few as we go through today’s study.
First question, can anyone tell me the difference between what we call the “Assembly”
and what we call the “church?” (Wait for answers, discuss)
The terms have been used interchangeably through the years. However, there is a
difference, and you should understand this going forward in your walk. Both can describe a
group of people who came together for worship or religious purposes, but they are different.1
There are four terms we must learn in order to understand context within the Scriptures.
The first two we will look at are from the Tanakh. They are . לָה ָק. (qahal) and .ָהָד ֵע2 (edah).
We will start with .ָהָד ֵע2 (pronounced ay-daw’) which according to Strong’s Concordance
means congregation or a gathering of the people as in a community.2 It is the feminine form of
the noun דע (eyd) meaning “testimony” or “witness.”3 Now let’s put it together. An .ָהָד ֵע2
refers to a group of persons that are gathered with a common testimony or witness.4 And this
make sense since the first time it appears in the Tanakh is in Exodus chapter twelve verse three,
when Hashem called His chosen people out to follow His command in order to be “witnesses”
to a powerful “testimony.” When .ָהָד ֵע2 is used in the context of Israel, it normally has the
intention of speaking about the descendants of Jacob, the entire nation of Israel.5
The next word . לָה ָק. simply means, to gather as an assembly or congregation but with
a more powerful implication. The assembly of Israel are those within the community who have
1 Shawn Manaher, “Assembly vs Church: When to Opt for One Term Over Another,”
Thecontentauthority.com, 2009, accessed Feb. 22, 2024, https://thecontentauthority.com/blog/assembly-vs-
church.
2 Bible Hub, “5712. Edah,” Biblehub.com, 1998, accessed Feb. 24, 2024,
https://biblehub.com/hebrew/5712.htm.
3 Bible Hub, “5707. ed,” Biblehub.com, 1998, accessed Feb. 22, 2024,
https://biblehub.com/hebrew/5707.htm.
4 Jeff A. Benner, “Assembly,” Ancienthebrew.org, 1999, accessed Feb. 22, 2024,
https://www.ancienthebrew.org/mt/articles_a.html.
5 Ibid.
consecrated themselves by keeping Hashem’s decrees and are therefore made holy by Hashem.
6
If we break down the word, we see a few bigger pictures within one word. The parent
root לָק (qal) is formed by combining the image of the sun on the horizon, meaning to draw in,
with the lamed (ל) pictured as a shepherd staff. The combined meaning is "to draw to the
shepherd staff". The child root לוָק (qol) is translated as "voice" and it is the voice of the
shepherd that calls the flock to be drawn toward his staff (ל, the sign of his authority).7 We see
this whole connection in Deuteronomy chapter five verse twenty-two,
“These words Adonai spoke to your entire gathering at the mountain from fire, cloud and thick mist, in a
loud voice; then it ceased. But he wrote them on two stone tablets, which he gave to me. When you heard the
voice coming out of the darkness, as the mountain blazed with fire, you came to me, all the heads of your tribes
and your leaders, and said, ‘Here, Adonai our God has shown us his glory and his greatness! We have heard his
voice coming from the fire, and we have seen today that God does speak with human beings, and they stay alive.”8
Now in the Brit Hadashah (New Testament), which we obviously have from Greek
89translations we get two words also. Those two words are ἐκκλησία (Ekklesia) and συναγωγή
(sunagōgē). ἐκκλησία is often used to render . לָה ָק. , but never .ָהָד ֵע.9 2.ָהָד ֵע2 is translated
as
συναγωγή where we get the term synagogue. συναγωγή can also be translated from . לָה ָק. .
And this is interesting for a few reasons we will get in to.
The term ἐκκλησία according to the Strong’s Concordance means an assembly,
congregation, church; the Church or the whole body of Christian believers; the universal (total)
body of believers whom God calls out (set-apart) from the world and into His eternal kingdom.10
This word for church was not however a Scriptural creation, it derived out of Greek as did many
interpretations in the first century. It has been found in writings from as early as the sixth
6 Bible Hub, “6950. Qahal,” Biblehub.com, 1998, accessed Feb. 22, 2024,
https://biblehub.com/hebrew/6950.htm.
7 Jeff A. Benner, His Name is One: An Ancient Hebrew Perspective of the Names of G-d, ebook (Ancient
Hebrew Research Center, Nov. 24, 2018), 100.
8 All reference to the Scripture is from the Complete Jewish Bible unless otherwise noted.
9 Millard J. Erickson, Systematic Theology, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 955.
10 Bible Hub, “1577. ekklésia,” Biblehub.com, 1998, accessed Feb. 24, 2024,
https://biblehub.com/greek/1577.htm.
century BC from Solon’s codification of law.11 It was also used in Herodotus, Thucydides,
Xenophon, even Plato and Euripides. It referred to an assembly of the citizens of a “polis” or
city.12 But even more, ἐκκλησία was originally used to speak of as a body of only male citizens,
18 years or older, who would control city policy.13
We know what it means today? Right?
Well in today’s modern world, it sometimes receives negative misunderstandings. Why?
The term “church” is misunderstood according to many scholars. Many times, it is used with
regard to a brick-and-mortar structure, even in a Platonic perspective.14 However, most within
the body of Messiah know this not to be true. We as believers know or hope that what was
meant by the word “church” or ἐκκλησία was different. It should have the same connotation as
the Hebrew in which it was translated from. We should understand this to be all believers who
put their faith into action anywhere in the world.15 Yet what we see in action playing out in the
world is something different.
With the over 45,000 denominations globally and 200 or so alone here in the U.S., it
begs the questions, why so many?16 Can they all be correct? (Wait for some answers to discuss)
The last term is συναγωγή whereas mentioned earlier we get the term synagogue. And it
also means assembly and congregation. And according to Thayer’s Greek lexicon, it is from the
Septuagint for . לָה ָק. , the same as ἐκκλησία. What I just said is important, please remember
for later or take a note. Additionally, it is an assembly of Jews formally gathered together to
offer prayer and listen to the Torah every Sabbath and feast day.17
11 The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Ecclesia," Encyclopedia Britannica, April 2, 2018, accessed
Feb. 22, 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ecclesia-ancient-Greek-assembly.
12 Karl L. Schmidt, “ἐκκλησία,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel and
Gerhard Friedrich, trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, 10 vols, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964–76), 3:504.
13 The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2024.
14 Erickson, 950, 956.
15 Ibid., 956.
16 Todd M. Johnson and Gina A. Zurlo, eds. “World Christian Database,” in Gina A. Zurlo, Todd M. Johnson,
and Peter F. Crossing, “World Christianity 2024: Fragmentation and Unity,” International Bulletin of Mission
Research, January 2024, accessed Feb. 22, 2024, www.worldchristiandatabase.org.
17 Bible Hub, “Thayers Greek Lexicon: Strong’s NT 4864: συναγωγή,” Biblehub.com, 1998,
https://biblehub.com/greek/4864.htm.
The synagogue would have been the traditional place for all believers to worship in the
early first centuries, not a church as we know it. The synagogue would have been the only place
with a proper copy of a Torah and prophets for people to hear. This is why we hear what was
said in Acts chapter fifteen from the head of the Assembly in Ya’acov (James). His decree gives
four commands from the heart of the Torah, and then he ends by stating this,
“For from the earliest times, Moshe has had in every city those who proclaim him, with his words being
read in the synagogues every Shabbat.”
So, I just asked why we had so many denominations. And I told you to take not of the
original term for synagogue and where it comes from. Here is why. In modern times, Christians
understand the word “ἐκκλησία” to mean “church” with the connotation of only Christian,
meaning no Torah. Remember what I mentioned earlier, both “ἐκκλησία” and “συναγωγή” both
came from . לָה ָק. and meant “assembly” or “gathering of the set apart ones.” Why is that?
Why has it become two bodies? (Any discussion is welcome)
Maybe the translators have a bit to do with that. Here are a few examples that make a
big difference in how we understand our Scriptures. Now for those who dig in on a regular
basis, you may pick up on these little things that can make a huge impact. But for those who
may be beginners or just pew warmers, this is new, and they have no clue.
James 2:2, the Greek word “συναγωγή” is translated as “assembly,” referring to what
many readers would associate with a Christian church gathering due to the word “assembly”
being used in many of our translations used in our modern churches.18 Or how about Acts
chapter nineteen and verses thirty-nine and forty-one? Why is the translation using “ἐκκλησία”
as “assembly” here? The first is used in the context of a legal “assembly” more than likely the
origin of the word, then two verses later it is used to speak of a gathering of both Jews and
Greeks some of which didn’t even know why they were there (19:32).
This is where I ask, did our translators possibly have a bias? These inconsistent
translations can lead people to think differently than they should and can have huge impacts
18 There are some exceptions, but the versions that do say “synagogue” are very few and I have not really
ever seen them used in any place of worship or study I have been apart of in the past 25 years.
such as a division in the body, a lawless body and a lawful body. Dispensationalism theories
have come about because of it.
Last example. Revelation 2:9 states,
“I know how you are suffering and how poor you are (though in fact you are rich!), and I know the
insults of those who call themselves Jews but aren’t — on the contrary, they are a synagogue (Sunagógé) of the
Adversary.”
A majority of translations use the term “synagogue” even though the verse specifies
they are not Jews. Which begs the question who is a real Jew? The New American Bible version
actually translates the word correctly as “the assembly of satan.” In this verse alone we see a
possible intention to confuse or intentionally mention a differentiation between Jew and
Christian.
Now many of us in the body who are good Bereans understand that what we read here
does not mean what it states without context and clarification on words and what they mean.
But again, to the beginner who is still only in the milk phase of learning, they would never
understand this. And to be honest some scholars and pastors the world over teach a difference
in the body.
Now the big question, what do we do as the body of Messiah in the Assembly? We go
forward with His gospel just as He has always commanded us to do. From the Tanakh, we have
always been commanded to be a light to the nations (Isa. 42:6; 49:6) so that the nations would
come into the light (Isa. 60:3). Yeshua then repeated it to us several times, but here are two I
will leave you with.
“Then he said to them, “As you go throughout the world, proclaim the Good News to all creation” (Mk. 16:15).
“You are light for the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Likewise, when people light a lamp, they don’t
cover it with a bowl but put it on a lampstand, so that it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way, let your
light shine before people, so that they may see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven” Mt.
5:1416).
I hope what we have gone over today is beneficial to you all.
Any questions…(Answer and discuss)
Have a good rest from and of your Shabbat and a great weekend.
Shalom.
Bibliography
Benner, Jeff A. His Name is One: An Ancient Hebrew Perspective of the Names of G-d, ebook.
Ancient Hebrew Research Center, Nov. 24, 2018.
Benner, Jeff A. “Assembly.” Ancienthebrew.org. 1999. Accessed Feb. 22, 2024.
https://www.ancient-hebrew.org/mt/articles_a.html.
Biblehub.com. 1998. https://biblehub.com/.
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Ecclesia." Encyclopedia Britannica, April 2, 2018.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ecclesia-ancient-Greek-assembly.
Erickson, Millard J. Systematic Theology, 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: MI, 2013.
Johnson, Todd M. and Gina A. Zurlo, eds. “World Christian Database.” In Gina A. Zurlo, Todd M.
Johnson, and Peter F. Crossing. “World Christianity 2024: Fragmentation and Unity.”
International Bulletin of Mission Research, January 2024. Accessed Feb. 22, 2024.
www.worldchristiandatabase.org.
Manaher, Shawn. “Assembly vs Church: When to Opt for One Term Over Another.”
Thecontentauthority.com. 2009. Accessed Feb. 22, 2024.
https://thecontentauthority.com/blog/assembly-vs-church.
Schmidt, Karl L. “ἐκκλησία.” In Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Ed. Gerhard Kittel
and Gerhard Friedrich, trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. 10 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1964–76.
