The real meaning of the word Ecclesia
According to the Oxford International Dictionary of English for Ecclesia:
The Ecclesia was originally a "chosen civil body", not a religious one. They are called for a specific civilian purpose. And we may assume that they conveyed the original Greek meaning of the word, to the group of Christians called from the Roman and Jewish systems, to meet together in a separate civil society, subject to no king but Jesus, and under no other jurisdiction than him.
Quoting from the Oxford Universal English Dictionary on the word “ecclesia”
When the Lord Jesus began His public ministry, there were three well-known bodies in the Jewish and Roman community at the time: the Temple, the Sanhedrin, and the Ecclesia. The temple and the Sanhedrin were for religious activities, while the Ecclesia was the civil body, which governed and administered the affairs of the Roman countries and cities. It was a surprise to the disciples, when the Lord Jesus spoke to them, that He did not talk about a new physical structure of His own, or about a new religious complex to discuss His mission matters, but He spoke to them about building His own "Ecclesia". The Lord Jesus wanted to establish a new civil, spiritual society, living in the middle of the world; To participate in management, influence and governance.
The word "ecclesia" was used for the first time in the New Testament, when the Lord Jesus said to Peter: "On this rock I will build my church." The word used is “ecclesia,” that is, he will build his own ecclesia, and he will establish a kingdom community, which will have principles and values different from the society around him, and will have different, clear, and decisive life orientations. When you hear the Lord Jesus say: "And I give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in the heavens. And whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in the heavens." You understand that the Lord Jesus was giving to His disciples and thus to all believers throughout time a real, spiritual authority for spiritual rule on earth in direct confrontation against the power of evil spirits on earth in order to liberate mankind.
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