3. Name. — The name ' Church ' is in itself strong evidence of the connexion between tlie Old Cove- nant and the New. In the OT, two ditterent words are used to denote gatherings of the chosen people or their representatives— 'erfAoA (RV 'congrega- tion') and qahal (RV 'assembly'). In the LXX, avvaywyi) is the usual translation of 'edhrih, while qdhdl is commonly rendered iKKKyiaia. Both qdhdl and iKKk7}(Tla by their derivation indicate calling or summoning to a place of meeting ; but ' there is no foundation for the widely spread notion that iKK\7]ixia means a people or a number of individual men called out of the world or mankind ' (F. J. A. Hort, The Christian Ecclesia, London, 1897, p. 5). Qdhdl or iKKXrjaia is the more sacred term ; it denotes the people in relation to Jahweh, especi- ally in public worship. Perhaps for this very reason the less sacred term awayoiy-r) was more commonly used by the Jews in our Lord's time, and probably influenced the first believers in adopting iKKXricria for Christian use. (rwayuyri quickly went out of use for a Christian assembly (Ja 2-), except in sects which were more Jewish than Christian. Owing to the growing hostility of the Jews, it came to indicate opposition to the Church (Rev 2*3*). iKKXrja-ia, therefore, at once suggests the new people of God, the new Israel.
We do not know who so happily adopted the word for Christian use. It is not impossible that Christ Himself may have used it, for He sometimes spoke Greek. He used it or its equivalent in a Christian sense (Mt 16'8) ; but Mt 18", though capable of being transferred to Christians, must at the time when it was spoken have meant a Jewish assembly. St. Paul probably found the word al- ready in use, and outside the Gospels it is very frequent in the NT. We find three uses of the term : the general body of believers (Ac 5^' 9^' 12^) ; the believers in a certain place (1 Th 1', 2 Th V) ; an assembly for public worship (1 Co IP* H^"-**).
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It had already become a technical term with strongly religious associations, which were partly borrowed from a Jewish ideal, but had been so enriched and transfigured as to indicate a body that was entirely new. The Jewish idea of a chosen people in relation to God received a fuller meaning, and to this was added the idea of a chosen people in relation to the Incarnate and Risen Son of God and to the Spirit of God. iKKX-qaia. is nowhere used of heathen reJigious assemblies.
i. Origin. — Whether or no the Christian com- munity owes its name of 'Church' (iKK\ri(Tla) to Christ, beyond reasonable doubt it owes its origin to Him. It is a strange misreading of plain facts to elevate St. Paul into the founder of the Christian Church. The theory that in Christianity, as in some other religions, there was a gradual deifica- tion of the founder, continues to be advocated, but it will not bear serious investigation. If St. Paul originated Christianity, who originated St. Paul ? What was it that turned Saul the persecutor of the Church into Paul the apostle of Jesus Christ? It was the indelible conviction that Jesus was the ^lessiah, and that He had risen from the dead and conversed with him on the road to Damascus, that converted and ever afterwards controlled St. Paul. The conviction that the Messiah had been crucified, and had risen, and was now the Lord in heaven, was reached very quickly and surely by large num- bers, who had good opportunities of ascertaining the truth and staked everything on the result. This conviction was based upon the experiences of those who were quite certain that the Risen Christ had appeared to them and conversed with them. Those appearances were realities, however we may explain them ; they are among those things which prove themselves by their otherwise inexplicable results ; and the convictions which they produced remain undestroyed and indestructible. It was upon them that the Apostolic Church was built. From the Risen Christ it had received the amazing commission to go forth and conquer tlie world ; about that there was no doubt among those who joyously undertook this stupendous work. The apostles must have known whether Christ intended them to form a Church ; and their view of His intention is shown by the fact that, immediately after His withdrawal from their sight, they set to work to construct one. If the new religion was to conquer the world, it must be both individualistic and social ; it must provide for communion between each soul and God, and also for communion between its adherents. In other words, there must be a Church. Christ showed how this was to be done. He was not content with being an itinerant teacher, preaching to casual audiences. He selected a few disciples and trained them to be His helpers and His successors. It is manifest that He intended them to found a society ; for although He gave few rules for its organization, yet He instituted two rites, one for admission to it and one for its preservation (W. Hobhouse, The Church and the World [Bampton Lectures, London, 1910], p. 17 ff.). ' An isolated Christian ' is a contradiction, for every Christian is a member of Christ's Body. In refer- ence to the world Christians are 'saints' (ayioi) ; in reference to one another they are ' brethren ' ; in reference to Christ they are 'members.' In the original constitution of the human body God placed differently endowed members, and He has done the same in the original constitution of the Church (1 Co 12'^). Both are in origin Divine, the product of the creative action of Father, Son, and Spirit.