The Lord Jesus Christ declared to the apostle Peter that He (Christ) would build His "church":

     "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. . . ." (Mat. 16:18)

What is the "church"?

        Brethren writer Charles Henry Mackintosh (1820 - 1896) was one of the earliest expositors of the scriptures since the apostolic age to begin to comprehend the true meaning of the word "church" and its changing dispensational character as history marched forward.  As C.H.M. studied the scriptures he accurately identified the church that existed between Pentecost and Acts 28:28 as a kingdom church with a distinctly earthly character.  Furthermore, he clearly understood that the remarkable manifesting by Paul of that Church's never-before-revealed heavenly character took place in his prison epistles ONLY AFTER national Israel was temporarily set aside, or "shut up" (to use Brethren language):

"The doctrine of the Church's heavenly character was developed in all its power and beauty by the Holy Ghost in the Apostle Paul.  Up to his time and even during the early stages of his ministry, the divine purpose was to deal with Israel.  The thought of a church composed of Jew and Gentile, 'seated together in the heavenlies', lay far beyond the range of prophetic testimony.  The Kingdom was still the very highest thought.  The Church as seen in the opening of the Acts ... was still the Kingdom, and not the great mystery of the Church.  Those who think that the opening chapters of Acts present the Church in its essential aspect, have by no means reached the divine thought on the subject."  (C. H. Mackintosh, Life and Times of Elijah, Concluding Remarks, Miscellaneous Writings, Loizeaux Brothers, Volume 5, pp. 127-130).

        With this thought provoking introduction, we now ask two questions:

            1. What is this "church" that the Lord promised to build?  And,

            2. What does the word "church" actually mean?

The New Scofield Reference Bible defines the word 'church' as follows:

"The word 'church' (Gk. ekklesia, from a verb meaning to call out) is used of any assembly and in itself implies no more than a gathering of people who have been called forth, e.g. the town meeting at Ephesus (Acts 19:41), and Israel, called out of Egypt and assembled in the wilderness (Acts 7:38).  Israel was a 'church,' but not in any sense the N. T. church - the primary point of similarity being that both were 'called out' and by the same God." (The New Scofield Reference Bible (1967), p. 1021 - footnote on Matthew 16:18-19).

W. E. Vine adds:

"In the Sept. [ekklesia] is used to designate the gathering of Israel, summoned for any definite purpose, or a gathering regarded as representative of the whole nation." (W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Fleming H. Revell)

       When referring to those making up Christ's "church" on earth this word "church" (Greek ekklesia), simply means a gathering, meeting, assembly, or congregation, consisting of individuals who believed the message Christ revealed to them at a particular historical time in God's purposes.  In a spiritual sense it is a "gathering" of individuals who profess to have a spiritual link with the One who has the words of life eternal, whether their "sphere of blessing" is millennial in character (i.e., in a kingdom on the earth), or in the New Jerusalem which will come down out of heaven and rest on the new earth, or whether this sphere of blessing is "in the heavenlies in Christ."

        When we encounter the word "church" in the scriptures many fall back on pre-conceived notions of the word, and often attach specific, inappropriate, meanings to it.  To make sure we are on the same page insofar as the scriptural meaning of the word "church" is concerned let us briefly review the following:

How is the word "ekklesia" used in the scriptures?

        The word "ekklesia" simply means any "gathering of people" with no particular doctrine or agenda in mind.  Thus we have it describing

• The "church" in the wilderness (Acts 7:38) which was a "gathering" of Israelites, a "mixed multitude" of believers and non-believers.
• An unruly crowd of non-believers (Acts 19:32, 41).
• A political town meeting (Acts 19:39).  An "ekklesia" can rightly be a meeting of a town council, planning board, board of adjustment, etc.
• Various types of Christian "gatherings." (see below on what activities might occur in such Christian "meetings.")

It is regrettable that some translators use the word "church" to translate "ekklesia" when it refers to a spiritual gathering, but use a different English word when it refers to a non-spiritual gathering.  That's too bad, because it tends to confuse us. It is the same word "ekklesia" in the Greek. That practice perpetuates the erroneous notion that whenever we see the word "church" in our Bibles it must mean "the Body of Christ" (the specific "church" or "gathering" that has its ultimate blessing in the heavenly places in Christ).

The word "ekklesia" simply means a "gathering of people", ANY gathering of people, with no particular agenda, doctrine, or sectarian identity inherent in its meaning.

Is it a building, cathedral, chapel, gospel hall?

• No.  The word "ekklesia" is never used that way in scripture.  We may say "I went to church", meaning to a church building or to a church service, but this is a confusing, non-scriptural, use of the term.  However, we do go to a building and become a gathering, "ekklesia" with the others who have so gathered.  We, as people, ARE the church, or "gathering."
• It is not a particular sect, denomination, or religious organization, whether Protestant, Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Methodist, etc.
• Being added to a membership roll in a local 'church' has nothing to do with being part of Christ's True Church.
• The word "church" does not describe only a group of people who hold to a particular set of religious beliefs, creeds or formal affirmations of faith.
• And as pointed out above, a 'church' (ekklesia) can be a non-religious or even an anti-religious "gathering, crowd, unruly mob, or assembly." 

Is there a difference between a "church" and an "assembly"?

        No.  Some people wrongly differentiate between being a member of a "church" versus being with an "assembly." Someone who says, "I have been with the Assemblies for 25 years" may actually be implying that they left a denominational or independent "church" to join a different type of religious group.  Such talk is simply sectarian language which the apostle Paul strongly condemns (1 Cor. 1:11-13).

Where is a church composed of believers physically located?

        Scripture mentions several cities where believers "gathered" together.  Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Thessalonica, the 7 gatherings mentioned in the Apocalypse, etc.  The Bible also mentions that believers "gathered" in private houses (Acts 2:46; 5:42; 12:12; 20:20; 28:30; Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Philemon 2).  The nation Israel "gathered" in the wilderness forty years (Acts 7:38), where they wandered after departing from Egypt. Later there were Jews, and perhaps Christians, who met (gathered) under the open sky to pray to God by the riverside (Acts 16:13).

What do Christians do when "gathered" together?

        Depending on the dispensation a few of the things the Bible says Christians have done when gathered together are fellowship, break bread (i.e., eat meals) together, pray, sing, anoint with oil, speak in tongues, prophesy, resolve doctrinal or practical problems, remember the sinless, spotless Lord with unleavened bread and wine, write and receive/read letters from other gatherings, reach out to the outside world, and sometimes even sin.

When did Christ's church begin?

        There are several conflicting ideas as to when "the church" began.  Did "it" began at Pentecost, or at Acts 9 with Saul's conversion, at Acts 13 with the commending of Barnabas and Saul to missionary work?  Did it begin after Israel's final rejection of the good news about the Lord Jesus Christ at Acts 28:28, or at some undisclosed time after the close of the Acts? 

        Actually, this is not the correct question to ask, because our Lord Jesus Christ has always had those whom He has "gathered" to Himself.  The group of 12 disciples might be considered a "church", but the Lord probably had in mind that AFTER His resurrection and His 40 day's of teaching there would be a very special Jewish festival when the "First Fruits" of the harvest would be offered to God (i.e., on the Jewish feast day of Pentecost).  That particular day marked the first-fruits of the final fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies having to do with the "gathering" of Israel back to the holy land and their potential restoration to personal communion with Jehovah.  It would seem that Christ's particular "gathering" (ekklesia) referred to in Matthew 16 first began to be "built" at Pentecost.

        However, let us be quick to point out that the character and stance of Christ's "gatherings" changed after Pentecost as time progressed.  What began as a kingdom-of-the-heavens "gathering" (Mat. 16:19; Acts 2 & 3) composed exclusively (by God's design) of Jews only, took on a different characteristic when it became clear the Jewish leaders at Jerusalem were rejecting their Messiah (Acts 7), at which time God began to include non-Jews into the "gathering" (Acts 10).  And this "gathering" changed again very significantly when the Jewish diaspora throughout the world and finally at Rome turned final deaf ears and sightless eyes to God's offer of national restitution through the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 28:28).  But even after Acts 28:28 when Israel had been shut up, the remaining "ekklesia" was still Christ's "gathering" because the word "ekklesia" does not carry with it any doctrinal, dispensational, or moral description or distinctions.  All such "gatherings" of believers from Pentecost onward are Christ's gatherings "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone" (Eph. 2:20).

        So, the question, "When did the church begin?", is the wrong question to ask.  The correct question should be, "When did the present dispensation begin?"

       When referring to those who make up Christ's "church" on earth this word "church" (Greek ekklesia), simply means a gathering, meeting, assembly, or congregation, consisting of individuals who believed whatever message Christ revealed to them at a particular historical time in God's purposes.  It is a "gathering" of individuals who profess to have a spiritual link with the One who has the words of life eternal, whether their ultimate "sphere of blessing" is millennial in character (i.e., on the earth), or in the New Jerusalem which will come down out of heaven and rest on the new earth, or whether their sphere of blessing is "in the heavenlies in Christ."

Summary of the meaning of the word "ekklesia" (church, assembly, gathering)

        The word "church" (ekklesia) does not always refer to "the church, the body of Christ."  Nor does it always refer even to a "Christian" assembly of God's people.  Of the 114 occurrences of ekklesia in the New Testament, once it refers to the "congregation" or "gathering" of Israelites who wandered 40 years in the wilderness (Acts 7:38).  In Acts 19:32 the word ekklesia means the unruly "gathering" of the mob who wanted to harm the apostle Paul.  In Acts 19:39 it refers to the regular local government meeting where people "gathered" to debate Roman political matters, and in Acts 19:41 it again refers to the unruly "gathering" previously mentioned in Acts 19:32.  None of these four references speak of any so-called "Christian" gatherings.  If I attend a meeting of the board of adjustment in my local city I have "gone to church" insofar as the New Testament usage of the word ekklesia is concerned.  And if I "gather" at the stadium to watch a football game I have "attended church."  The point being that an ekklesia can be a earthly kingdom gathering (as in Matthew 16:18-19), or it can be a gathering anticipating a heavenly terminus, as we await "the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13).  And it can even be a non-religious "gathering" such as a party in one's home.

Local "church" versus the true church

        When we speak of 'The Church' we must be careful to distinguish between the ekklesia which exists in heaven and the local expression of that ekklesia which existed (or exists today) on earth.  It is incorrect, for example, to say the assembly on earth should always picture that which exists in heaven.  Christian assemblies on earth may appoint elders to hold property, make repairs to meeting facilities, reach out to the poor, or preach sermons.  On earth it may be necessary to discipline those who stray from 'the Way.'  Individuals in Christian groups on earth may become foreign missionaries, hold Bible conferences, etc., whereas such will be unnecessary for the ekklesia in its eternal manifestation in the heavenly places.  On earth there once were healings, tongues, and the interpretation of tongues all of which "sign gifts" disappeared when God temporarily ceased offering the earthly kingdom to National Israel.  Today in our local Christian meetings we have marriages, children, need for food, clothing, financial support, all of which only have to do with our passage through this physical life on earth as strangers and pilgrims. 

        Put simply, God's church on earth is simply a "gathering" of His people.  In Old Testament times God's gathering included the people making up the nation Israel, by covenant relationship, but, for example, not the descendants of Ishmael, Esau, or Lot's two daughters and their sons (Moab and Ammon), even though the descendants of those individuals that became nations had specific earthly promises made to them. (See Gen. 17:20; 27:39; Deut. 2:19).  Why the difference between the nation Israel and the other nations?  It was a matter of "covenant."

     "And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
     "But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto you at this set time in the next year." (Gen. 17:20-21)

        Stephen, in his defense of the gospel, mentions the ekklesia in the wilderness, referring to God's gathering which wandered for 40 years.

     "This is he that was in the church [ekklesia] in the wilderness with the angel that spoke to him in the Mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who received living oracles to give unto us." (Acts 7:38)

God's prophetic promises to His covenant people

        Jehovah had promised to reward Israel as long as they were obedient.

     "If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them. . . ." (Lev. 26:3)

     "And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people."  (Lev. 26:17)

But if they failed to observe His statutes:

     "But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; and if ye shall reject my statutes, and if your soul abhor mine ordinances, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant; I also will do this unto you . . .

     "I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you: and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste." (Lev 26:14 & 33)

        Throughout their history God's covenant people Israel forgot Jehovah and failed to observe His commandments.  As a result 10 tribes of Israel were captured by the Assyrians and were deported.  Judah and Benjamin were deported to Babylon for 70 years.  When the Lord Jesus commenced His ministry God's people were living under Roman rule, and many remained scattered throughout the known world.  These scattered Jews were known as the diaspora, and the 'western' diaspora were the primary targets of the apostle Paul's ministry "to the Jew first."

        However, in spite of their scattering because of sin, the Hebrew prophets, consistently foretold of the day when Jehovah would "gather" His scattered people, and bring them into untold blessing.  He would be their God, and they would be His people.

        Today many Bible believers hold a form of "replacement theology," believing that God's promises to the Jewish covenant nation are fulfilled in the present day "church."  They think the kingdom church (ekklesia) which our Lord promised to build is the "church" that exists today, as if God had only one plan in mind for the particular ekklesia that He would "build" during the historical period that began shortly after His death, burial, and resurrection. It is a commonly held theory that God's purpose for the "gathering" that took place at Pentecost is the same purpose He later revealed for the "gathering which is His body" which exists today. After all, isn't "the church" "the church"?  But in fact at various historical points in time God has revealed a number of differing purposes and plans for the believers He has 'gathered.'  He administered these differing purposes during the historical period beginning at Pentecost and throughout the Acts. 

        Absolutely chief among His purposes was to send His Son, "the Word", to become "flesh" (John 1:1-14), and to be the substitute for the sins of those He chose to be included in His eternal plans.  Without the sacrificial death of our Lord Jesus Christ absolutely no one could possibly take part in any of the glorious plans God revealed for His people in any of His economies (or dispensations).

        As stated above, one of God's long-term purposes was to gather His earthly covenant people Israel from all the nations where He had scattered them because of their unbelief and sinful conduct.  God's plan to gather His people Israel is one of the primary subjects of prophecy, (see Isa. 11:12; 27:12-13; 40:11; 43:5; 54:7, etc.) but many Christians are unaware that this prophesied plan was renewed and placed in full force starting at Pentecost and that it continued throughout the entire book of Acts.  In fact this prophesied "kingdom purpose" was God's PRIMARY plan that was carried out during the historical period covered by Luke's record in the Acts.

The nature of God's plan for Israel

        Jehovah had promised to gather a remnant of Israel and to make them into a believing nation (Jer. 31:34).  He promised to pour out His Holy Spirit on them (Isa. 44:3; Ezek. 39:29; Joel 2:28-29) and to put His Holy Spirit within them (Ezek. 36:27; 37:14).  This, of course, sounds exactly like what began to happen on the day of Pentecost when God's Holy Spirit was placed upon a remnant of Jewish believers called out exclusively from His covenant people Israel?  As a matter of fact the apostle Peter specifically said

                "but this IS that which was spoken through the prophet Joel." (Acts 2:16)

In other words, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at the Jewish feast of First Fruits (Pentecost) actually began to fulfill the prophecies having to do with ISRAEL'S latter days on earth, and of their "gathering" together from the various locations to which they had been scattered because of sin. As a result a "gathering" of about 3,000 people took place on Pentecost in fulfillment of these Hebrew prophecies, and that gathering was called a "church" (ekklesia), although this "church" differed substantially from the body we call "the church" today.

How was that "church" different from the Church today?

• The "church" at Pentecost was composed of Jews only (see Acts 2:5). Gentiles were forbidden to be part of God's "church" for nearly 10 years after Pentecost. Today believing Jews and Gentiles are one body in Christ

• The "church" at Acts 4:34-37 was required to sell their real estate and give the proceeds to the apostles.  There is no such requirement today.

• The Jewish believers exhibited signs and wonders:

"And these signs shall follow those that have believed: in my name they shall cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they should drink any deadly thing it shall not injure them; they shall lay hands upon the infirm, and they shall be well." (Mark 16:17-18).

• They were given various miraculous gifts of the Holy spirit:  

"For to one, by the Spirit, is given the word of wisdom; and to another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit; and to a different one faith, in the power of the same Spirit; and to another gifts of healing in the power of the same Spirit; and to another operations of miracles; and to another prophecy; and to another discerning of spirits; and to a different one kinds of tongues; and to another interpretation of tongues." (1 Cor. 12:8-10)

Such signs verified the authenticity of the message and of its messengers to the Jewish clergy.

• They were required to stamp the dust off their feet toward any synagogue in a city that rejected the gospel message. (See Mat. 10:14 cf. Acts 13:51)

• Some individuals were physically transported from one place to another. (Acts 8:39-40)

• Some individuals had the ability to foretell future events. (See Acts 11:27-28, etc.)

All of these special sign gifts explicitly show the Jewish character of the church that began on the day of Pentecost. And this fact is actually a key that allows us to clearly see the dispensational differences that characterized the church at Pentecost, versus the church after Acts 10 when Gentiles were first included, and the church after the end of Acts which is the body of Christ today.

The Three Phases of Christ's Church

              Note that the key to understanding the dispensational divisions in the Acts has to do directly with the spiritual state of national Israel at a particular time.  At Pentecost our Lord's pronouncement to forgive Israel for their treacherous act of crucifying Him (Luke 23:34) allowed Peter and John to literally offer the earthly kingdom to them (Acts 3). However, when the Jewish officials at Jerusalem rejected that offer it resulted in a new, changed, dispensation - a mystery whereby God included Samaritans and Gentiles in His Gathering in order to prod Israel and provoke them to jealousy (Rom. 10:19; 11:11).  Finally, when the whole world of dispersed Jews had rejected their Messiah that offer of the earthly kingdom was withdrawn by the Holy Spirit (Acts 28:28).

As long as Israel is in view the signs and wonders appropriate to Israel are to be seen in believers.  Once God withdrew His offer of the earthly kingdom these signs and wonders were no longer appropriate, and are no longer mentioned.  This has nothing to do with the level of 'spirituality' of individual believers, or whether all of the New Testament scriptures had been completed at the time. The Corinthian believers were far from spiritually minded but possessed abundant miraculous signs and wonders. And the signs and wonders had long since passed away before John's Gospel and the Apocalypse were written about AD 96, thus disproving that commonly held misconception.

     So, when did the "church" begin? Actually, the Lord Jesus has been building His "church" since Pentecost. The "church" at Pentecost is Christ's Church. The "church" that existedted following the stoning of Stephen brought in the Gentiles but it still was Christ's Church. Once Israel at Jerusalem and at Rome rejected Christ the believers that remained, (and believers today), are part of Christ's "church" because the word "church" (ekklesia) does not denote the three important dispensational differences shown in the chart above.

There is one church, but thus far three very significant divisions have marked it. To import Ephesian truth into Acts 2 is superfluous. To say that the book of Acts is "the pattern church" to be followed today is to misunderstand completely the words which the Holy Spirit has given. So let me end by quoting the thoughts of C. H. Mackintosh

 The doctrine of the Church's heavenly character was developed in all its power and beauty by the Holy Ghost in the Apostle Paul.  Up to his time and even during the early stages of his ministry, the divine purpose was to deal with Israel.  The thought of a church composed of Jew and Gentile, 'seated together in the heavenlies', lay far beyond the range of prophetic testimony.  The Kingdom was still the very highest thought.  The Church as seen in the opening of the Acts ... was still the Kingdom, and not the great mystery of the Church.  Those who think that the opening chapters of Acts present the Church in its essential aspect, have by no means reached the divine thought on the subject. (C. H. Mackintosh, Life and Times of Elijah, Concluding Remarks, Miscellaneous Writings, Loizeaux Brothers, Volume 5, pp. 127-130).

For more information you might enjoy the following two papers:

How many "churches" existed during and following the Acts record? 

(A paper questioning the theory that two "churches" simultaneously existed during the Acts period.  This article makes certain important conclusions raised by the paper you have just read on the real meaning of the word ekklesia - church, gathering, assembly, meeting, etc.)

The Development of Dispensational Truth, Then and Now

(A survey of dispensational truth as its understanding developed under the ministries of J. N. Darby, C. H. Mackintosh, E. W. Bullinger, C. H. Welch, C. I. Scofield, J. C. O'Hair, C. R. Stam, and others)

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