What Is Ecclesiology?
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Put simply, ecclesiology is the study of the church: its identity, purpose, structure, and role in God’s redemptive story. It researches what Scripture and tradition teach about the nature and reality of the Body of Christ.
The Greek word ekklesia originally referenced a public gathering of citizens, especially in a political context, connected to democracy and community. The word meant a called-out group of people assembled for a purpose. The New Testament used this term for the people of God, and early Christians adopted the term to describe the born-again, called-out believers in Christ – the Church.
They used the term ekklesia to signify how the church isn’t a building or a physical temple but a people with a purpose. As the Scripture says amazing things about the family of God, theologians began to study the church.
What Are the Origins of Ecclesiology?
The idea of the church began with Jesus, who declared he would build his assembly (ekklesia). From Christ’s teaching, the apostles began working in the Spirit to live it out, discovering truths along the way. The book of Acts becomes a narrative, describing how God established, empowered, identified, and spread the early church through evangelism and the apostles. Stumbling forward in humility, the apostles realize the church is a body of believers united in Christ, filled with the Spirit, and called to live as a Kingdom outpost on earth to spread God’s glory and the Gospel.
The apostle Paul started the story as Saul, a Jewish religious leader trying to imprison or kill those he felt were heretics. After miraculously encountering Jesus, Saul repented unto Christ and lived among the family of God, first in Jerusalem and them mostly in Antioch. There, under elders like Barnabas, Saul learned the reality and theology of the church. After being called with Barnabas to spread the Gospel, Saul became Paul and planted churches among the Gentiles (non-Jews). Paul’s letters, therefore, contain bold and clear descriptions and identifiers for the church. His writings inform much of what we call ecclesiology.
Over the next couple of centuries, as the church encountered persecution, growth, and conflict over doctrines, bishops and theologians started clarifying the structure and doctrine of church authority and leadership, including the biblical ideas of bishops (episkopoi), elders (presbyteroi), and deacons (diakonoi).
By the 5th century, the church developed a more formal ecclesiology. The councils of Nicaea (325 AD) and Chalcedon (451 AD) dealt with important issues of the nature of Christ, but also further codified the church’s structure. Augustine wrote and taught much about the church, how it encompasses the invisible company of the elect, expressed through sacraments and orthodoxy, developing a strict priest class and religious hierarchy.
Centuries later, Martin Luther and John Calvin challenged many of the Catholic doctrines. They highlighted the “priesthood of all believers,” the authority of Scripture, and salvation by grace alone. As more Protestant and Evangelical seminaries have popped up, ecclesiology has been a major focus across all traditions, each focusing on different aspects.
What Does Jesus Say about the Ekklesia?
As Jesus taught the Gospel of the Kingdom — “repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand” — he first used the term ekklesia to identify his own called-out gathering, citizens of heaven.
Jesus directly mentions the term in Matthew 16:18, where he tells Peter, “On this rock I will build my church (ekklesia), and the gates of Hell will not overcome it.” Peter had just declared Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. This revelation becomes the foundation for building a community, an eternal culture while on the earth. Jesus declares his ownership and responsibility to build it through the Spirit.
In Matthew 18:17, Jesus outlines steps for dealing with sin and conflict among his followers. If a believer rejects correction, Jesus says to bring it before the larger gathering, the ekklesia. The church, then, has a role in discipline, holding members accountable to living heaven on earth, as well as restoring people both spiritually and relationally. This is far more than a social club.
Other verses describe the nature and role of Jesus disciples, even without the actual term, ekklesia. Christ identifies them as the “salt of the earth” and “light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-16), declaring how the world needs them to live their purpose for health and sight. In John 13:34-35, he calls them to love one another so the world will know they belong to Christ. Jesus prays for church unity in John 17, that they would be one as the Son and the Father are one.
Jesus presents his church as a chosen, born-again people, built on truth, united in love to continue his mission of spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom across the whole earth (Matthew 24:24). The rest of the New Testament explores the church Christ builds.
What Does the New Testament Say about the Church?
In Acts, the Holy Spirit establishes the church at Pentecost. Once filled with the Spirit, declaring the works of God, Acts 2 reveals a community of people under apostolic teaching, in daily fellowship and prayer. The Spirit brings diverse believers (people of all nations) into one family and them empowers them to live and speak the Good News. Acts shows us a church both gathered and scattered. They meet in homes and public spaces, boldly and miraculously preaching Christ throughout the Roman Empire.
Paul plants several churches through Acts and gives us a great theology of the church through several metaphors. He calls the ekklesia the Body of Christ, with Jesus as the source and us His hands and feet, dependent upon God and each other. In Ephesians, he says the Church is the Bride of Jesus, Christ the husband. Paul also counts the born-again people of God as a new humanity, divine and human together like Christ, where Jew and Gentile alike are members. The apostle also writes how God’s work through the church becomes a way to show divine wisdom to the world and spiritual powers and authorities in the heavens (Ephesians 3:10).
While those are mystical and theological identities, Paul also gets practical in his letters, establishing standards for leadership, teaching, and the order of meetings (1 Corinthians 14). The church and leadership must guard sound doctrine and live lives of godliness. Hebrews says believers shouldn’t forsake gathering together (Hebrews 10:25), confirming how much the members need the community for spiritual life and faith.
Amazingly, Peter and John describe the church as the new temple, a spiritual house of living stones built together for God to dwell in (1 Peter 2:9). The Spirit dwells in us individually and corporately, a family of love and truth. Revelation symbolizes the church as a lampstand, again pointing to the role of being light in a dark and corrupt world. Ultimately, Revelation ends with a final vision of the church as the Bride of Christ and New Jerusalem where God will dwell on earth forever.
The New Testament talks about the church as God’s Spirit-filled people, a kingdom of priests, rooted in Christ alone. It is led by loving servants, all with a mission to engage the broken world with a message of hope through a Messianic King-Priest, Jesus, and his perfect Kingdom.
Studying the church gives us clarity about our identity and calling. Christianity isn’t a private faith but a journey to share with others. Learning Scripture regarding the ekklesia, we guard against false ideas, like the church being a building, a meeting on Sunday, or a human-made organization. The church exists as the expression of Christ on earth. To love Jesus is to love his church.
What Can We Learn from Church History after Acts?
While Acts gives us the inspired and authoritative account of the church’s birth and mission, believers have lived out the faith and family of God across time and various contexts. Examples show how Christians persevered and missed the original vision, experiencing both successes and failures. Although separated by centuries, these believers are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Studying church history can provide amazing lessons.
First, church history shows us how we must maintain sound doctrine. After Acts, the early church grew and spread all over the Roman Empire. At the same time, other philosophies and influences entered the community, leading to divisions on the person of Jesus and other doctrines. Church leaders like Athanasius and Augustine defended the truth of Christ’s dual nature — humanity and divinity — and ideas like the Trinity and salvation by grace. Moments like the councils of Nicaea and Chalcedon helped preserve the apostolic truth. The church leaders continued to do so throughout history and today.
Second, the church made great strides when acting like Jesus: self-sacrificially healing and offering relief and empowerment to the marginalized and broken. Over the centuries, the church has stood against injustice and built schools and hospitals, all while declaring the scandalous love of Jesus through action and words. The church often doesn’t get the credit it deserves for this, but God knows and rewards. His approval alone matters.
Third, the church unfortunately gets tempted by power and compromise. When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, the church gained political influence but lost much of the spiritual vitality. Over time, such political roles distorted biblical doctrine and corrupted leaders. Religious wars and inquisitions remind us how the church should be extremely cautious about partnering with political power, mixing the Gospel with worldly government. In this, we inevitably stray from declaring the heavenly Kingdom, which calls all earthly powers to repent. The church requires a certain amount of independence and freedom to fulfill the prophetic call, speaking the truth out of love instead of worldly power.
Fourth, even among major mistakes, God’s people led transformative movements. Church history shows us hope. Monasteries protected Scripture and knowledge during dark times. The Reformation moved the church back to the center of Christ, grace, and faith. We can learn from revivals and missionary movements how God acts and saves through the spread of the Gospel, changing struggling communities or taking the name of Jesus to new lands. Living these principles now, we are part of an amazing legacy and pass it on to others.
Fifth, the church will endure because we didn’t build it. Christ did. The ekklesia is founded and infused with the eternal Christ, the resurrection and life. No one can kill the resurrection. History and Revelation show us how the church will persevere. Despite persecution, divisions, and failures, Jesus promises hell won’t prevail against us. And he keeps his promises.
Studying church history (ecclesiology) helps us stay humble and thankful. Every generation must look to Scripture and our Savior to express the Kingdom within their own context. With his help, we can and will.
Peace.
Photo credit: Unsplash/Joseph Pearson
