For much of my life I was taught that the English word “Church” which comes from the Greek word “ekklesia” means, “Called Out Ones”.

After this definition is given, the speaker will typically go on to tell his audience how the Church is “called out”, to be different.  So, far there would seem to be little reason for a disagreement on this, since the Greek word does indeed have etymological roots of “called out” but it is not just word origin that determines what a word means, but context.  The context of “ekklesia” comes from secular Greek, which defined the word as “called FORTH ones”, or “gathering” which would equate to our “town meeting” or perhaps even political bodies such as the Senate. (see here), thus The Church is more of a Body than we suppose.

Perhaps someone would think this is a trivial or semantically minute point but it really has had huge ramifications on how Christians have conducted themselves as “The Church”.

You see, when a preacher gives the “called out ones” definition, along with it typically comes the idea that Christians are “called out of the world” & need to almost retreat from it.  That society is only going to get worse & we need to get away from it.   Rather, understanding that The Church is CALLED FORTH to be more than conquerors in Christ (Romans 8:37) & that we are to be ruling & reigning with Christ (Rev 5:10) we begin to see all of the defeatism that has engulfed Christians is wrongheaded.

There was a time when Christians believed that it was our purpose to be the tools of Christ to advance His kingdom – the kingdom that started out as a mustard seed & grows & grows into a tree able to sustain the flocks of the world, or a kingdom as a rock that grows & grows into a mountain & fills the entire world, crushing the other kingdoms (Mt 13:30-32 & Dan 2:34-35), but over the last 500 years, this concept has been whittled away by those who advocate defeat instead of victory, or advocate becoming the culture instead of transforming the cutlure.

The Church is NOT “called out” to go into hiding, waiting it out until the Lord returns or some UNbiblical notion of a “Rapture” occurs – rather, The Church was founded by the Cornerstone & on the foundation of the apostles to continue to advance everywhere so that not even the “gates of Hell” would prevail against it. (Mt 16:18-19)  The Church is CALLED FORTH to lead in society & culture.  It is the Church that started the universities in the word.  It is the Church that started the hospitals in the world.  It is the Church that often gave men the ambition to carry on at tasks that seemed insurmountable.  It is THAT kind of Church which we Christians should be advocating.  That kind of Church which we should belong.  That kind of Church which we should be advancing.

Instead, we have allowed a few people to turn the Church Triumphant into the Church Defeated or turn the Church Victorious into the Church Subjective.  Most of Christianity is either filled with people who are waiting for the ship to sink or it is filled with socialistic relativists that think being a Christian simply means “be nice” & do all sorts of guilt-relieving humanistic deeds.  Don’t you think it is time to get back to being The Church that Christ established?  The Church that Christ died for?  The Church that is the Wedded Bride of Christ?  The Church that is supposed to be ruling with the Bridegroom?