WG: Church / Assembly¶
Overview¶
The NT "church" concept involves a cluster of words describing the gathered covenant people — the body, its members, their relationships, and its leadership. The central word ἐκκλησία (ekklesia) draws on the OT qahal tradition and is distinguished from the Jewish synagoge.
Word Group Members¶
| Strong's | Word | Transliteration | POS | Occurrences | Role in Concept | Library Entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G1577 | ἐκκλησία | ekklēsía | feminine noun | 115 | The assembly itself — local, universal, or prophetic | G1577-ekklesia.md |
| G4864 | συναγωγή | synagōgḗ | feminine noun | 57 | Jewish counterpart: gathering/synagogue | TODO(need G4864 study) |
| G40 | ἅγιος | hágios | adjective | 219 | The members: holy ones / saints | G40-hagios.md |
| G80 | ἀδελφός | adelphós | masculine noun | 319 | Relational identity: brethren | TODO(need G80 study) |
| G652 | ἀπόστολος | apóstolos | masculine noun | 80 | Leadership/foundation: apostles | TODO(need G652 study) |
Relationships¶
Shared Hebrew Root¶
- H6951 קָהָל (qahal) bridges G1577 and G4864 — the LXX used both ekklesia (66x) and synagoge (36x) to translate qahal, splitting the semantic field. See TR-qahal-ekklesia.md.
Co-occurrence (shared distinct verses)¶
| Word A | Word B | Shared Verses | Typical Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| G1577 (ekklesia) | G80 (adelphos) | 12x | Paul addressing the church as "brethren" — Acts 15:3; 2 Cor 1:1 |
| G1577 (ekklesia) | G40 (hagios) | 9x | "churches of the saints" / the holy community — 1 Cor 14:33 |
| G1577 (ekklesia) | G652 (apostolos) | 7x | Apostles commissioning and building churches — Acts 8:1; 15:22 |
| G40 (hagios) | G80 (adelphos) | 13x | "holy brethren" — Heb 3:1; Acts 1:16 |
| G40 (hagios) | G652 (apostolos) | 8x | Apostolic authority over the saints — Acts 1:2; 2 Cor 1:1 |
| G80 (adelphos) | G652 (apostolos) | 14x | Apostles among the brethren — Mat 10:2 context |
| G1577 (ekklesia) | G4864 (synagoge) | 0x | Never co-occur — NT keeps the two assemblies distinct |
Key Multi-Word Passages¶
- 2 Cor 1:1 [G1577 + G40 + G80 + G652] — "Paul, an apostle (G652) of Jesus Christ... unto the church (G1577) of God... to the saints (G40)... and Timothy our brother (G80)." All four members in one address.
- Acts 15:22 [G1577 + G80 + G652] — "Then pleased it the apostles (G652) and elders, with the whole church (G1577), to send chosen men of their own company [brethren (G80)]."
- Heb 3:1 [G40 + G80 + G652] — "Wherefore, holy (G40) brethren (G80)... consider the Apostle (G652) and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus."
Roles in the Concept¶
- The body: ekklesia (G1577) — the assembled/called-out community as a whole
- The members: hagios (G40) — their identity as holy ones set apart to God
- The relationships: adelphos (G80) — their kinship bond as brothers/sisters
- The foundation: apostolos (G652) — the delegate/sent one who plants and constitutes churches
- The counterpart: synagoge (G4864) — the parallel Jewish assembly; same Hebrew root, different covenantal context
Distinction: ekklesia vs. synagoge¶
The two words share a Hebrew antecedent (H6951 qahal) but NT usage distinguishes them sharply: - Ekklesia is used for Christian assemblies in every NT instance except Acts 19 (secular civic context) - Synagoge is used for Jewish assemblies, almost always with the building/institution sense - James 2:2 is the sole exception: "your assembly (synagoge)" — possibly early Jewish-Christian usage - The LXX choice to translate qahal as ekklesia (rather than synagoge) becomes the conceptual bridge for Acts 7:38 and Heb 2:12
Generated from: gather_word_group_data.py, search_strongs.py Last updated: 2026-04-02