A second understanding of ὲκκλησία is decidedly secular, referencing an
“assembly, as a regularly summoned political body,”47 but also with allusion to the
congregation of the Israelites, especially when gathered for religious purposes. Within the Pauline corpus, the words church and churches are mentioned sixty-six times referencing some aspect of an assembly of the redeemed. For example, 1 Thessalonians 1:1 refers to the ὲκκλησία or gathering (singular) of the Thessalonians with the identifying qualification,
“in God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” so as to distinguish it from other political councils and synagogue meetings.48 In verse 4, Paul refers to the “churches of God”
(plural) in reference to many or at least several individual assemblies. The fact that these are churches in a specific geographical area removes any sense in which this may be
46Sacred writings appears to be the favorite terminology of rabbinic Judaism which not only reflects Paul’s background but may also suggest that Timothy was familiar with the Old Testament as
“God-breathed” (2 Tim 2).
47BGAD, A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament, 240.
interpreted metaphorically. This terminology describes local assemblies of gathered believers. In reference to the church in Ephesus (1 Tim 1:3), Paul mentions Onesiphorus who served the assembly in Ephesus and had shown kindness to him (2 Tim 1:18).
Similarly, Paul sent Tychicus to the assembly in Ephesus (2 Tim 4:11-13).
Assembly was also popularly used to describe a group of Roman citizens entitled to vote, as well as business meetings of clubs.49 While the assemblies of God are related to one another in terms of faith and practice, such is not the case as one would expect, in relation to the pagan religious assemblies, as well as secular assemblies who met for civic or social causes. Meeks states some scholars propose that Christian groups imitated the pattern of some volunteer clubs and assemblies. Yet he articulates that Christian assemblies did not consciously model themselves after such civic assemblies, and in fact while Christian assemblies were more exclusive in their membership in terms of belief and conduct, they were more inclusive in terms of accepting wide social strata of members.50 The goals of civic assemblies were primarily “fellowship and conviviality.”
The cultic clubs were connected to festivals and shrines to the gods, and the Christian assembly convened around matters of salvation.51
An examination of 1 and 2 Timothy reveals that the assembly of Christians in Ephesus came together for a number of salvation matters. Ministry included different activities such as encouraging, rebuking, organizing for the care of widows (1 Tim 5), public reading of the Scriptures (1 Tim 4), and prayers (1 Tim 2), as well as teaching and preaching (2 Tim 4), often in the context of public worship. It is notable that the teaching of faith matters is blended into instruction concerning how to dress and how to conduct
49Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, 42, states that in Athens, the assembly
“provided a kind of direct democracy for many legislative and judicial decisions.”
50Meeks, The First Urban Christians, 78.
51Ibid., 79.
one’s life in public (1 Tim 2). Similarly, discipline has to be administered for the sake of the assembly, and this in stark contrast to the public laying on of hands as a commissioning and assignment service of blessing.52
The local assembly of those who worshiped Jesus most likely met in the homes of the wealthy members. Their financial status would allow them to provide adequate space for the small assembly to convene, discuss ministry needs, and of course worship through teaching, praying, and singing (Col 3:16). Two such homes of assembly were possibly that of Prisca and Aquila, as well as the household of Onesiphorus (2 Tim 1:16;
2 Tim 4: 19). Paul appears to be indebted to both as they proved helpful in the gospel ministry. However, wealthy homeowners were not always so useful. First and 2 Timothy strongly suggest that some wealthy members, possibly those who were leaders in their respective home assemblies, were the source of leadership problems, false teaching, and attendant ungodly behavior. Frances Young comments that the Pastorals, in addition to early Christian literature, reveal a “natural dominance of the well-to-do” because the church assembly often depended on the wealthy to subsidize the work of Christian ministry.53
Whereas there may have been many superficial similarities between the common civic and religious assemblies and clubs of the Mediterranean world, namely regular meetings, business conducted, practiced rituals, and social interactions expressed, the assemblies of God were undeniably different in origin, purpose, and function. Those in the assembly of God were summoned by God (in contrast to voluntary interest and association) and transformed into a member of the family of God. Έκλησία
,
the assembly of God in 1 and 2 Timothy, was a household where the glorious gospel was taught (1 Tim52Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, 34, writes, “Timothy is to make use of the gifts he possesses, gifts made evident at his commissioning into ministry, a commissioning that was accompanied by prophecy and by the ritual of laying on of hands.”
53Young, The Theology of the Pastoral Letters, 34.
1:11) with the goal of such instruction to encourage “love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Tim 1:5).
Temple (Assembly) of Yahweh
To be sure, it was Jesus, not Paul, who originally spoke of “church” as the New Testament designation of God’s people (Matt 16:18). The expected activity of the Messiah was to establish such an assembly. Dunn states that ekklesia is how Israel
described herself. 54Ekklesia occurs at least 100 times in the Septuagint referencing Israel as the “assembly of Yahweh.” In continuity with this idea, Israel described herself as
“holy” (Deut 7:6), “elect” (Ps 89:3), and “called” (Isa 41:9) of God. In establishing His covenant with Israel, God avowed, “Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine” (Exod 19:5). God instructs Moses to “Gather the people to me” in order that they may hear his words. Grudem explains, “The word ‘gather’ (Heb. qahal) with the Greek term ekklesiazo, ‘to summon an assembly,’” is the verb cognate of the New Testament ekklesia, church.55 These covenant verses picture Israel as God’s people in the midst of all the people of the world. Thus Israel is the assembly of Yahweh called out from the world and gathered together in the land God will supply for them.
Ultimately God promised Abraham a land, a seed, and a blessing.56
Accordingly, ekklesia suggests an eschatological accomplishment of God through the Messiah and his people, the church. The Christ event established God’s
54Dunn, The Theology of Paul, 537.
55William Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2000), 854.
56Thomas Schreiner, Paul: Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ—A Pauline Theology (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2001), 75.
promise to Israel for deliverance through the Messiah and the creation of the new Israel,57 the church. Paul came to fully understand that the Old Testament promises were being fulfilled in the gospel of Jesus. For Paul this was not a surprising event or “unexpected turn in God’s purposes”58 (Rom 1:1-3). Paul understood that the Messiah was Israel’s true king, a royal Messiah, and One who would deliver Israel as well as bring her history to climax.59 This is the treasure of the gospel that Timothy and the household of God are to protect and promote.
The truth of God has captured the church. The church is to protect and promote that truth (1 Tim 3:15). Based upon the truth of the gospel, the gathered household of God is to lift up holy hands in prayer for the salvation of all people (1 Tim 2); insist on godly leadership, men above reproach (1 Tim 3; 2 Tim 2:14-26) who will not bring dishonor to the truth of the gospel; “prescribe and teach” the truth (1 Tim 4:11; 2 Tim 2:1-2, 4:1-5), knowing that the salvation of others depends on it; properly attend to the needs of household members, as well as insist on accountability from them (1 Tim 5; 2 Tim 1:13- 15), so that a proper example is supplied to the household and watching world (1 Tim 2);
fight the good fight of faith (2 Tim 2:3-7), which will inevitably involve suffering (2 Tim 1:8, 15), maintaining purity and godliness (2 Tim 3:1-15); and await the next epiphany of Christ (1 Tim 6:11-16; 2 Tim 1:10).
It has been demonstrated that “church” has at least three connotative meanings:
the church as a called out or gathered people, the church as an assembly designed to perform public or private functions, and the church as the assembly of Yahweh. Given a full view of Pauline theology, it would not be a disservice to suggest all three perspectives
57I am very much aware of strong disagreement as to this interpretation of Paul. One such representative source is S. Lewis Johnson, Jr., “Paul and ‘The Israel of God’ An Exegetical and Eschatological Case Study,” The Master’s Seminary Journal 20 (2009): 41-55.
58Dunn, The Theology of Paul, 169.
59N. T. Wright, Paul in Fresh Perspective (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2005), 43.
find some measure of agreement in 1 and 2 Timothy.60 The Christian community is a family of people set apart from the world, yet in the midst of the world a community of faith who reflects a divine origin, has been assembled by divine activity, and assigned to a divine purpose. This reality is seen in the central passage of 1 Timothy.
The Living God
Towner asserts it unclear as to what the term “Living God” adds to Paul’s language of the church as the household of God.61 Yet it is certain the appellation the
“Living God” has weighty background in the Old and New Testaments.62 The household of God is unique in that it has been established by and is inhabited by the living God.
“This ‘assembly’ of Christian people is distinct from the other assemblies of the world in that the living God dwells within it (2 Cor. 6:16).”63 Mounce contends that the term is also a statement against perceiving the church as a sort of “static institutionalism,”64 but rather a household gathered, sustained, and empowered by God for his purposes.
That the household belongs to God is demonstrated in a number of instances including the language of possession.65 Such possession necessarily implies his control over the church. The church is the household of God and not to be mistaken for just another religious deity in Ephesus (see Acts 19). This God does not compete with
601 Cor 1:2 is a demonstration of all three perspectives.
61Towner, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, 274.
62Deut 5:26; Josh 3:10; 1 Sam 17:26, 36; 2 Kgs 19:4, 16; Pss 42:2; 84:2; Isa 37:4, 17; Jer 10:10; 23:36; Dan 6:20, 26; Hos 1:10; Matt 16:16, 26:63; Acts 14:15; Rom 9:26; 2 Cor 3:3, 6:16; 1 Thess 1:9; Heb 3:12, 9:14, 10:31, 12:22; Rev 7:2.
63Philip H. Towner, 1-2 Timothy & Titus, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (Downers Grove, IL: 1994), 95.
64Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, 221.
65θεοῦ genitive of θεός.
Artemis.66 This is not another religious group, but the house of the one and only God (1 Tim 1:17).
Given the apostle’s religious background, the Old Testament concept of the
“Living God” is certainly a theological concept to which Paul would have been familiar with and committed to. Moreover, there appears to be at least three conceptual ideas relative to the term, “Living God.” Thus this perspective, without minimizing the human element, lays emphasis on the divine reality. This section shall address the appellation, the Living God, as reference to God as the Creator and sustaining presence of life, the only divine, and the living God as the One who establishes eschatological hope.