Christian Theology - Media Sabda Org

CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY.
Adam Clarke
XVII.—THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
THE word church simply means an "assembly" or "congregation," and
must have some other word joined to it to determine its nature: namely,
the "church of God;" the congregation collected by God, and devoted to
his service: the "church of Christ;" the whole company of Christians
wheresoever found; because, by the preaching of the gospel, they are
called out of the spirit and maxims of the world, to live according to the
precepts of the Christian religion. This is sometimes called the "catholic"
or "universal" church, because constituted of all the professors of
Christianity in the world, to whatsoever sects or parties they may belong;
and hence the absurdity of applying the term "catholic," which signifies
"universal," to that very small portion of it, the Church of Rome. In
primitive times, before Christians had any stated buildings, they
worshipped in private houses; the people that had been converted to God
meeting together in some one dwelling house of a fellow convert more
convenient and capacious than the rest; hence "the church that was in the
house of Aquila and Priscilla," Rom. xvi, 3, 5; and 1 Cor. xvi, 19; and
"the church that was in the house of Nymphas," Col. iv, 15. Now, as these
houses were dedicated to the worship of God, each was termed kuriou
oikos, the "house of the Lord;" which word, in process of time, became
contracted into kurioik, and kuriake; and hence the kirk of our northern
neighbours, and kirik, of our Saxon ancestors, from which, by corruption,
changing the hard Saxon c into ch, we have made the word "church." This
term, though it be generally used to signify the people worshipping in a
particular place, yet by a metonymy, the container being put for the
contained, we apply, as it was originally, to the building which contains
the worshipping people.
The church of Christ was considered an enclosure; a field, or vineyard,
well hedged or walled. Those who were not members of it were
considered without; that is, not under that especial protection and defence