[B-Greek] Acts 16:5

Bart Torbert Bart.Torbert at ihsenergy.com
Thu Apr 1 14:25:41 EST 2004






I have always understood the roots of EKKLESIAH had more to do with a
collection of people, not a physical building.  Considering the irregular
and informal nature of the organization of the early believers and the fact
it took quite a while before specific physcial buildings, set aside for
only worship,  came into being, I would think that the default when reading
the New Testament should be to the idea of a group of people not really
tied to the place they happened to worship.

So in the example given for
Acts 16:5 And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased
in number daily
The increase would refer to the number of individual in the group, not more
groups.

Waldo--- What in Acts do you think refers to an actual building?

Does anyone know of the use of EKKLESIAH outside of the Bible?

Bart Torbert
bart.torbert at ihsenergy.com




                                                                           
             "Dony K. Donev"                                               
             <dony at cupandcross                                             
             .com>                                                      To 
             Sent by:                  <B-Greek at lists.ibiblio.org>         
             b-greek-bounces at l                                          cc 
             ists.ibiblio.org                                              
                                                                   Subject 
                                       [B-Greek] Acts 16:5                 
             04/01/2004 07:17                                              
             AM                                                            
                                                                           
                                                                           
                                                                           
                                                                           




============= In responce of ==========

You will find references like this quite often: 1 Cor 14

As in all the churches of the saints, the women should be silent in the
churches...

Churches in the plural will generally reference the meeting places OF THE
SAINTS. They most often met in house-churches, but occasionally met in
"buildings" as you see later in Acts.

The easiest way to research this would simply be to look up all the plurals
of church. This shouldn't take but a few minutes. There's not that many. I
got 33 hits when I searched for "houses" in the NET Bible search engine,
and many of these were located in the footnotes.

Waldo

=======================================

Can I safely assume that "quite often" doesn't mean always? I found the
following uses of the plural of EKKLESIAH which do not sound like places,
house churches or buildings, but rather actual people/congregations:

Acts 15:41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.



Acts 16:5 And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased
in number daily



1 Corinthians 16:1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have
given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.



1 Corinthians 16:19 The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla
salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.



2 Corinthians 8:19 And not that only, but who was also chosen of the
churches to travel with us with this grace, which is administered by us to
the glory of the same Lord, and declaration of your ready mind: {grace: or,
gift}



2 Corinthians 8:24 Wherefore shew ye to them, and before the churches, the
proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf.



2 Corinthians 12:13 For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other
churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? forgive me
this wrong.



Revelation 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto
the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of
life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.





Revelation 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second
death.



Revelation 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden
manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name
written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.



Revelation 2:29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches.



Revelation 3:6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto
the churches.



Revelation 3:13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches.



Revelation 3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches.





Dony K. Donev
http://cupandcross.com/







---
B-Greek home page: http://metalab.unc.edu/bgreek
B-Greek mailing list
B-Greek at lists.ibiblio.org
 http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek




More information about the B-Greek mailing list