Jesus said ekklesia not church and the difference matters
The word Jesus uses in Matthew 16:18 is ekklesia (ἐκκλησία , “assembly, called-out ones”). It means a group of people summoned together. The English word “church” derives from kyriakon (κυριακόν , “belonging to the Lord”), which does not appear in the New Testament. Two thousand years of institutional Christianity has been built around a translation that replaced the word Jesus actually said with a word he never used.
What ekklesia means
Ekklesia (ἐκκλησία ) is a compound word. The prefix ek (ἐκ , “out of”) combines with klesis (κλῆσις , “a calling”), from the verb kaleo (καλέω , “to call”). An ekklesia is a called-out assembly.
In classical Athens, the ekklesia was the principal assembly of citizens. Thucydides, Plato, and Aristotle all use the word to describe political gatherings where citizens voted on legislation, war, and public policy. The word carried civic and political meaning. It carried no inherent religious meaning and no connection to a building.
The Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) uses ekklesia to translate the Hebrew qahal (קָהָל , “assembly, congregation”). In Deuteronomy 9:10 it describes the assembly at Sinai: “the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.” The Hebrew qahal and the Greek ekklesia both refer to people gathered, not a location.
The two occurrences in the Gospels
Jesus uses ekklesia only twice in the Gospels, both in Matthew.
Matthew 16:18: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my ἐκκλησίαν (ekklesian).”
Matthew 18:17 : “And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the ἐκκλησίᾳ (ekklesia): but if he neglect to hear the ἐκκλησίαν (ekklesian) also, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.”
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus speaks of building his assembly. The verb oikodomeo (οἰκοδομέω , “to build, to edify”) in this context means to construct or establish. The object is people, not a structure. The name Jesus gives Simon in this verse is Kepha (כֵּיפָא , “rock”), with a gematria value of 111 (kaf 20 + yod 10 + pe 80 + aleph 1). The word “church” appears exactly 111 times in the King James New Testament. The name and the count match in the same verse. In Matthew 18:17, the ekklesia functions as a body that hears disputes and renders judgment, a function identical to the civic ekklesia of the Greek world and the qahal of the Hebrew Bible.
Where the word “church” comes from
The English word “church” derives from the Greek kyriakon (κυριακόν ), the neuter form of kyriakos (κυριακός , “belonging to the Lord”), from kyrios (κύριος , “lord, master”).
The word kyriakos appears exactly twice in the New Testament:
1 Corinthians 11:20 : κυριακὸν δεῖπνον (“the Lord’s supper”)
Revelation 1:10 : τῇ κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ (“the Lord’s day”)
In both cases it functions as an adjective modifying a noun (supper, day). It never appears as a standalone noun referring to an assembly of people.
The path from kyriakon to “church” runs through the Germanic languages. The Old English cirice and the German Kirche both derive from kyriakon. The word entered these languages through contact with Greek-speaking Christians in late antiquity and referred initially to the building (the Lord’s house), not to the assembly that met in it.
Tyndale, King James, and the translation decision
William Tyndale published his English New Testament in 1526. He translated ekklesia as “congregation” throughout, which accurately reflects the meaning of the Greek. Tyndale was explicit about his reasoning. He rejected “church” as a mistranslation that obscured the text.
For this (among other reasons) Tyndale was condemned, strangled, and burned at the stake in 1536.
When King James I commissioned a new English Bible in 1604, he issued fifteen rules for the translation committee. Rule 3 states: “The old Ecclesiastical Words to be kept, viz. the Word Church not to be translated Congregation &c.”
This was a royal directive, not a translation decision. The King James translators were instructed by the king to use “church” instead of “congregation.” The word appears 111 times in the KJV New Testament as a translation of ekklesia. Tyndale’s more accurate rendering was overruled by political authority.
Ekklesia in Acts and the Epistles
The 111 occurrences of ekklesia in the New Testament break down into three categories:
Local assemblies
The most common use. Paul writes to the ekklesia at Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:2 ), the ekklesia at Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 1:1 ), the ekklesiai of Galatia (Galatians 1:2 ). Each is a local gathering of believers in a specific city.
These assemblies met in homes. Romans 16:5 : “greet the ἐκκλησίαν (ekklesian) that is in their house.” Also 1 Corinthians 16:19 , Colossians 4:15 , and Philemon 1:2 . No New Testament text describes a purpose-built meeting hall. The archaeological record confirms that dedicated Christian buildings do not appear before the third century. The Dura-Europos house church (c. 235 AD) is the earliest known example, and it is a renovated private home, not a purpose-built structure.
The universal body
Ephesians 1:22-23 : “and gave him to be the head over all things to the ἐκκλησίᾳ (ekklesia), Which is his body.” Here ekklesia refers to all believers collectively, not to any local group. The same usage appears in Ephesians 5:25 , Colossians 1:18 , and Colossians 1:24 .
Non-Christian assemblies
Acts 19:32 , 39, and 41 use ekklesia for the riot and the lawful civic assembly in Ephesus. The town clerk distinguishes the riotous gathering (v. 32, 41) from the lawful ekklesia (v. 39). Luke uses the same Greek word for all three because ekklesia means assembly, and that is what these were.
What the translation changed
When ekklesia became “church,” the word shifted from describing people to describing an institution and eventually a building.
Jesus said “I will build my assembly.” That determines whether one reads the New Testament as the founding document of an institution or as the record of a movement composed of people called out and gathered together.
Paul wrote letters to assemblies of believers meeting in houses. The organizational structure described in the New Testament (elders, deacons, no central hierarchy, no dedicated buildings, no clergy/laity distinction) fits the word ekklesia.
References
- Thucydides, Plato, and Aristotle: classical Greek usage of ekklesia for civic assemblies of citizens with no religious or architectural meaning.
- Septuagint (LXX): translates Hebrew qahal as ekklesia, establishing the assembly meaning in the Greek Old Testament.
- William Tyndale, English New Testament (1526): translated ekklesia as “congregation” throughout; rejected “church” as a mistranslation.
- King James I, Fifteen Rules for the Translation Committee (1604), Rule 3: directed translators to retain “church” rather than “congregation.”
- Dura-Europos house church (c. 235 AD): earliest known dedicated Christian building; a renovated private home, not a purpose-built structure.