Definition of Church History

Definition of Church History

Church

The Greek word for church is ekklesia which means "those called together or those called out."

This class will study the church of Jesus Christ. The word church is used today to refer to the buildings that the saints gather in to worship, but it more accurately refers to the people. The Scripture uses the word church to refer to an assembly in a certain house or city (Romans 16:5, I Cor. 16:19, Col. 4:15). The church is more than a house or building, but it is the saints who are the body of Christ.

The Lord added to the church

Acts 2:47…And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

After experiencing the great baptism of the Holy Ghost in the upper room, the disciples were powerfully influential in witnessing of Christ. In one day, 3,000 souls were saved and added to the local assembly. Every day, more and more were added!

There is only one church of God, and only God can add members to it. Humans have religious organizations and they can control the membership of them, but no human can say who is or is not a member of the church of God.

Jesus is the head of the church

Ephesians 1:22–23—And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body…

The church is referred to in this Scripture as the body of Christ. Jesus is the head of His body. In a physical body the head gives commands to the body to function and work. In the body of Christ, Jesus is the commander who gives instructions to His church to do the work of God.

The church was birthed by the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost. This class will include the study of the early church of Acts up to our current church period.

History

The word history comes from a word that means "learning by inquiry."

The Webster's dictionary defines history as "that branch of knowledge which deals with events that have taken place in the world's existence; the study or investigation of the past."

One writer said that "The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there." [1]

Christian

We are studying the history of the Christian church. The term Christian, meaning "to be like Christ or one who follows Christ," was first used in Antioch around AD 40 (Acts 11:25).

The birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ are the central events of the history of the world. History is recorded around Christ. Dates are listed as BC (before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini) which is Latin that means in the year of our Lord. All of history centers on Christ.

[1] L. P. Hartley, The Go-Between (1953)