The Proclaimer

What's In A Name?

Webster defines the word “name” as, “a word or phrase that constitutes the distinctive designation of a person or thing.”  In the New Testament the term rendered “church” (ekklesia) means literally “a calling out.”  And so we see words or phrases used to refer to these “called out people” the church.  For instance, Paul addresses the First Corinthian letter to “the church of God which is at Corinth” (1 Cor. 1:2), and speaking of a plurality of congregations he writes, “All the churches of Christ salute you” (Rom. 16:16).  We must understand that such designations do not constitute a proper name per se, but, rather, relate the “called out people” to ownership or headship.  Christ is the head of the church (Eph. 1:22). And having purchased it “with his own blood” (Acts 20:28), it belongs to Him.  Hence, in using the “name” “church of Christ” we are actually identifying God’s people as the church (called out people) of (belonging to) Christ.

God gives no one label or name for His church in the New Testament.  In fact, I suspect the concept most people in the religious world have of the “church” is based upon the traditions of men rather than the teaching of Scripture.  In the New Testament the word “church” is only one word used by God to designate His people.  We see other terms such as body, kingdom and family also used.  Each of these terms actually indicate relationship: “church” referring to those called out of the world, “body” relating the members to the head, and “family” showing relationship to one another.

The “name” “church of Christ” is not an official label that God’s people are collectively bound to wear, and we ought not use it as a sectarian trademark in the way denominations use Baptist, Methodist or Presbyterian.  This being so, why do we see the name “church of Christ” used in a consistent way by the people of God today?  Would it not be better to just call a congregation of God’s people as simply “the church” or “Christ’s church” or the “church of God?”  Would this not make the point better that the designation “church of Christ” is not a denominational name?

A few years ago I was traveling in Colorado and looking for the building of a local church so that I could worship on the Lord’s day.  I had the address of the building but still had great difficulty finding it.  In fact I drove past it several times before I realized it was the meeting place of Christians.  The problem was that these brethren, in an attempt to divorce themselves from the denominational world and from giving the impression that they were a sectarian “church,” did not use the designation “church of Christ.”  The irony is that their attempt to look non-denominational made them look like a denomination.

The point is, there is a great deal of “church” confusion in the religious world.  And while some may wrongly consider the designation “church of Christ” a denominational label, clear and precise communication demands a consistent identification of the people of God.  There was a time when traveling you could attend the worship services of a local church of Christ and rest assured that you were worshipping with people of like precious faith who were restricting themselves to the authority of God.  Sadly this is not so today, for many “churches of Christ” have become nothing more than another denomination.  While such apostasy certainly adds to the confusion in the minds of many, we must not lose sight of the Scriptural use of the designation “church of Christ,” using it simply to identify “the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood.”

                                                                                                               -- Clark Dugger

The Proclaimer