Pondering Philippians : Congregational Profile
CHURCH ARTICLE | Scott Long | Marietta, Pennsylvania
The Circumstances
Robbed of his freedom for teaching the gospel, Paul sits in chains. It is not the first time (and it might not be the last*). Yet, as a true bondservant of God, rather than bemoan his circumstances, Paul rejoices in the twin blessings of access to teaching the “Praetoreum guard” and increased preaching by the brethren, though some “preach Christ even from envy and strife.” Even in his chains, Paul has cause to remember his beloved Macedonian brethren and pray for them. Read More
Church is one of several words that entered our language through the influence of the King James Bible. In his rules for the translators, King James I of England desired “the old ecclesiastical words to be kept.” Therefore, ekklesia was never actually translated but transliterated, sort of. Church comes into English from the Scottish kirke, which is derived through Germanic influences from a shortened form of the Greek kuriokon meaning “belonging to the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:20; Revelation 1:10). Complain, as many do, about the word, it is nevertheless a scriptural designation (cf. Matthew 2:6; Romans 9:25–26; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Matthew 16:18). However, it is not a translation. 
Bible classes are a great environment for Christian growth. Yet we often struggle to get meaning and benefit from classes. We blame teachers (or workbooks or fellow-students) for the disconnect and rarely consider ourselves.
The word of God presents the church of our Lord in descriptive and marvelous terms. The description that is used more than any other in depicting the church to us in the Bible is “kingdom.”
Just a few minutes ago, I was on the phone, long-distance, with my sister – my adopted sister. Even though she is adopted, I consider her to be my “real” sister. (We were both adopted. While we are not biologically related, we really are connected in a unique way.) We were reminiscing together because today was the wedding anniversary of our adoptive parents. Although both of our parents are gone now, it’s a joy for us to remember them! We miss them. They were dear folks who took us into their hearts and home and wanted us to call them Mom and Dad – even though we’d all previously been strangers! And you know, even though strangers, in the presence of their beautiful love for us, we bonded together as a real family. Each of us, as individuals with separate heritages, were brought together in love. And that illustrates a spiritual matter of extreme eternal significance.