A called-out assembly is simply any group gathered or separated out — the Greek word ekklesia — while the body of Christ is Paul's distinctive term for the Church with Christ as its head.
In Acts 19, even a riotous, idolatrous mob in Ephesus was called an ekklesia, proving the word does not automatically mean the body of Christ. Les Feldick teaches that Paul almost always qualifies the present-day church as 'the body of Christ, which is the church' or 'the church, which is his body.' The Jerusalem believers in early Acts were a genuine called-out assembly, yet Les maintains they were not yet on church ground or the body of Christ.
Acts 19:32 — Shows a riotous, confused crowd in Ephesus being called an 'assembly' — proving ekklesia does not automatically mean the body of Christ.
Acts 7:38 — Stephen calls Israel 'the church in the wilderness,' showing the word can mean a called-out assembly rather than the New Testament church.
1 Corinthians 12:12-13 — Paul uses the human body as an analogy for believers — the distinctive Pauline teaching that the church is the body of Christ.
The Greek word ekklesia simply means a called-out assembly, and the Bible uses it for gatherings that have nothing to do with the church as we usually think of it. In Acts 19, a confused, rioting mob of Ephesians gathered in the theater because of Paul's preaching against idolatry. Verse 32 says, 'Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.' This was an unlawful, riotous assembly, yet it bore the same Greek word that is translated elsewhere as 'church.' The same word is applied to Israel. In Acts 7:38, Stephen says of Moses, 'This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers.' Israel was a called-out assembly — called out of Egypt — rather than the New Testament church. In Paul's letters, the church is described in greater depth as the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12:12 Paul writes, 'For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.' Verse 13 says, 'For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.' Paul also writes in Ephesians 5:23 that 'Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.'
Les Feldick teaches that the English word 'church' does not capture the meaning of the Greek word ekklesia, which simply means a called-out assembly. He prefers the word 'assembly' because it is far more explanatory. To prove the point, he shows that the riotous mob in Ephesus in Acts 19 — stirred up by the silversmiths whose idol business was suffering because of Paul's gospel — was also called an ekklesia in the Greek. It was an ungodly, unlawful assembly with nothing of God about it, yet it bore the same word. He also points to Stephen's words in Acts 7, where Israel is called 'the church in the wilderness' — Israel was merely a called-out assembly out of Egypt. Likewise, the believing Jews in Jerusalem in the early chapters of Acts were an ecclesia: they had been called out of mainstream Judaism because they believed Jesus was the Christ, but they were still under the total umbrella of Judaism. Les maintains this was not 'church ground' or the body of Christ, since there had been no mention yet of a salvation based on His shed blood, burial, and resurrection. The body of Christ, Les emphasizes, is a distinctly Pauline term and doctrine. Jesus never referred to the group of believers as His body. Paul almost always qualifies the present-day church as 'the body of Christ, which is the church' or 'the church, which is his body' — and that qualification makes all the difference. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul compares the church to a human body with many members, all baptized by the Holy Spirit into one body.
The Greek word ekklesia means a called-out assembly. Les Feldick prefers the word assembly to church because it captures what the Greek actually says. He shows from Acts 19 that a riotous mob of Ephesians — provoked by the silversmiths who were losing business as the city turned from idolatry to Paul's gospel — was called an ekklesia. The translators rightly rendered it 'assembly,' not 'church,' because it was an ungodly, unlawful gathering. Stephen likewise used the word of Israel, calling them 'the church in the wilderness.'
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul compares believers to a human body: one body with many members belonging together. Les emphasizes that this is strictly a Pauline term and doctrine — Jesus never referred to believers as His body. Paul almost always qualifies the present-day church as 'the body of Christ, which is the church' or 'the church, which is his body.' In Ephesians 5:23, Christ is called the head of the church and the saviour of the body.
Les Feldick teaches that the believing Jews in Jerusalem in the early chapters of Acts were a called-out assembly — an ecclesia — because they had separated from Judaism over the conviction that Jesus was the Christ. But he maintains this was not church ground or the body of Christ as the church. There had been no mention yet of a salvation based on His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection, and they remained under the total umbrella of Judaism.
In Acts 19, a confused, rioting crowd in Ephesus is called an assembly: 'Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together' (Acts 19:32). In Acts 7:38, Stephen calls Israel 'the church in the wilderness.' The Bible therefore uses the same Greek word for a pagan riot, for Israel, and for the church.
The Ephesian Riot Called an Ecclesia
Les shows that the mob of idolatrous Ephesians in Acts 19 — stirred up by the silversmiths — was called an ekklesia, so the word can refer to an ungodly assembly, not just the church.
Ekklesia Does Not Automatically Mean the Body of Christ
Les explains that because Paul almost always qualifies the present-day church as the body of Christ, the mere use of the word church does not mean the body of Christ — the riotous Ephesian mob proves the point.
Israel and the Jerusalem Assembly as Ecclesias
Les shows that Stephen called Israel 'the church in the wilderness' and that the Jewish believers in Jerusalem were an ecclesia — a called-out assembly — yet not the body of Christ.
The Body of Christ Is Strictly Pauline
Les emphasizes that Jesus never called believers His body; 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 5 present the body of Christ as a Pauline doctrine with Christ as head.
Jerusalem Believers Under Judaism's Umbrella
Les describes the Jerusalem believers as a called-out assembly separated from Judaism but still under its total umbrella, distinct from the body of Christ.
Why 'Assembly' Is a Better Translation
Les prefers 'assembly' over 'church' because ekklesia means called-out assembly, and Paul addresses the Corinthian believers as a sanctified assembly.
Spirit Baptism into the One Body
Les highlights 1 Corinthians 12 and the unique Pauline phrase 'the church, which is his body,' with the Holy Spirit baptizing believers into that one body.
Acts 4-5 Was Not Church Ground
Les maintains that the Jerusalem assembly in Acts 4-5 was not the body of Christ — those Jewish believers had only come to see Jesus as the promised Messiah.
Acts 19:32: Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.
Shows the same Greek word for church (ekklesia) used of a confused, rioting mob in Ephesus.
Acts 7:38: This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us.
Stephen uses 'church' for Israel in the wilderness — a called-out assembly, not the New Testament church.
Acts 19:28: And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
Part of the Ephesian riot account Les uses to show an ungodly assembly crying out for Diana.
1 Corinthians 1:2: Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.
Paul addresses the Corinthian assembly as sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be saints.
1 Corinthians 12:12: For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
Paul's comparison of the church to a human body with many members.
1 Corinthians 12:13: For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
The Spirit baptizes believers into the one body of Christ.
Ephesians 5:23: For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Christ is the head of the church and the saviour of the body.
No. Les Feldick shows that the same Greek word ekklesia was applied to the riotous mob in Ephesus in Acts 19 and to Israel in the wilderness in Acts 7:38. Being called a church or an assembly does not make a group the body of Christ. Paul almost always qualifies the present-day church as 'the body of Christ, which is the church.'
Les explains that those Jewish believers were a called-out assembly — they had separated from mainstream Judaism because they believed Jesus was the Christ. But there had been no mention yet of salvation based on His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection, and they were still under the total umbrella of Judaism.
The body of Christ is a distinctly Pauline term. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, Paul compares the church to a human body with many members who are all baptized by one Spirit into that one body. Christ is the head of the church and the saviour of the body (Ephesians 5:23).
Les prefers 'assembly' because ekklesia literally means a called-out assembly, and 'church' is more or less a coined English term not really found in the original Greek. Translators used 'assembly' in Acts 19 for the riotous mob because it was not a godly gathering.
Watch the Teaching: What Does "Church" Really Mean? Acts 2 & Ekklesia Explained