Intro

Psalm 29 forms the basis of the studies that follow, the verses of the psalm leading into thoughts about certain aspects of the New Testament church. Verse 7 of Psalm 29 with its clear link to Acts 2:3 and the giving on the Holy Spirit at the inauguration of the church provided the "spark" that brought these studies into being.

The links on the left lead to the studies.

But first ... what is church?
The Greek word used in the Bible is ekklesia, which means 'the called out ones', variously translated as "church", "assembly" or "congregation".
It is used to describe:

A lawful assembly - Acts 19:39.
A mob - Acts 19:32, 41.
The congregation of Israel - Acts 7:38.
The whole universal company of the redeemed - Mt.16:18, "I will build my church"; Heb.12:23 - "the general assembly and church of the firstborn".
Christ's body - Eph.1:22 - He is "the head of the church".
A local group of believers - 1Cor.1:2, 16:19 - the church in the house of Aquila and Priscilla.

So it was a common word which originally had a secular meaning and denoted any group of people who met together because of a common interest. In the New Testament it is given a spiritual application and is applied to the redeemed people whose common interest is that they have accepted Jesus as Lord of their lives. It is never used for a building, always for a group of people.

The English word 'church' is derived from the Greek, kuriakos which means 'pertaining to the Lord'; used with oikos (house) it gave kuriakos oikos, 'the Lord's house' and was applied to the physical building where the people of the Lord met, this term is not found in the New Testament.

So to be true to the New Testament when we think of church, lets not think of a particular building, but of the whole company of the Lord's people thoughout the ages and of any group of His people meeting together in one place to worship Him in spirit and truth.
For these studies church is taken to mean a group of believers who meet together in the name of Jesus to worship and learn from Him. That group might meet in a specific church building, it might meet in a house, it could meet in a prison cell, it could meet in secret in the woods. In all these places the true ekklesia can be found.

It is of interest to note that there are several other terms used in a similar sense to ekklesia for the redeemed people of God:

oikeios for the house/household of God, Eph. 2:19.
laos for the people of God - 1Pet.2:10, Titus2:14, "His own special people".
koinonia for the fellowship in the Holy Spirit - 2Cor.13:14.
hagios for the fellowship of the saints - Eph.1:1.
hoi pisteuontes for believers ("those who believe") - 1Cor.1:21.

Again, all these words speak of a group of people, not of a physical building.