The Greek word translated church signifies generally an assembly, either common or religious; and it is sometimes so translated, as in Acts 19:32,39 . In the New Testament it usually means a congregation of religious worshippers, either Jewish, as Acts 7:38 , or Christians, as Matthew 16:18 1 Corinthians 6:4 . The latter sense is the more common one; and it is thus used in a twofold manner, denoting,
1. The universal Christian church: either the invisible church, consisting of those whose names are written in heaven, whom God knows, but whom we cannot infallibly know, Hebrews 12:23; or the visible church, made up of the professed followers of Christ on earth, Colossians 1:24 1 Timothy 3:5,15
2. A particular church or body of professing believers, who meet and worship together in one place; as the churches of Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, etc., to which Paul addressed epistles.
Although written in 1859 by William Rand, this dictionary of the Bible from the American Tract Society is still relevant today.Wikipedia
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