Synagogues are used by many church devotees as a justification for the church organization and model of forms in religious services. It is, no doubt, an influence being an organization. However, using the Synagogues as justification hardly offers any approval from God. That there were leading officials in the synagogues is seen by the multiple uses of the Greek word apchon and its derivatives. There is evidence that the church organization was influenced by the synagogues either directly or indirectly. Still, to claim the church may have been influenced by the Jewish Synagogues is not the same as claiming that the “called-out” (ekklesia) had its origin in the synagogues. Jewish patterns of worship influenced the church institution supported and propagated by Constantine. He attempted to attract Jewish traditions as he did all peoples to Christianity. The connection between the synagogue and the forms of worship in the church (the Catholic church) is too obvious. When we combined the efforts of the church fathers and Constantine, we understand that “the church” is a product of their work, not the work of Paul or any other approved teacher of God’s word. So, if we are looking for the “church,” we could start with them and the influences at work in their lives. If we are looking for the “called out body,” we will have to go back to Christ and His apostles, because a shift occurred from one to the other.
To suggest that the Church Fathers or Constantine continued on the path charted by Paul and other inspired writers on the basis that “church services” are comparable to the synagogues is a mistake. The leadership models are different. Paul does not model his teaching on leadership on the synagogue practices. In fact, Paul’s participation in the synagogues is similar to today’s visiting preaching attending a church service. Neither are acting members of the organization. Paul’s only motivation in attending their meetings is the occasion for the teaching that is provided. Nowhere does he align himself as a member of the synagogue. As long as he had an opportunity to teach Jesus from the law, he attended them. When that opportunity was cut off, he would focus his attention on the Gentiles, even if the transition was in the same city.
Therefore, the use of the word “ekklesia” in the New Testament days only describes the called out ones whose names are known and recorded by God. You can speak of those living in Palestine, Galatia, and Achaia or Rome and Ephesus, but you have not changed its use and meaning. For example, the ekklesia in Ephesus was the called-out ones who lived in Ephesus. The formation of an organization in these towns is an unproven assumption that fits the modern model of church and church leadership. In case you’re wondering of a rebuttal, we will have more to say about the matter of fellowship because the lack of church organization does not eliminate the fellowship of fellow Christians. Rather, it accentuates it as a way of life, wherein they shared their lives together. (More on this later).