I really didn’t expect this, but my thoughts on semantics has turned into somewhat of a short series. (You can read the first post here and the second post here.) But, because I believe that semantics, or our choice of words, is very important with regards to the whole of life, it should not shock me too much.

For the Christian community, the followers of Christ, our use of words is just as crucial, if not more. When I say this, I don’t just mean in our communication with non-Christians as we look to verbally proclaim Christ and what He has done, though that is definitely true. But I believe this is also just as true in our communication with one another. There are so many diverse groupings of Christ’s followers around the world, and with such, we are not always on the same page. I’m sure you have witnessed this at some point in your life.

As a result, there are a few words and statements that we, as Christians, have in our vocabulary that I believe need modification. Thus, I specifically challenge three such words and phrases that we must consider as being in need of such semantical adjustment.

1) I’m going to church (or some variant of this phrase)

The English word ‘church’ is a translation of the Greek New Testament word, ekklesia. In its simplest form, the word ekklesia means ‘called out ones’. Therefore, the underlining meaning of the word ‘church’ (or ekklesia ) does not really have much to do with a particular building we go to, or even a particular day of the week. Church is ultimately about PEOPLE. It is about US, as the people of God.

You may say, ‘Oh, it’s all just semantics.’ But that’s my point with this series on semantics. Our words are important. In the end, with regards to ‘church’, I find myself asking this question, ‘For whom did Christ give himself up for?’ And the answer to this question shows me that we are dealing with something important. Christ died for his Bride; not a building, not a day, not an institution (see Ephesians 5:25-27).

Thus, we can make our way to the buildings in which we meet together, but we can never go to church. We are the church, the Bride, the body, and this changes not, regardless of what building we gather in or what day of the week it happens to be.

I have written more thoughts on this topic – click here.

2) Sunday service

I have somewhat of a problem with referring to our Sunday meetings as a ‘service’. Why? Well, consider the word service. For me, when I think of this word, one of the first things that comes to my mind is Mark 10:45:

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

It was the Son of God, God in the flesh, that exemplified the greatest servant heart. He was God, but He willingly lay aside all rights as God (Philippians 2:5-11) to serve humanity in His life, death and resurrection. Here is one of my favorite passages:

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. (John 13:3-5)

This is true service. The Son of God, who was Lord of heaven and earth, got down on His knees to wash the feet of those closest to Him. And, not only that, He kept down that servant path through His death on the cross. Thus, you might now see why I have a little difficulty referring to our Sunday gatherings as Sunday services.

No doubt that our Sunday meetings, as walked out Biblically and faithfully, do bless God. We don’t need lights, video cameras, and an extremely large music team to please the heart of God. We could simply be ten people meeting in someone’s lounge as an expression of a local church body. And, so, our Sunday meetings can and do bless the heart of God. But knowing that service seems more about the towel and basin, and not so much about a five-song list and thirty-minute sermon, then we might just see the need to change our semantics here. Thus, rather than referring to it as our Sunday service, maybe we could call it our Sunday gathering or Sunday meeting, for that is what we are doing – gathering and meeting together as the saints, the body of Christ.

I want to serve, but our Sunday morning meetings consist of about 1% of our time during the week. Thus, I challenge us to expand our understanding of service.

3) Sanctuary

How many of us refer to the room we meet in on Sunday mornings as ‘the sanctuary’? I’m sure there are many of us. This word is many times used to speak of a sacred place or building set apart for worship. Thus, we have ‘our sanctuaries in our churches in which we attend our Sunday services’. Yet, we have already seen that church is not about a building, but about the people of God. And, considering the New Testament teaching, I am not so sure we utilize the word, sanctuary, correctly either.

The word sanctuary is almost a synonym for temple. And it is interesting when we turn to the pages of the New Testament and consider what, or who, the temple is, the dwelling place of God. Here are few passages to keep in mind:

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)

You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5)

These verses make it quite clear that the temple, or sanctuary, of God is His people – both individually and corporately. From reading the New Testament, I am convinced that God is not so much interested in temples and buildings of brick and stone in which He might dwell. But, based upon these Scriptures above, I believe He sees a temple of ‘living stones’ as much more beautiful and desirous to dwell within (see also Acts 7:48; 17:24).

Thus, I would challenge us to see ourselves, the people of God, as the sanctuary of God rather than our buildings that we meet in on Sunday mornings. We are God’s sanctuary.

In these last three articles, I have shared my thoughts about the importance of semantics, how we should guard against an insatiable appetite to use language to overly define the divine, and now, three specific words and statements in which we should consider altering our semantics. Our words are, no doubt, of utter importance. Again, as James said, we have the power of both life and death in the tongue (James 3:1-10). Thus, let us be encouraged to use our words with grace and wisdom. And as we do, I believe the doors will open for numerous opportunities to speak truth, truth that will set people free (John 8:32).

In my last blog article, I began to look at the topic of semantics. Basically, semantics refers to the meaning behind our words, and then further on to the meaning of our phrases and sentences, since they are made up of words. I also explained that, for me, semantics is something worth considering, especially knowing that our communication relies quite heavily upon the verbal transmission of words. Not always, for we can communicate even in silence. But our words are a large part of our communication. But moving on…

Since The Prodigal Thought was created as a place for me to relay my thoughts concerning theological topics, I, thus, thought I would draft an article that would look at the role of semantics in regards to theology.

What I have noticed amongst many Christians is the knack we have to categorize our theological beliefs. Matter of fact, considering the whole gamut of theological studies, we have definitely done well in categorising every belief known to man! Listen, I do this as well, so know that I am not simply pointing fingers at others. But I just wanted to make us aware of such or at least remind us if of where we have gone with theology.

There are your general categories of how to study theology (Biblical, systematic, historical, practical); there are your general systematic topics (theology proper, Christology, pneumatology, ecclesiology, anthropology, hamartiology, eschatology, etc); and then you can keep breaking up these larger categories into smaller ones. For some, it is quite fun. For others, they began to feel nausea in their stomachs at the thought of such.

There is nothing inherently wrong with breaking our theology into categories, for considering we are finite human beings, this can be somewhat helpful as we look to understand the divine. Such categories can also be of great help as we communicate our theology.

But, at the same time, we must also guard against an insatiable appetite to categorize everything we can know about God. For consider the word ‘know’ in Hebrew (yada). This special word refers to knowing someone intimately rather than simply through head knowledge. This is what Hosea was getting at with these words:

And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD. (Hosea 2:20)

As I stated in another article on the relational nature of the Trinity, God is not one who is to be so absolutely and minutely defined with ink and parchment, or laptop and keyboard. He is not one to be prodded and dissected. He is one to be known, for sure. But that knowledge ultimately consists in relationship. Can you imagine a husband describing his wife in only meta-physical terms? Can you imagine a friend describing another close friend through ontological reasoning? I can’t. It would be an insult.

Thus, in the semantical nature of our theology, we must hold these two things with a healthy tension. I want to know God, and knowing God does come from studying theology and through the formation of correct doctrine. Praise God for justification by faith and the doctrine of the authority of Scripture in the life of the believer! But, I also resist the possibility of offending the Holy One by over-defining Him in places He never desired. I am reminded of the words of Moses:

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29:29)

Thus, as we study Scripture, we will learn about the eschatological categories of preterism, futurism, historicism and idealism (these dealing with how we see the prophetic Scriptures fulfilled in regards to history). We will also learn about sacramentalism and symbolism (in regards to water baptism and communion). And the list will continue. But, at the end of the day, the semantics we use to define the divine and grasp our infinite God will not suffice. We just might find ourselves having to confess that we are not able to accurately develop our semantics to describe this Holy One who has called us to Himself. But, when it’s all said and done, I think our Father will be just fine if we are found unable to define the undefinable One.

Click here to read some final thoughts on semantics – Words and Phrases To Change.

Based upon my last blog post, whether you wanted to or not, many will now know of my graduate study experiences. And, oddly enough, this post is related to my undergrad studies in which I received a BA in Communications from the University of Memphis. At the time, I had just recently become a Christian, and so I really wasn’t sure what to study, especially since I had not planned on attending any kind of college prior to my new birth.

So, I entered the world of my hometown college wondering what would prepare me for ‘ministry’ the most. In my young, but narrow, Christian mindset, ‘ministry’ simply meant church leadership. Thankfully I have now come to see that ‘ministry’ is much bigger than church leadership. But still, in my young heart, I knew I wanted to be a leader of some sorts within the church. Thus, I had initially considered studying psychology at the University of Memphis. However, after Psychology 1101, I thought, ‘Nope. Not interested.’ Interestingly enough, my sister went on to get both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in psychology.

So, after thinking about it some more, I then decided to go with Communications. It was this major that I stuck with to the end, believing it might be of great help to me and the growing desire to be a leader (and a ‘preacher’, as I would have termed it back then). To be honest, I really enjoyed majoring in Communications. This had nothing to do with writing or journalism or media communications. It was more about verbal speaking and interpersonal relationships. As a result, I was able to take classes like Argumentation & Debate, Interpersonal Communications, Communication & Conflict, and even a whole class on Listening.

From such studies in Communication, as well as through my own general development in life, I have had a growing interest for the topic of semantics. What is semantics? The Encarta World English Dictionary defines it as ‘the study of how meaning in language is created by the use and interrelationships of words, phrases, and sentences’. Basically, when it comes down to the nitty gritty, we are talking about the meaning behind words, and then further on to the meaning of our phrases and sentences, since they are made up of words.

For me, semantics comes across as an important topic to consider, especially when general communication between human beings relies heavily upon the verbal transmission of words. Not always, for we can communicate even in silence, but our words are a large part of our message. And how many times have people misunderstood one another due to their different frame of reference concerning certain words and phrases? I’m sure you could think of a few in your own life. I know I can.

The most obvious misunderstandings would be seen in the communication between two people from completely different countries, not to mention the confusion that could take place between two people who share a common language. For instance, my wife is British and I am American. We both speak English (just in case you weren’t aware). And you know what they say – America and Britain: two countries separated by a common language. So, for example, I call them paper towels, she talks about the kitchen roll. She talks about a rubbish bin, I call it a trash can. And on and on the list goes, not to mention that we can pronounce two words very differently though they are spelled the same way – aluminum and tomato.

Now, think of the great divide between a Chinese and a German or an Australian and a Brazilian. Big gap there. I remember an American friend of mine saying to another of our our Korean friends, ‘What’s up?’ Our Korean friend, who was not as advanced with the English language, began to look up at the ceiling and wonder why he had been asked such a question. Those kind of stories abound!

Thus, in all of this, my encouragement is for us to consider the importance of our words (semantics) in communication. Reuel Howe said it this way:

‘Communication means life or death to persons.’ (The Miracle of Dialogue)

Well…maybe not always, but it could, right? And little miscommunications and misunderstandings that occur on a regular basis could lead down the path of death. Or, think of it in a more positive manner: faithful communication on a continued basis could quite possibly lead down the path of life. We know James reminded us that our tongue has the power of life and death (James 3:1-10). So, maybe we should take a step back and consider our words.

Please believe me, after reading my article, I don’t want people walking around on egg shells always wondering if they are saying the right words or not, and if the other person clearly understands what is being communicated. We should definitely care, but we should not be overly burdened. In the end, I just wanted to remind us that words do make a difference. When it’s all said and done, it is ‘just semantics’, and those semantics do matter.

God is a speaking God and I believe He is responsible with His words. We are speaking creatures made in the image of the One who spoke us into existence. Something very amazing to ponder! Therefore, let us consider what we say and how we communicate. And let us be encouraged that we walk as people who communicate with wisdom and grace.

Click here to read my next post on semantics – Watch Your Semantics.