The multitude of professed believers, living in a certain city,
place, or house. This is the most frequent sense in which the word
occurs, as in Acts vii. 38, xiii. 1; 1 Cor. i. 2, xvi. 19, etc.

IV. Any assembly of men: as in Acts xix. 32, 41.

185. That in a hundred and twelve out of the hundred and fourteen texts,
the word bears some one of these four meanings, is indisputable.[141]
But there are two texts in which, if the word had alone occurred, its
meaning might have been doubtful. These are Matt. xvi. 18, and xviii.
17.

The absurdity of founding any doctrine upon the inexpressibly minute
possibility that, in these two texts, the word might have been used with
a different meaning from that which it bore in all the others, coupled
with the assumption that the meaning was this or that, is self-evident:
it is not so much a religious error as a philological solecism;
unparalleled, so far as I know, in any other science but that of
divinity.

Nor is it ever, I think, committed with open front by Protestants. No
English divine, asked in a straightforward manner for a Scriptural
definition of "the Church," would, I suppose, be bold enough to answer
"the Clergy." Nor is there any harm in the common use of the word, so
only that it be distinctly understood to be not the Scriptural one; and
therefore to be unfit for substitution in a Scriptural text. There is no
harm in a man's talking of his son's "going into the Church; "meaning
that he is going to take orders: but there is much harm in his supposing
this a Scriptural use of the word, and therefore, that when Christ said,
"Tell it to the Church," He might possibly have meant, "Tell it to the
Clergy."

186. It is time to put an end to the chance of such misunderstanding.
Let it but be declared plainly by all men, when they begin to state
their opinions on matters ecclesiastical, that they will use the word
"Church" in one sense or the other;--that they will accept the sense in
which it is used by the Apostles, or that they deny this sense, and
propose a new definition of their own. We shall then know what we are
about with them--we may perhaps grant them their new use of the term,
and argue with them on that understanding; so only that they will not
pretend to make use of Scriptural authority, while they refuse to employ
Scriptural language. This, however, it is not my purpose to do at
present. I desire only to address those who are willing to accept the
Apostolic