This book's argument revolves around several core terms derived from New Testament Greek. These terms appear repeatedly in subsequent chapters, so a brief definition is provided here so that readers can quickly grasp their basic meanings when reading the main text.
Oikos (οἶκος, house/household) — Greek for "house" or "household." This book uses the term to refer to the ontological form of the church: a faith community bound by covenant relationships and structured around the household as its unit. It is the smallest complete承载 unit of God's kingdom, antecedent to the temple and all forms of religious organization.
Koinonia (κοινωνία, life-sharing fellowship) — Greek for "fellowship," "sharing," "participation." This book uses the term to refer to the life pattern of the church: the deep connection among believers in which they genuinely participate in one another's lives, share resources, joys, and sorrows—far超越 the general notion of "fellowship activities."
Oikonomia (οἰκονομία, divine stewardship/governance) — Greek for "household management," "stewardship," "economy." This book uses the term to refer to the governing principle of the church: the kingdom economy advanced by the Holy Spirit through spiritual fathers (rather than organizational hierarchy), whose核心 purpose is distribution and edification, not control.
Ekklesia (ἐκκλησία, church) — Greek for "the called-out assembly." In the New Testament, this word always refers to a group of people, never to a building. This book uses this term to emphasize the personal nature of the church, contrasting with the modern tendency to equate the church with an institution or a location.
"Pattern shown on the mountain" — From Exodus 25:40, referring to the blueprint of the tabernacle that God revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai. This book uses it as an interpretive key that runs throughout: God has an archetypal design for the church that cannot be replaced by human intention; all ecclesiological construction should return to this divine blueprint.
"Temple complex" — A critical term coined in this book, referring to the contemporary church's excessive dependence on buildings, worship facilities, and institutionalized operations, to the point of偏离 the New Testament prototype of the church, where people are the temple and the household is the载体.
The above terms will receive a full theological unfolding in the Introduction and will run throughout this book. First-time readers need not delve deeply at this point; a初步 impression will suffice.