By Paul Brock, Church Militant - In a narrow sense, the word "church" means convocation or assembly — a gathering together of the people of God... But in its original meaning, it means something much deeper — it means God's chosen people in deep relationship with Him, called by Him, brought together by Him for the sake of intimacy with Him (very much like a marital union)... After the fall of Adam and Eve, this gathering together began in the Old Testament with Abraham when God promised He'd be the father of a great people — a multitude of nations.