Perhaps it is you who does not know the Scriptures very well. Do you think I would make a statement that I could not back up?
Psalms 22:22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the
congregation will I praise thee.
In the Hebrew
קָהֵל qahal
Meaning:
assembly, company, congregation, convocation
- assembly
- for evil counsel, war or invasion, religious purposes
- company (of returning exiles)
- congregation
- as organised body
Now, go to Hebrews 2:12
Heb 2:12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
In the Greek ἐκκλησία ekklēsia
And the definition::
a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place,
an assembly
- an assembly of the people convened at the public place of the council for the purpose of deliberating
- the assembly of the Israelites
- any gathering or throng of men assembled by chance, tumultuously
The Church is the gathering or assembly of God's people. On earth it was the qahal in the Old Covenant which began with Moses. King David speaks of it in the Psalms and the writer of Hebrews quotes Psalms and uses the Greek word ekklesia in the quote of Psalm 22:22.
Church does not mean "Christians." It means "assembly" and in particular, the assembled group of God's people. That began with Moses and continues to this day.
Also in Matthew 21, Mark 12, and Luke 20, the Church is referred to as the Kingdom, and it is seen as 1.) being under the control of the Pharisees and 2.) being taken from them and given to the Christian assembly under St. Peter. The parable in these three places shows that the Kingdom of God, or the Church, existed before the word "Church" became synonymous with Christians gathered together. It is an assembly.
Oh, and in answer to your original accusation, that the word "church" didn't even exist in the Old Covenant - I'll take your apology any time now.