June 13th, The Relationship – Question #6

Which perspective do you live by most: going to church or being the church?   

Jesus Christ is the Head of the Body, the church.

Colossians 1:18

There are several Biblical metaphors that describe the church. In Ephesians 1:22-23, the church stands defined as the Body of Christ:

“And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way.“

In Ephesians 5:21-33, the analogy of the bride and groom describes the church in correlation with marriage, and in this case the church is “the bride” of Christ.    In verses 21-24 of that passage, Paul writes, 

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.  Wives submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything” 

In Ephesians 2:19, the church is expressed as the “household of God”: 

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of His household.

In Ephesians 2:21-22, the church is the temple of God:

In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.

In Acts 20:28, the church is the flock of God:

Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with his own blood.

In I Timothy 3:15, the church is the pillar and support of truth:

If I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

In response to these descriptive expressions of the church there are several significant conclusions:

• The church belongs exclusively to God (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit).  Acts 20:28 clearly proclaims the indisputable fact that the church belongs to God, and this truth gives evidence of the “triune” nature of God in that ownership. 

“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God,] which he bought with His own blood (through Jesus Christ, the Son).” 

Many of the references to the church found in the Scriptures reference “of God,” or “of Christ” to express identity and ownership. The church is of God; the church is of Christ.  Christ gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.  Yet, the purpose in these callings or offices was not to create a human co-proprietorship, but to raise up leaders who would minister in such a way that the church would become the fulfillment of Christ Himself (Ephesians 4:11-13).  As a pastor, I will be the first to gladly confess that the church does not belong to any man, but to Jesus.  He is the “Exalted Head” of the church (Colossians 1:18).  The church is the “the flock of God” that He purchased through the blood of His Son (Acts 20:28).

• The church expresses a love-relationship with Jesus more than an organization or institution.  The church does contain organizational qualities, (and there are clear examples such as members added – Acts 2:41, specific expectations for particular offices of church leadership – 1 Timothy 3, and formal appointments for those officers- Acts 6:3-5; 14:23.  Nonetheless, the true essence of the church expresses an endearing relationship with Jesus Christ.  This is why the Bridegroom and the Bride becomes a powerful image of Jesus and His church.  In his sermon, the Second Coming of Christ, Billy Sunday proclaimed, “The Mission of the church is to get ready to meet the Bridegroom.”  Of this relational imagery, Paul expressed,

“For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.” (Ephesians 5:31-32)

What an amazing statement about the church: a mysterious union. (“Mysterious” indicates a profound truth that must be experienced for full understanding).  Notice the correlation with marriage.  As the marriage union illustrates something very meaningful and personal (more than could ever be articulated without the experience), so is the relational union of Christ and His church.    

(Continued tomorrow)

Blessings.

READ

Read Ephesians 5:21-33, and be encouraged from this incredible picture of the church.