The Church is the Bride of Christ

There is a great deal in the New Testament about individual commitment, individual responsibility for our actions.  But there is a lot also said about the collective, the church.  The term "church" in the Bible simply means a collective, a group, a congregation.  But in Bible terms it refers to God's group.  For sure, it is not the physical building, but rather the people, the followers of Jesus; and as followers, we are described as His children.

There are many places where the church is described as the bride of Christ.  We see this in Revelation 19 and 21.  There is symbolism given for Christ as the bridegroom and the church as the Bride.  And there is great love between the two.

Ephesians 5:25-27 says:  "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."  The verses following this show the great love that Jesus had for the church, giving up His life for it.  This is powerful symbolism showing the comparison of a groom to his bride like Jesus to the church.

C.S. Lewis, a leading Christian writer in the 20th century, wrote these words in his "Membership" (The weight of Glory): "No Christian and, indeed, no historian could accept the epigram which defines religion as 'what a man does with his solitude.'  It was one of the Wesleys, I think, who said that the New Testament knows nothing of solitary religion.  We are forbidden to neglect the assembling of ourselves together.  Christianity is already institutional in the earliest of its documents.  The church is the Bride of Christ.  We are members of one another."

Thus we see the importance of the collective.  Yes, we will be saved by the grace of God and by the actions of our individual selves.  But we must realize the importance of our part in the collective, the church.  After all, Jesus gave His life for it.

Enough for today.  Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!

The Race

The Bible talks about our journey here on earth as a race, a challenging effort to succeed and accomplish and to finish.  We will look at a few of the references in this week's blog entry.

Hebrews 12:1 starts:  "...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross...."

1Corinthians 9:24, "Do you not know that in a race all of the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.  No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

But Ecclesiastes 9:11 shows us that this is not about a physical race:  "Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift..."  Solomon goes on to stress the importance of wisdom over speed. 

And finally, we read in Philippians 4:13:  "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

We know that success in this life is not about physical prowess or winning races.  But the Bible gives us guidance in winning the race of life.  And we must continually remind ourselves that this life is about bringing glory to God....so that we can have the life eternal.

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!

Strangers..........

We are to be as strangers in this world.....That is to say, we are not to be conformed to this world, to our society, to the mores of our society, but rather to be strangers to it.  There are a lot of passages that relate to this subject in the Bible, but we will look at a couple.

I Peter chapter 1 gives us some detail on the matter.  Note the wording:

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.  As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written, be holy for I am holy."

Then it says: "Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear."  We are to be strangers to this unholy world.

We see a similar thought pattern in Hebrews 11 where the teaching is about Abraham.  It says of him: "By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents.....for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose object and builder is God."

This is the lesson that we must learn.  There are no real foundations in this life.  Sometimes we live good lives, in good homes with real foundations...and substance; but there is no substance here.  Life is like a vapor we learn in James.  It may seem stable today, but will be gone tomorrow.  We must live like strangers, like sojourners, like tent-dwellers, realizing that this life is temporary and brief.  This is how the great Abraham lived, like Jesus lived.....how we must live.  And, of course, I am not speaking literally, but figuratively.  It is a state of mind, a desire to move from this life to the greatest city, the greatest place of all....with God...and our Lord Jesus.

Thanks for reading again.  May God bless you!

The Secret of Life

I have said a number of times to people who were not Christians that I know the secret of life.  I know where we came from, I know why we exist and I know where we are going.  This may sound boastful; but if so, it is only boasting in the Lord.  Every follower of God, every person who has studied the teachings in the Bible, has available to him the secret of life.  The New Testament sometimes calls it the mystery.  Knowing this great mystery is a wonderful thing and should be shared........so here it is:

Over and over again in the Old Testament, the Lord said, ".....I AM the Lord!"  He would say, "I am doing this so you will know that I AM the Lord!" or something similar.  The importance of this statement to us cannot be overstated.  Some 88 times in the OT alone this is said. (e.g., Exodus 6:7, 7:5, 7:17, 8:22, 10:2, 14:4, 14:18, 16:12, 29:46, Deuteronomy 29:6, 1Kings 20:13, etc).

In the NT, Jesus said many times, "I AM........."  For example, "I AM the bread of life;"  I AM the good shepherd:"  I AM the way, the truth, the life..."  The point here is that God always is.  It is not "was" or "will be," but "is."  And the main point is that it is about Him, not us, but HIM.

Solomon summed it up well in the book of Ecclesiastes.  All through the book he talked of the vanity, the uselessness of the things that we typically consider important, like work, money, comforts, recreation.  Then he says in the final verses: "Let us hear the conclusion of the matter.  Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil." 

Again, the main point of all this is that our lives must be about serving Him.  It is about God.....not us.  It is not about this life, the comforts, the happiness, or the length of life.  It is about the eternal life he offers.  Regardless of what our life here is, there is real life to each of us if we "fear God and keep His commandments."  That is the whole duty of man. 

This is the secret of life....the answer to the mystery of life.  Let us take heed.......

Thanks for reading!  Have a great week........and feel the love.  

"Acting Like Mere men"

It is interesting to look at 1 Corinthians to see all of the problems that the Christians were facing there.  It is true that the environment at Corinth at this time was quite vile.  People were doing whatever they felt like doing...and worshiping idols as well.  This was an attitude that was creeping into the church, affecting the spirituality of the Christians there.  While there were many problems cited in the letter, we will focus on the brief statement recorded in Chapter 3:

"Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere infants in Christ.  I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it.  Indeed, you are still not ready.  You are still worldly.  For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly?  Are you not acting like mere men?  For when one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, 'I follow Apollos,' are you not mere men?  What, after all, is Apollos?  and what is Paul?  Only servants..."

There are several lessons that we can derive from this passage:

1. Obviously, we need to not be following after men.  The New Testament, and certainly the teaching of 1Corinthians,  is clear on this point.  The Lord never intended that we Christians should splinter....and disagree.....and denominate (perhaps a new word but not a new concept).

2.We need to mature.  There is a danger in being immature...to the point of having to feed on "milk" instead of meat.  Paul wanted Christians to grow up, to be mature, strong.

3. We must avoid thinking like the world.  We must think in spiritual ways.  We must put God first, realizing the brevity of this life and the importance of eternity.

These thoughts seem obvious, but they are much harder to put into practice.  Let us all learn to do all to God's glory....not our own.

Have a great week...a blessed week!

Jesus and the Donkey

There are many passages in the Old Testament that tie into the New Testament, prophecies made in the OT that are fulfilled in the NT.  It is always interesting to note these, knowing that the prophecies were made hundreds of years before the fulfillment.  There are so many examples of this that we could never cite half of them in an article of this type.  But we will look at one here that involved a donkey.

When Jesus was approaching the time of His death, He arranged for the use of a donkey for His entry into Jerusalem.  This was in fulfillment of the passage in Zechariah 9:9: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your King is coming to you;  He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey."  This is clearly a messianic prophecy and given certainty by the reference to the old scripture in the NT.

We see the events unfolding in Luke 19, starting in verse 28.  This so-called triumphant entry into Jerusalem is often referenced as "Palm Sunday."  Jesus sent two of His disciples into a village and told them that they would find a colt, the foal of a donkey, that had never been ridden.  This brings to mind the perfect sacrifices that the Jews were to make under the Old Law; the animals that were brought to sacrifice to the Lord were to be perfect, the best of the flock.  "Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as He had told them.  As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, 'Why are you untying the colt?'  They replied, 'The Lord needs it.'  They brought it to Jesus...."

Jesus rode the colt into Jerusalem with great acclaim, with people putting down their cloaks for the donkey to walk on, singing and shouting "Hosanna' to the Lord.  But it wouldn't be long before all would disappear, all support, all encouragement.  The Lord went to His trial and death alone; and He did it for you and me.

The story of the donkey shows one more example of how Jesus fulfilled the many prophecies of the OT.  It strengthens our faith to see the perfection and completeness of God's Word.  Let us all learn it.....and follow it.

Have a great week!

Women Supporters of Jesus

We know that Jesus formed many friendships during the short 3 years of His ministry.  For sure the apostles were close to him throughout this time.  But we know that there are special relationships shown in the Bible between Jesus and certain women.

We see the closeness that Jesus felt toward His friends, Mary, Martha and their brother, Lazarus.  Many times did Jesus enjoy their company and receive strength through the association. 

Certainly Jesus' mother was important to Him.  She is at the cross along with His good friend, John.  She likely was a source of strength to Him throughout His ministry.

We read in Matthew 27:56 about other women: "Many women were there, watching from a distance.  They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for His needs.  Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses (John), and the mother of Zebedee's sons (Peter and Andrew).  We don't read what kind of care these women were giving to Jesus, but it must have been substantial.  They traveled from Galilee up to Jerusalem to see to Him.  This kind of support must have meant a great deal to Him in His time of trial and death.

We don't have the opportunity to care for Jesus directly, but we can indirectly by serving others who are in need.  And frankly, most people are in some kind of need.  So it is important that we serve.  Jesus said in Matthew 10:42,  speaking of His righteous followers, "And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

Jesus had lots of loving women to help Him through the dark times.  Let us do likewise.

Thanks for reading.  Hope your week is good.