Pictures of the Church
I just want to begin by saying one thing about prayer. I think we could argue, could we not, that the second to one or second to two clearest mandates and activities in the book of Acts are preaching and praying. Preaching and praying. And when the church prays, if you look at the book of Acts, the church is growing and evangelizing. And someone has said this,
"A church grows when the church is what the church should be. When the church functions as the church, then the church grows."
And that word prayer, praying is used, I think, 30 times in the book of Acts. But that has been called the two great pillars of the Christian faith, preaching and praying.
So we have that privilege tonight to pray. And as we prepare our hearts to pray, I want to turn your attention to these verses, all found in the book of Ephesians. I am simply going to refer to them and give you a little bit of a reference.
You probably heard this expression that a picture is worth a thousand words. And you could say that the Bible is a picture book. That's not only what it is, but it is full of pictures, isn't it? Think of it, pictures of God: a refuge, a high tower, a warrior, an eagle, a father. Think of pictures of Christ: lamb, lion, shepherd, bridegroom, friend. Think of pictures of believers: sheep, servants, soldier, disciple, athlete, pilgrim.
And then think of the graphic pictures of the church. Some have counted up at least 20. I'm not convinced of that many, but there are at least seven major pictures in the New Testament of the church: the marriage image, Christ is the bridegroom, the church is His bride, Ephesians 5. There's the army or the military image of Ephesians 6, we are exhorted to put on the whole armor of God. And that's a corporate picture, uses plural pronouns there. Then there's the image of a temple, the image of the flock, the image of the vine.
But the church is likened to a body six times in the book of Ephesians alone. I think 12 times altogether in the New Testament, but Ephesians six times the church is likened to the body. I think that was the Apostle Paul's favorite image of the church. And when you think of Christ’s church, don't forget your own body. Your own body is fearfully and wonderfully made. The body is the most complex, marvelous creation of God. There's nothing, I don't think in the universe, that displays a greater complexity, diversity and functionality than the human body.
And the church functions like a body, it can do amazing things. One body, but many members. Then there's a wonderful diversity of gifts, mutual dependence, but there's a wonderful diversity of gifts. We need one another. And that's why you have all these one another commandments in your Bible; no member can say, “I don't belong or I don't need you or I can't be used, I have no function in the body,” 1 Corinthians 12. "The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor can the head say to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
And when the body of Christ with its many members is involved in a major endeavor like VBS, a renovation church project, a ladies conference, a men's conference, the body concept comes to wonderful expression. You see the hands, you see the feet, you see the eyes, you see the ears, you see God's people doing things that you could never do on your own. We know that we could never do it on our own.
But we also witness the unity and diversity in wonderful ways. Things that you will see in a VBS or a men's conference or some other endeavor, gospel endeavor, church plant, whatever, that you will never see just sitting on the pew week after week. And over the years, we've seen that wonderful diversity of gifts. God has given us a lot of people with a lot of gifts, and I do believe a growing desire and willingness to use those gifts. But it really is a testimony to what a church can be and what it should be by the grace of God.
And so I just want to thank you, brethren, for your willingness to serve, your willingness to help, being a hand, maybe a toe, maybe a foot, maybe an ear, maybe an eye; I thank you for being a well-functioning, healthy body. It should help us to appreciate also the gifts of each other. You have gifts, I have gifts, nobody has the same gift, and we should appreciate the gifts we have, a wonderful diversity. So we should start out thanking God for the church and the local body, and for the use of gifts, ultimately for the glory of God and for the good of the church.
So we have that privilege tonight to pray. And as we prepare our hearts to pray, I want to turn your attention to these verses, all found in the book of Ephesians. I am simply going to refer to them and give you a little bit of a reference.
- Ephesians 1:22, 23: Christ is named the head and the church is introduced as His body, the fullness of Him.
- Ephesians 2:16: Paul explains that Christ reconciles both Jews and Gentiles into one body to God through the cross.
- Ephesians 3:6: We're told the mystery is revealed, that Gentiles are fellow heirs of the same body.
- Ephesians 4:4: Paul reminds believers there is one body and one spirit.
- Ephesians 4:15, 16: We see the growth of the body comes as every part properly functions, building itself up in love under Christ the head.
- Ephesians 5:23, 30: Christ is the savior of the body, the church, and believers are members of His body.
You probably heard this expression that a picture is worth a thousand words. And you could say that the Bible is a picture book. That's not only what it is, but it is full of pictures, isn't it? Think of it, pictures of God: a refuge, a high tower, a warrior, an eagle, a father. Think of pictures of Christ: lamb, lion, shepherd, bridegroom, friend. Think of pictures of believers: sheep, servants, soldier, disciple, athlete, pilgrim.
And then think of the graphic pictures of the church. Some have counted up at least 20. I'm not convinced of that many, but there are at least seven major pictures in the New Testament of the church: the marriage image, Christ is the bridegroom, the church is His bride, Ephesians 5. There's the army or the military image of Ephesians 6, we are exhorted to put on the whole armor of God. And that's a corporate picture, uses plural pronouns there. Then there's the image of a temple, the image of the flock, the image of the vine.
But the church is likened to a body six times in the book of Ephesians alone. I think 12 times altogether in the New Testament, but Ephesians six times the church is likened to the body. I think that was the Apostle Paul's favorite image of the church. And when you think of Christ’s church, don't forget your own body. Your own body is fearfully and wonderfully made. The body is the most complex, marvelous creation of God. There's nothing, I don't think in the universe, that displays a greater complexity, diversity and functionality than the human body.
And the church functions like a body, it can do amazing things. One body, but many members. Then there's a wonderful diversity of gifts, mutual dependence, but there's a wonderful diversity of gifts. We need one another. And that's why you have all these one another commandments in your Bible; no member can say, “I don't belong or I don't need you or I can't be used, I have no function in the body,” 1 Corinthians 12. "The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor can the head say to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
And when the body of Christ with its many members is involved in a major endeavor like VBS, a renovation church project, a ladies conference, a men's conference, the body concept comes to wonderful expression. You see the hands, you see the feet, you see the eyes, you see the ears, you see God's people doing things that you could never do on your own. We know that we could never do it on our own.
But we also witness the unity and diversity in wonderful ways. Things that you will see in a VBS or a men's conference or some other endeavor, gospel endeavor, church plant, whatever, that you will never see just sitting on the pew week after week. And over the years, we've seen that wonderful diversity of gifts. God has given us a lot of people with a lot of gifts, and I do believe a growing desire and willingness to use those gifts. But it really is a testimony to what a church can be and what it should be by the grace of God.
And so I just want to thank you, brethren, for your willingness to serve, your willingness to help, being a hand, maybe a toe, maybe a foot, maybe an ear, maybe an eye; I thank you for being a well-functioning, healthy body. It should help us to appreciate also the gifts of each other. You have gifts, I have gifts, nobody has the same gift, and we should appreciate the gifts we have, a wonderful diversity. So we should start out thanking God for the church and the local body, and for the use of gifts, ultimately for the glory of God and for the good of the church.
Posted in Pastor Devotional