February 22, 2008

CHRIST LOOKS AT HIS CHURCH

Selected Scriptures

There are three things in life which touch very closely to the core of our self-identity. They are things which are so closely entwined with our self concept and our sense of who we are that they actually form a part of our identity.

One of these is our dwelling place, our home; the place where we live. When resources are available, people spend a great deal of money on decorating and furnishing their home, making it just the way they want it. But even when resources are scarce, our homes are important to us. I can remember visiting in many Kenyan homes. The outside may not have been much more than corrugated metal or simple concrete block. But I was always amazed when I went inside how often these homes would be carefully tended and cleaned and decorated, even if it was only with pictures from an outdated calendar. Whether it is a single room or a large villa, our home forms a part of who we are, a reflection of our identity in the world.

The second is our marriage partner (for those who are married).  There is an emotionally charged moment in any western style wedding, when the bride first appears in her wedding dress and walks in stately splendor toward her waiting husband-to-be. “These two shall become one flesh,” the minister pronounces. And something really does change. The two identities become forever entwined. They are no longer Jim and Sally, but Jim-and-Sally. They are a couple, linked in life and in people’s minds. Our spouse becomes a part of who we are and how we feel about ourselves and how the world relates to us. Our husband or wife is a very important part of our identity and becomes part of our reputation and place in society and the world.

The third aspect is our body. The physical front which we present to the world is our visible identity, and our sense of self is all entwined with our physical bodies: whether I am short or tall, fat or thin, plain or beautiful, weak or strong. Mega industries are built on this reality as people spend huge amounts of money in attempts to make their body look good, smell good and feel good.

These three aspects of life are so much a part of who we are that they touch the very deepest chords of human life. Think of it this way. What are those things in life which, if we lose them, most greatly affect our self identity? The loss of a home through fire or flood, or financial disaster; to be homeless cuts us off from our roots, our sense of belonging, our security. The loss of a spouse is even more painful. I have talked to people who have lost a spouse either through death or divorce. They tell me that they often go through an identity crisis. Who am I, now that I am flying solo again? Other people even treat them differently. Their place and identity in the world is threatened. Finally, our bodies; the loss of health, fitness or beauty, through accident or disease or even aging, makes a huge impact on our self esteem and sense of self.

In this series of messages, we are talking about the church. Today we are specifically focusing on the relationship between Christ and the church. How does he see the church? How does he feel about it? When Christ was seeking to communicate to us concerning his relationship with the church, to try to give us a sense of what the church means to him and how deeply he identifies with it and how much he cares, he reaches into these same elements of human experience.

He says to us, “The church is my house, my temple, my dwelling place on earth.”

He says to us, “The church is my bride.”

He says to us, “The church is my body.”

Stop and think about that for a moment. Can we begin to feel the impact of those statements? Knowing how we feel about our homes, our spouses, our bodies, do we begin to grasp just how important the church is to Jesus Christ?

The outline for this message is simple: Implications and Applications from these three depictions of the church. Implications: what do we learn? Applications: what should we do?

I. IMPLICATIONS

A. Jesus Christ has closely, irreversibly and forever identified himself with the Church.

Listen to the Scriptures:

In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:21-22)

Remember, this is not the physical building we are talking about. This is the church, the people of God, the living stones which make up his dwelling place on earth.

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)

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. (Ephesians 1:22-23)

Christ and the church are one, both now and forever. He has bonded himself so closely to us that we are now part of his identity. We are part of him and he is part of us. We are one.

B. Jesus Christ is supreme and pre-eminent over his Church.

And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church. (Ephesians 1:22)

Built on the foundations of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:20)

The cornerstone was the most important stone in the building, both from the perspective of design and structural strength. Every other stone in the structure must be correctly aligned with the cornerstone.

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

He is Lord! There is no other place for him. The church is the building, but he is the chief cornerstone. The church is the bride, but he is the bride groom. The church is the body, but he is the head. He is the pre-eminent one.

C. The church is dependent on Jesus Christ for its growth, strength and life.

This truth comes out especially in the pictures of the church as a building and as the body.

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:16)

While the contribution of every member is necessary for health, it is from him, from Christ, that the growth and strength comes.

He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. (Colossians 2:19)

This same truth of the church’s dependence on Christ comes through in yet another picture from Jesus’ own teaching, that of the Vine and the branches in John 15. There Jesus draws this conclusion: Apart from me you can do nothing. This is not only true of us individually but of the church as a whole.

D. Jesus Christ loves the church with an incomprehensible, immeasurable and eternal love.

This love which Christ has for the church comes through especially powerfully in Ephesians 5: 25-30, as Paul liberally mixes the metaphors of the bride and the body to teach this one supreme truth.

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. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one every hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just Christ does the church – for we are members of his body. (Ephesians 5:25-30)

I think the danger for us who have been Christians for a long time is that we are so familiar with these words that we miss their emotional impact. Christ loved the church!

He gave himself up for her. He is presenting her to himself as radiant bride! He loves her as his own body, and nourishes and cares for her. Christ loves us, both individually and corporately. It is an incomprehensible love! It is an immeasurable love! It is an eternal love!

In light of these Implications, these truths we have considered, what Applications can we make? What should our response be? What effect should these truths have on our actions and our manner of living?

II. APPLICATIONS

A. Since Jesus Christ has identified himself so closely with us, we should seek to live in such a way as to be worthy reflections of him.

We see this in Ephesians 2:21: In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. Since Jesus Christ dwells in his church, since we are his temple on earth, we are called to be a holy temple.

II Corinthians 11:2-3 says it in different words, using the metaphor of marriage. I am jealous for you (plural) with a godly jealousy. I promised you (plural)  to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you (plural) as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

His holy temple, his pure virgin bride: Jesus Christ has identified himself with us. Whether we like it or not, our lifestyles reflect on his reputation either for good or bad. We know this is true individually. But it is also especially true corporately. What kind of reflection is ECC on Jesus Christ?

B. We must give Christ the glory, worship and obedience that is consistent with his pre-eminence.

The church is called to be a worshipping people. As Colossians 1:18 says: so that in everything he (Christ) may have the supremacy. That is God the Father’s doing. Christ has the supremacy already because God the Father has given it to him. We don’t give it to him, we simply acknowledge it with our worship.

The church is also called to be an obedient people. This flows from the same source. If he is Lord of all, he deserves not only our worship. He deserves our obedience.

C. We can and must rely on Christ in every aspect and area of our lives.

Colossians 2:19 speaks of those who have “lost connection with the Head.” We must not allow this to happen to us. The most frightening and debilitating of human injuries or illnesses are those which disrupt the connection between the head and the body. There is nothing more helpless, than a body without a head. Let us not allow that to happen to us, either individually or as a church! Remember the vine and the branches metaphor. Abide in Christ. Keep the connection of trust and dependence strong.

D. We are called to comprehend and grasp the dimensions of Christ’s love for us and to love him in return.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

What a wonderful prayer that is! To grasp the love of Christ in all of its incredible dimensions, and then to respond to him by loving him in return with all our heart, soul and strength. Yet how quickly we turn away.

There is a very sad letter, written by Jesus Christ to the same church, the church in Ephesus. It is found among the letters to the churches in the book of Revelation. He starts by commending them for their deeds and their hard work and perseverance. But look what he says in Revelation 2:4: Yet I hold this against you; You have forsaken your first love.

Isn’t that sad? Yet if we are honest, don’t we all have to admit that it happens to us from time to time? The key is to remember that his love for us has not dimmed even one little bit. Think about it, meditate on it, soak it in! My dwelling place, my bride, my body. Oh, how Christ loves us! What an awesome privilege! What a great responsibility!