One of the most underappreciated and misunderstood of God’s lavish gifts to His beloved people is the Church.
To be clear, we are not talking about denominations, liturgy, buildings, temples, altars, etc. — these are physical, manmade things.
Christ’s church is a spiritual entity independent of earthly associations.
Scripture variously defines the Church as, “the Bride of Christ,” “His (Christ’s) body, which is the church,” “God’s household,” “a dwelling of God in the Spirit,” “Blood bought,” “Mystical body of Christ,” “Church of the firstborn.”
God’s true church is comprised of all people who have been born again by the indwelling Holy Spirit through faith in Christ.
Consequently, all members are, in the words of Ephesians 1:19-22, “fellow citizens with the saints and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building (spiritual), being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”
The true church is precious to God and should be precious to its blood-bought family members as well.
As told in Acts 20:28: “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”
Heartfelt Intimacy
In a previous essay, we discussed the significance of God’s “two Adams” as federal (representative) heads of humanity — one from the Earth and the other from Heaven.
There is also a beautiful foreshadowing of the Church in these two men’s lives:
Given a Body
Adam #1: “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground …” — Genesis 2:7a
“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”
Acts 20:28
Last Adam: “Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, ‘You have not desired sacrifice and offering, but You have prepared a body for Me.’” — Hebrews 10:5
Spirit Infused
Adam #1: “… and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living person.” — Genesis 2:7b
Last Adam: “Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit.” — Matthew 1:18
Put to Sleep
Adam #1: “… but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So, the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept.” — Genesis 2:18
Last Adam: “Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit … since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.” — John 19:30-42
Given Helpmeet
Adam #1: “… then He took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. And the Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man and brought her to the man.” — Genesis 2:19
Last Adam: “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place … And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit …” — Acts 2:1-4
Bible commentator C.H. Mackintosh wrote, “‘It is not good that the man should be alone.’ He left not ‘the first man’ without ‘a helpmeet’; neither would He leave the ‘Second.’ As, in the case of the former, there would have been a blank in the creation without Eve, so — stupendous thought — in the case of the latter, there would have been a blank in the new creation without the Bride, the Church.”
The Church was born on the day of Pentecost, having been purchased with the precious blood of Christ, and is alive and well to this day, “… and the gates of Hades will not overpower it,” as written in Matthew 16:18.
Spiritual Feeding Stations
The late Believer’s Bible Commentary author Bill MacDonald wrote, “the Body of Christ is that vehicle which He has on earth by which He chooses to express Himself to the world. And He is the head of that body. The head speaks of guidance, dictation, control. He occupies the place of preeminence in the Church.”
MacDonald continued, “We (Christians) are not expected simply to lead men to Christ by the Gospel and then abandon them to get along as best they can. Rather, we are expected to direct our evangelistic efforts to the formation of local New Testament churches where the converts can be built up in their most holy faith, including the truth of the church. The Lord wants His babes to be directed to feeding stations where they will be nourished and where they can grow.”
How About You?
There aren’t supposed to be any “Lone Ranger Christians.” Do you sense that you belong to something bigger than yourself?
4-1-1
Click here for a fascinating AI-generated audio overview of this essay.