Symbols of the Church

Well, good evening. Tonight we're on lesson two of ecclesiology, which is the study of the church. Last week we looked at the first lesson, the definition of the church, and it was a great lesson. But as you saw, the church is a deep, deep subject. I mean, that's the bride of Christ, the one whom He laid down His life for. And it merits deep study and understanding. So what we're going to do, we're going to take that definition of the church, and over the next six weeks, we're going to be unpacking that in more detail. Flip over on the back, and once you look at the master outline, we're going to be spending 25 weeks in total on ecclesiology. Next week we're going to be looking at the names of the church. The following week we'll be looking at the nature of the church. After that we'll be looking at the attributes of the church, then the marks of the church, and the church in Israel in week seven. It takes all these different looks to fully grasp who the body of Christ is, right?

Tonight we're looking at the symbols of the church. And you may wonder, well, what does that mean? We're talking about the Bible using metaphors or figures to describe the church. I run a swimming pool business, and most of my business is with my regular customers, but I get phone calls every now and then from someone I don't know, and they typically go like this. I need a repair done on my pool. Can you help me? Sure. What can I do for you? I say, well, my thingamajig is leaking. And I'm like, okay, I said, can you describe it? Well, it's over there by the pool equipment. Okay. What does it look like? Kind of like a mushroom. It's gray. It's the middle one, you know? And that doesn't really help. So I'll say, can you send me a picture of that? Then I can take a look at it. So we'll make sure we're talking about the same thing. And oftentimes a name can only get you so far, but a picture really sticks in the brain. And the Bible uses pictures that we're very familiar with, these metaphors, these ways of teaching us and describing the church and illustrating the church to us.

So we'll be examining these metaphors tonight. We'll be looking at a total of 11 of them. There are more than just these 11, but these are the 11 key ones that are in scripture. You'll be drinking from a fire hydrant tonight, so we'll be moving pretty fast as we go through these. So hang on to your handout and review it later on. And the reference verses here are not exhaustive. We could spend a week on each one of these 11 very easily to describe the splendor and the glory of the bride of Christ.

Let's look at Bible point number one. The church is the great company of persons who Christ has saved and whom He dwells, to whom and through whom He reveals God, and He exercises spiritual dominion. It should sound very familiar. We reviewed that last week. United in Christ, the church is glorious and reflects the very splendor of Christ. Scripture uses symbols or figures to help describe the radiance and beauty. Beauty is the first blank of the church. A symbol or figure is something set alongside another to represent and explain it. Jesus taught in a lot of parables. So that word "parables" is often translated as a symbol or as a figure. It's set alongside a truth to describe a spiritual reality using something that's common and something that's familiar to us. These familiar and vivid images, emblems help us understand — understand is the third blank — the unfathomable love that Christ has for His church.

Growing up, I had two cousins that were near an age to me and my brother and we did everything together. So it's kind of like I had three brothers. And as we went through college, one of my cousins in particular, he was the first one that met the one, right? And he was head over heels. And that's all he would talk. He used to talk about basketball, you know, things that mattered in life. But now he's talking about his girlfriend every time we would hang out. And that's right for a young man to be in love with a woman, right? And to describe her so vividly. Well, that's how the scripture talks about the love of Christ for the church. The church is glorious. The church is radiant. The church is made spotless by the blood of Christ. He gave His very life for it. So there's a lot of imagery in the scripture to describe that.

The application for number one is this. Consider the incredible beauty of Christ's church. As we go through these vivid illustrations, I want you to consider how glorious the church is. And that means how glorious you are, because you are a member of the church if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Flip over on the back. Psalm 78:1–4 in the Old Testament says, "Give ear, O my people, to my law, and incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, telling the generation to come the praises of the Lord and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done." The psalmist says, "I'm going to open my mouth and describe all that God has done for us." This is attributed to the gospel of Matthew to Jesus, saying that Jesus has fulfilled this in speaking parables, right? In describing all that God, our Savior, has done for us.

Bible point number two. One symbol of the church is the house, temple, or building. You'll find this construction metaphor all throughout the New Testament and the Old Testament. In fact, every one of these 11 symbols we'll be looking at tonight has its foundation or its roots in the Old Testament. Just as last week, Casey taught that. In the New Testament, the word for church is ekklesia. In the Old Testament, when we see the assembly and it's translated into the Septuagint, it's translated as ekklesia. And though the church is indeed a New Covenant reality, it is a continuation of God's one plan of redemption centered on Jesus Christ. And we're going to see that tonight, that each of these pictures of the church has its roots in the people of God and the Old Testament.

One symbol of the church is the house, temple, building. The church is described as the temple. That's the first blank. The temple of God built with living — living is the second blank — living stones in connection to Christ as the chief cornerstone and perfectly designed for the habitation. Habitation is the third blank of God by the Spirit. So it's temple, living, and then habitation. These pictures are rest in Christ. It's talking about our union in Christ, that we rest upon Him, that He is a sure cornerstone, a sure foundation for us to trust in. Our permanent connection to Him, our growing conformity to Him, and our communion with Him.

Look at 2 Corinthians 6:16. Paul writes, "In what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of a living God." He's saying, "You, the church, you are the temple of a living God." And then he says, "As God has said," and he's quoting here from Leviticus 26:11–12. This is Leviticus, the account of the establishment of the Old Covenant at Mount Sinai. This is where the covenantal cursings are given and the blessings are given. And he's applying that Old Testament promise to the church. This is what he says. He says, "I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God and they shall be My people." This is when He established Israel, right? And now he's taking that same promise and he applies it to the church. And look what he says. He says that, "I will dwell in them." That's why we're the temple of God. Because when we trust in Jesus Christ, His Spirit comes to make His home within us. We become the habitation for the living God. "I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God and they shall be My people." He will tabernacle with us. He will dwell with us.

Flip over on the back. 1 Peter 2:4–6 is a familiar passage to many of you. It says, "Coming to Him as a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious. You also as living stones are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." He mentions holy priesthood right in line with the temple because the idea is that we are to be holy people for Him, a holy habitation. "Therefore it is also contained in scripture," and here he's quoting from Isaiah, "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." Christ is trustworthy, right? And we can rest fully on Him with full confidence knowing that all His promises will always come to pass. That everything He's promised us — that when we put our trust in Him, that we are citizens of this world, but we're citizens in heaven, that one day we will see Him as He is — we can take that to the bank.

Ephesians 2:22–23 on the back: "Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the Lord." This is the whole building fitted together. It means being expertly crafted as a stonemason would put one stone upon another. And who's doing that? Who's building the church? Christ, right? "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church," is what He tells him, because Peter just gave that great confession. "You are God" — grows into a holy temple in the Lord — "in whom you also are being built together in the dwelling place of God in the Spirit." The church is where God's dwelling place is, not this building, but us collectively. Every single one of us who've put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, we've been sealed with the Holy Spirit, right? And therefore, when people see us, they should be seeing Christ, right? Because we should be diffusing His light and diffusing His love through our lives.

The application for number two: how is the church the dwelling place of God? How are we the dwelling place of God? Can you go anywhere where God is not? Can you be separated from the love of Jesus Christ? What about trials? Will that separate you from the love of Christ? What about principalities and powers? Heights or depths or any other created thing? Can anything separate you from the love of Christ? No, you are sealed by the Holy Spirit, right? That's how we are the dwelling place of God. It's not that we come here to church and God's here; it's that God is always with His church, because the church isn't the place, it is His people.

Bible point number three, another symbol of the church is the bride. The Old Testament often portrays God's people as married to God. I don't have this in the notes, but you may want to jot down Isaiah 62:4 in the margin. It's a promise to Israel that they would be restored, which Christ fulfills, of course, and that they would be called married. And the word there in Hebrew is "beulah." It's the name of our church. Beulah means married. We're the married bride, the ones who are married and in union with Christ.

Christ calls Himself the bridegroom. He does that in Mark, He does that in Luke, He does that in all the gospels, actually. I have Mark 2:19 as a reference here, as a bridegroom. In doing so, the bridegroom, Christ does an incredible thing that often kind of passes right by us, we don't realize it. Because in the Old Testament, God says that He is the bridegroom. He is the husband of Israel. Let's look at this here. I have in our notes here number three: "In doing so, that He is your maker, your husband, Yahweh of Hosts, the Lord of Angel Armies, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." That's who Jesus is. He's Yahweh made flesh, the God of the whole earth. That's the quote from Isaiah 54:5. When He is designated the bridegroom, He's claiming to be the Almighty God of Israel — that is who He's claiming to be.

Marriage pictures Christ's love — love is the third blank — for the church. First blank is married, second blank is bridegroom, third blank is love. Marriage is a very important institution. It is the basis of the family, right? It's the basis of civil society and that's all great and good, but that's not the ultimate purpose of marriage. Marriage from the very beginning was meant to foretell of Christ's love for the church. Christ's love for His people, His bride.

Ephesians 5:31–32, this is the key verse for you tonight. If you want to write this in your Bibles or highlight this in your Bibles, it helps to have a key verse that you can refer to in any given teaching. And this is speaking specifically about the bride of Christ, but also speaking in generality, also of how these symbols portray spiritual realities. It says, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church." That's the purpose of marriage. That's why we hold marriages sacred, right? We're not flippant about marriage because Christ is not flippant about His bride, right? He doesn't fall out of love with His bride no matter what we do or how ugly we can be, how much we fall short, right? He continuously loves us with His perfect love.

Let's flip over on the back. Ephesians 5:25–27: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of the water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish." That's what the blood of Christ does for us, right? Remember what Jesus told Peter, "You're clean." The word I've spoken to you — Christ says you're justified. That's the whole point of His sacrifice on our behalf.

The application for number three: how does the church submit — submit is a blank — how does the church submit herself to Christ as Lord? By being obedient, yeah. What did Jesus say? "If you love Me, keep My commandments," right? If we love Him, we want to please Him, right? Isn't that what a husband and wife do for one another? The husband wants to please his wife, wants to provide for her, wants to take care of her, right? And the wife wants to honor her husband, love him, and to please him and make a good home for him and for the children. So that's how we submit ourselves to Christ as Lord — by keeping His commandments, right? If you think, "Hey, I don't need to keep His commandments. I got my fire insurance," you got a heart problem, right? You don't love the Lord Jesus.

Bible point number four, symbols from agriculture, such as vineyard, planting, and branch, are used in scripture to designate God's people. We see this in the Old Testament and the New Testament, the figure of the vine, the figure of the vineyard, the figure of the branch.

"Israel was planted as a choice vine that became degenerate and foreign." You'll find that in Jeremiah 2:21. He says, "I've brought you out of Egypt. I planted you as a choice vine, a good vine. But what have you become? You've become corrupted, become degenerate. You're foreign. You've taken on other gods." Christ is the true Israel. We see that in Isaiah 49:3–6. We're not going to read that tonight, but if you have time, go there where this is one of the servant songs of Israel, where originally in the book of Isaiah, Israel is supposed to be God's servant, but they fail miserably. They can't obey God. So then the Messiah in the servant songs is called to be God's true servant. And he's called Israel to save Israel, right? And we see that in Isaiah 49:3–6.

He is not only true Israel, but He's the righteous branch. We find that in Jeremiah 23:3. He's the branch of righteousness. And He's the true vine. We find that in John 15:1, where Israel was supposed to be a pure vine and became degenerate. Jesus says in the New Testament, "I am the true vine. I'm the one who's righteous. I'm the one who's pure. I'm the one who's obeyed God. I'm the one who's perfectly fulfilled all that God had called Israel to be."

The church is grafted — that's the third blank — grafted into Christ by faith to gain His very life. We reference here Romans 11:17–24. It talks about how Israel was cut out, right? Because of their hardness of heart, because of their unbelief. The Gentiles were brought in because of their belief. And just as the Gentiles were brought in, so can Israel be brought back in too. It's not our heritage that saves us; it's strictly faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection. And the risen Savior is what saves us.

Flip over on the back. Romans 6:5 says, "For we have been united" — and the word "united" there literally means "grafted" in the Greek — "We have been grafted together in the likeness of His death. Certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection." This is a picture of our union with Christ, that we've become one with Him. We are grafted into the true vine. And therefore, what's true of the true vine is true of us. We are considered righteous because He is the righteous branch. We're considered true because He is the true vine. We're considered princes with God because He is the true Israel, right? Everything that's said about Christ is true of us because we are grafted into Him.

Look at John 15:4–5 on the front, this is number four. Jesus says, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him bears much fruit. But without Me, you can do nothing." "He who abides in Me" — we're in Christ — "and I in him" — He is in us. This is interpenetration or interconnectedness: Christ is said to be in us and we're said to be in Him. And that's how a vine and a branch works, right? I have a customer who has a beautiful grapevine that grows in their backyard. And when you look at it really close, can you determine where the branch ends and the vine was? In other words, the vine and the branch, it's all grown together, just one big plant, right? That's what it means to be in union with Christ, right? That our life is no longer ours. "I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ in me. In the life that I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." We're not our own.

The application for number four, where does the church find life and fruitfulness? Where do we find fruitfulness? In Christ. Is it in programs? Is it in church marketing strategies? Is it in self-help books? Self-actualization? Is it in all the little works you scurry about trying to do to earn favor with God? It's only in connection with Christ, only in obedience to Him, only in devotion to Him, only in love for Him that we will ever find fruitfulness, right? We find life and fruitfulness in Christ alone.

Bible point number five, the church is symbolized by the body of Christ. All believers make up an invisible body whose head is Christ. Christ has gifted — that's the first blank — gifted, and placed each member to bring Him glory. Every member has been given a gift in His body. It's been perfectly placed just where God wants you to be. Sometimes in our stages of life, we feel like, "Well, I don't see how I can be all that important to God." Wherever God puts you, trust me, it's by God's design, right? They say, "Well, I wish I could teach a Sunday school class, but I'm working so many hours," or, "I'm trying to homeschool my kids and pick them up at soccer practice and then get them to dance class and then put a meal on the table and then do laundry." You're going to have time to be this super Christian. That's a ministry in itself, right? It's a gift of service, right? Wherever God has placed you, be faithful and be faithful to use the gifts and the talents that He has given you.

Through His body, Christ shows the fullness — the fullness is the second blank — of His love, grace, and power. We can't see the body of Christ. Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. He is still in the flesh. In other words, in His incarnation, He added humanity to His deity. That did not stop at the ascension. His earthly body is in heaven right now. We can't see that right now. One day we will, because He's going to come back, right? And we'll see Him as He is, right? Just as He left, He's going to return. But we can see His body right now through the church. We see the fullness, because we are described as the fullness of Him and His love and of His power and in His glory. This picture is our necessary connection to Christ who directs, animates, and nourishes the church for His own glory. Glory is the third blank. Think about the head. We've talked about this when we discussed union with Christ. What does the head do? Does not the head animate the body?

Does not the head direct the body? Does not the head nourish the body? That's what Christ does for us, right? He is our living head. Flip over on the back. Ephesians 5:28–32, this is talking about marriage, but it's also talking about the body here too. Paul mixes metaphors. He says, "So husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself, for no one has ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church."

Look at 1 Corinthians 12:27: "Now you are the body of Christ and members individually."

Look at Ephesians 1:22–23: "And He put all things under His feet and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." Christ who ascended to the very throne of the universe — He's attained that throne for the benefit of the church, right? He cares for us as His own body. Many of you, I know, take care of yourselves, and that's good. You should try to get your sleep, try to eat right, try to exercise, right? Do what you can, right? Because you only have one body. My grandmother used to tell me that. And she was proof, but she died at 103, and she only had two false teeth at 103. She was always saying, "Brush your teeth, you only get one good set, David." You know? So, yeah, we try to take good care of ourselves. In the same way, Christ cares for the church.

Looking on the front, Ephesians 5:28–30: "So husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself." Christ, loving the church, He's loving Himself. Are we not His people? Are we not in Christ? Are we not created in His image? Has He not restored us to His image? Does He not indwell us, right? And when He loves us, does that not bring glory to the Father? And do we not want to, in gratitude, glorify Him for what He has done for us? Of course.

The application for number five: how does Christ care for and nourish — nourish is the word — His church? How does He nourish His church? Nourish means to feed, to make strong. How does He do that? Sanctifying, yeah. What does John record in the gospel? "Sanctify them by Your word" or "by Your truth. Your word is truth," right? So when we read God's word in the mornings and evenings, right, whenever we read God's word, does that not feed us? Does that not nourish us? If you have time to listen to a sermon maybe when you're in the car or hear scripture being read, do so, because that's how Christ feeds us, right? You never listen to His word. You never read His word. It's not going to get there by osmosis, right? The Spirit has been placed within our heart to lead us and to guide us to all truth. The Spirit always works with the word. Never the word without the Spirit, never the Spirit without the word.

Bible point number six. The church is pictured as a new — that's the first blank — living — that's the second blank — and restored humanity, created in Christ to share in His life and His righteousness. Look at 1 Corinthians 15:21–22. "For since by man came death" — who was that man whom death came by? Adam, right? A little bit later in this passage, there's a contrast between the first Adam and the second or last Adam, right? And "man" means Adam. "For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead." For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ, all shall be made alive. It's been said before, and we'll say it again, there are only two races of people. Those who are in the race of Adam, those who are in the new humanity, who are in Christ. All who are in Adam are dead — dead in sins, dead in trespasses, no life, no hope. But when we are in Jesus Christ, we have life, we have resurrection. His very blood is coursing through our veins, right? That's what it means to be united to the new Adam, the head of the new humanity.

Flip over on the back. Romans 5:19 says, "For as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience, many will be made righteous." God in union with Christ takes away our sin, and He puts it on Jesus. Jesus paid for the debt of our sins on the cross. He took them away. And in their place, He gives us His righteousness, right? His very righteousness — the righteous, the perfect Lamb of God, who never sinned and perfectly obeyed God, fulfilling all of the law. That's credited on our account.

From number six, application: "Is there any life or hope apart?" — apart is the blank — from being in Christ? No. When you're sharing your faith with the lost, keep that in mind. You may think, "Well, they seem like they're okay. They're well-adjusted. They're not breaking the law. They seem to be a good citizen. They'll be all right." No, they won't. Apart from Christ, there is no peace. There is no life.

Bible point number seven. The church is also pictured under the symbol of the flock or fold of God. Christ is both the door — door is the first blank — of the sheep. We find that in John 10:7. He says that many have tried to come in. They're robbers. He says, "But I'm the door. I'm the only way that you can get into the flock, the sheepfold." "And the good shepherd who gives His life for the sheep." John 10:11. Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd and I'll lay down My life for the sheep." He says both the door and the good shepherd.

In fulfillment of God's promises, Christ brings all men into the fold of God so that there is one flock — one is a third blank — and one shepherd, John 10:16. This is one of the most amazing things in the Gospel of John. He says, "I have other sheep that you don't know and I'm going to bring them in too." Speaking of the Gentiles, what He's speaking of at that point. And He's actually quoting from the Old Testament when He does so.

Flip over on the back. Let's look at this. He's quoting from Ezekiel 34:23, and also Ezekiel 37:24. In Ezekiel 34, we have the New Covenant being displayed, Israel being restored, and the New Covenant being promised. He says, "I will establish one shepherd over them and he shall feed them. My servant David" — that's a typological term for Christ. David is long dead. David's not going to be resurrected to be the ruler over the people of Israel. He's speaking of Christ who is both the root and offspring of David. He's true David. "My servant David, he shall feed them and be their shepherd, and they shall know that I, Yahweh their God, am with them. And they, the house of Israel, My people, says the Lord God. You are My flock, the flock of My pasture. You are men and I am your God, says the Lord God." So Jesus is quoting that when He says that there'll be one flock and one people and I am your shepherd, one shepherd. He's quoting the Old Testament promises of the New Covenant that would be breaking out. We also see this referred to in Ezekiel 37:24: "David, My servant, shall be king over them, and they shall have one shepherd, and they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes and do them." They have new hearts, hearts of flesh.

The application for number seven: rejoice — rejoice is the blank — that there is one door, there's one shepherd, and there is one flock. Church is a beautiful thing because in the church we find Jews, Gentiles, barbarians, right? We find slaves, we find free. Doesn't matter your status, doesn't matter your heritage, because that never gets you into the people of God. What gets you into the one flock of God is going through the door of Jesus Christ, the one who is the true shepherd. What a glorious thing it is that that can unite us together from different backgrounds, all different ages, men, women, boys, girls — here in Christ, we're family, right?

Bible point number eight, the church is symbolized by Zion, the city of God, and Jerusalem. These are three different metaphors or descriptors of the holy city of Jerusalem, okay? Zion was a hill opposite Moriah where the temple was built. David's palace was built on Zion, that was his fortress, if you will, his citadel. It signifies a capital city, the dominion — that's the second blank; the first blank is palace, the second blank is dominion. It symbolizes the capital city, the dominion of God, and the glory — glory is the third blank — of the people of God, and thus represents Christ's church. So it represents the glory, the dominion, and the very power and capital of God's kingdom.

Hebrews 12:22–24 compares Israel and the old covenant going to Mount Sinai and the fearful threatenings there, and contrasts it with the new covenant glories, and he says, "But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of a living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant and the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel." Got to preach on that several months back, and looking forward to hearing Casey preach on that in a few months when we get there. Again, you could unpack that passage for months. Glorious descriptor of the people of God.

Flip over on the back. Romans 9:33 says, "As it is written, 'Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense, and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.'" He's quoting here Isaiah 28:16, as we saw was quoted earlier by Peter in 1 Peter 2:4–6.

And Zion is where Christ came. Zion is where Christ was crucified. And Zion is where Christ rules and reigns. He rules in the midst of His people. He sits now, according to Acts 2, on the throne of David. It's the very throne of the universe.

The application for number eight: how does a church live under and rejoice in God's dominion? God's dominion is His rule and reign. How do we live under that? And how do we rejoice in His reign? Does God share His throne? Sovereign One? Well, He doesn't share His throne — He alone is God. But on the flip side, when we read the book of Revelation, it promises that we'll be able to sit with Him on the throne. And what does the book of Ephesians tell us? Even now we sit with Him in the heavenly places. Christ the ascended Lord brought humanity to the very throne of God in the ascension. And so we have a participation in that. The book of Romans chapter nine says that in this life we reign with Him now, because we have God on our side. We have a God who is for us. A God who's been seated at the right hand of the throne of God for the benefit of His church. So we have nothing to fear, right? Because Christ is with us.

Bible point number nine. The church is pictured as the household or family — family is the blank — of God. We receive the spirit of adoption — that's a second blank — and become heirs. The second blank of God is a third blank. First blank is family, second blank is adoption, third blank is heirs. And I'm quoting here from Romans 8. I encourage you, if you get a chance, to go back to our Wednesday night teachings from last year in soteriology, where Howl taught a great lesson on adoption, right? And that's what this is about. We are considered the household or family of God.

Look at Ephesians 2:19: "Now therefore you are no longer strangers or foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God." Think about the members of your household. When you come home, don't you greet those who are in the house? Right? Don't you work together to help one another? You don't say, "Oh well, make your own food." You try to, if you can, if possible, have a family meal together, right? And there's cooperation. Maybe your husband mows the grass and maybe you do the laundry, or whatever it is, some kind of division of labor, because we help one another, right? And we express gratitude for that, right? And it's a blessing to have a family if God has blessed us with that. If we don't have a family that we live with, we have a greater church family, right? It's one of the beautiful things about church. We come here and you're never alone. We have brothers and sisters who are praying for us, who fellowship with us, who greet us, who encourage us, who admonish us when we need it, who edify us. And what a blessing that is.

2 Corinthians 6:18: "I will be a father to you and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." And when he says that, he's quoting from 2 Samuel 7:8, which 2 Samuel 7 is a promise to David that he would have an heir on his throne forever, that his kingdom would always be established. How is that fulfilled? It's fulfilled in Christ and we are members of the household of God, right? We're members of a royal family. Also, you'll see that the reference is to Isaiah 43:6. He quotes the same phrase in Isaiah 43:6 talking about the restoration of Israel back into the land. The church is part and parcel to that according to 2 Corinthians 6:18: "I will be a father to you and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Yahweh Almighty." What a wonderful promise to us. We can call upon God as our Father, that we are sons, that we are daughters, that Yahweh is for us and with us.

Flip over on the back. Hebrews 2:11–12: "For both He who sanctifies," speaking of Christ, "and those who are being sanctified" — that means set apart, made holy — "are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren." Christ is our elder brother, right? He taught us to call upon God as Father, saying, "I will declare Your name to My brethren in the midst of the assembly. I will sing praise to You" — and he's quoting Psalm 22 here, okay? He leads us in praise, right? He glorifies the Father. We glorify the Father, right? For what God has done for us.

The application for number nine: "How should the church relate" — relate is the blank — "to God and to one another?" How should we relate to God and then how should we relate to one another? What is the great commandment, Jesus said, by which you could sum up all the law? Yeah. And what's the second commandment likened to it? Love your neighbor as yourself, right? We love God. That's how we relate to Him. You love your family, right? We call upon Him as Father, Christ as our elder brother, and then we love our brothers and sisters in Christ, right? We love them as ourselves.

Bible point number 10, the church is symbolized as the army of God. We wage the good warfare — warfare is the first word. That's a quote from 1 Timothy 1:18. We wage the good warfare. We fight the good fight of faith — fight is the second blank — from 1 Timothy 6:12. And aim to be good soldiers — soldiers is the third blank — of Jesus Christ, from 2 Timothy 2:3–4. Paul likes to use this metaphor to describe the church. Because we are to be like a soldier who doesn't entangle himself with the affairs of this life, but we want to be dedicated to please our master, right? And just as war has consequences and it's a serious thing, our duties in this world toward one another and toward God are serious because we are in a battle, right? A beloved pastor friend of mine when I was in high school, he used to say every time you wake up and your feet hit the ground, you're on enemy lines, you're behind enemy lines. And the idea was we need to realize that we're in an ongoing battle, right? And we lead the charge with our Lord Jesus Christ, with the word of God and the shield of faith.

We read in 2 Corinthians 10:4–5: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." Our purpose in this life is to shine Christ, to preach Christ, to speak against evil, to speak against darkness, to do spiritual damage, right? As Paul says, "I fight not as one who beats the air." He wants to connect his punches, right? He wants to beat back darkness, cast down vain imaginations to exalt our Lord Jesus Christ.

Flip over on the back. Reference number 10, Ephesians 6:10–12: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." It's a real battle that we are in. So we're called the army of God, but who's the captain?

Amen. He goes before us. Application for number 10: "What kind of weapons" — weapons is the blank — "should the church fight with?" Prayer. We fight on our knees, right? The word of God, right? We read the word of God, we claim its promises, we pray scripture, we sing scripture. What else? Don't overlook the spiritual encouragement to the body of Christ.

If you haven't seen someone in a while, call them up. It's good. We have our deacons that are making calls. Ziggs bugged me about three or four times this past week, and I say that in the best of ways, just calling to check up on me. And that is cool to have a deacon who's checking up on you, to be able to come up to someone and say, "Hey, just want to let you know I appreciate you."

You do all this behind the scenes. No one sees you uploading the videos. No one sees you cleaning the church. No one sees you carting around chairs. No one sees you teaching and preparing all those hours for whatever it is that you do with children's ministry or any ministry in the church. Express your gratitude. Because it goes a long way. That is beating back darkness when you do so, and that's uplifting the body of Christ.

Bible point number 11, the church is portrayed under the figure of a lampstand or a candlestick. Revelation 1:12, and then verse 20. We're not going to read that, but in Revelation 1, we see seven candlesticks, and we see Christ — Christ is actually manifested a little bit later in that chapter — moving among those candlesticks, showing Christ's presence among the church. And we know that that's the church because verse 20 tells us the candlesticks are the seven churches of God. This is imagery borrowed from the Old Testament. Again, inside of the temple, there was a candelabra, a sevenfold lampstand. We also see this in the prophets as well, that same imagery. Christ's abiding presence — that's the first blank for number 11 — and light — that's the second blank — is displayed — displayed is a third blank — and diffused through the church for God's glory. We're considered a lampstand or a candlestick. It's not our light, but whose light is being diffused through us? The glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus, right? It's His light, His presence.

Matthew 5:14–16: "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven." Right? It's part of the nature and function of the church, to be lightbearers, to shine forth the love and character of Christ.

Flip over on the back. Revelation 1:12–13: "Then I turned to see the voice that spoke to me, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girded about His chest with a golden band." It goes on to describe Him as the glorified, resurrected Christ, right? With a sword out of His mouth and fire out of His eyes. That is who is in the midst of His church. His presence always with us, right? In that holy appearance, the white hair and the long robe and the golden sash should indicate holiness in the church, right? To be a light means to be pure, right? To be bright. To have no darkness. That's the church is called to be holy, as Christ is holy.

The application for number 11: "When the church shines" — shines is the blank — "shines brightly." Some of you shine so brightly, I can tell you that. You are a light. "When the church shines brightly, who is in the spotlight?" Christ. We don't shine the light to say, "Look at me. Look, I'm doing all these great things. What a great person I am. I'm going to post it on Facebook and let everybody know, and get some affirmations and some likes. I'm going to be like the Pharisees and blow a horn before I give alms, right? I'm going to make my face look like I'm sick and I'm weak because I fasted so that people know I'm devout." No, that's putting the spotlight on us, right? When the church shines its light, the spotlight is on the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to live holy lives to where they don't necessarily see Mike, they see Christ in Mike, right? That's what we're about. Not about promoting ourselves, but about promoting the Lord Jesus Christ.

Bible point number 12. The church is pictured as the epistle — epistle, as in the epistles of Paul, right — E-P-I-S-T-L-E. "The epistle of Christ, written by the Spirit" — Spirit is a second blank — "of the living God with a new heart" — heart is a third blank — "made in Christ's glorious image." The church's picture is the epistle of Christ, written by the Spirit of the living God with a new heart made in Christ's glorious image.

Look what Paul tells the church of Corinth. "Clearly, you are an epistle of Christ by the Spirit of the living God." The Holy Spirit, when we are regenerated, He takes that heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh. He puts what was dead, transforms it, makes it alive. And part of what being sealed by the Spirit means is that we're impressed — as a seal is impressed — with His character upon us, right? Our heart has changed. We no longer have the old disposition. When we sin, it pains us, right? Whereas before we may have been calloused to that, right? And now our affections have changed. We love the things that He loves, right? Because His character is being imprinted on our hearts, as the Old Testament tells us, that in the New Covenant, His law would be written on our hearts. Because we have the internal Word within us, Jesus Christ.

Flip over on the back. 2 Corinthians 3:18: "But we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." When we see Christ in His word, that's where we see Him, the Holy Spirit transforms us from glory to glory into His very image. It is Christ who sanctifies us by the Spirit, who transforms us into His very image.

The application is this: what image — image is the blank — does the church focus its attention on? What image does the church focus its attention on? Does it try to be known as the best, most successful church in all of Orange County? Is that the image that it strives for? Does it want to be the church that gives the most to a particular evangelistic association or to a particular convention? No? Is it supposed to be the church that focuses on having a packed Sunday service no matter what, if it has to water down the preaching to get people in here? Is that the image of success that the church focuses on? Amen. It's the image of Christ, right? Being impressed, informed in us, as Paul said, that we are to labor until Christ is formed in you. That's what the church does. We use our gifts to form Christ in one another.