What is the Relationship of Christ’s Church, Body, and Kingdom?

Have you ever noticed how many different images there are for the church used in the Bible? If you studied the imagery you would find a myriad of different comparisons. The “why” and the “what” of that is what we are going to examine with this short study.

“Ekklesia” is the term in the original Greek biblical texts used for our word “church.” It is defined as a body of citizens or an assembly of people called out of one realm (the private domain . . . like their homes) into the public realm (a lawfully mandated assembly) for the purpose of deliberating upon matters of state, passing judgments upon issues, etc.[1]

The idea is that those who are called out for this assembly have now become separated from the private into the public domain for a legal purpose. The Bible’s use of this imagery for the church also suggests a calling from one realm into another. This is clearly stated by Paul in Colossians 1:13 where he says we are called or “conveyed” from the realm of “darkness” into “the kingdom of the Son of His love.” So through the use of this example and by understanding the context and meaning of the word “church” in the original language of the Bible, we can understand the image that God wants us to see. The church is a lawfully called assembly of people with a lawful purpose.

Our calling into the church comes through the gospel call of Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:14). Upon acceptance and obedience to the gospel’s terms for entry into the church, God then adds the believer to the church (as we see in Acts 2:38, 47). This church is the body of Christ on earth and the assembly of the saved.

Each of the comparisons we will study is meant to bring attention to different aspects of our relationship and characteristic service to God. Each image is meant to convey the same idea from a slightly different angle. The effect is like looking at the same image through different facets of a prism. The epistles of Paul (which are his letters to the various churches he established throughout his many missionary journeys) are the best places in the New Testament to find these descriptions and images for the church. We will be utilizing scriptures mostly from those letters. After all he is writing to churches and he is trying to teach them in his role as an apostle of Christ. What better way to teach them how things should be than using images they could relate to in their everyday lives? This approach is as applicable to us today as it was to them almost 2,000 years ago.

The Church is a Body

The first image we want to explore is that of a “body.” When we think of our bodies of what do we think? I think of how all the parts work together as one for the accomplishment of whatever I am choosing to do at the given time. If I have a thought about doing something and decide to do it, my head or brain directs the movements of my body to accomplish that particular action. Further, all of the supporting parts of my body help in that. The heart pumps blood and oxygen to the muscles that allows them to function in the various movements the nervous system is telling them to make. The lungs breathe in and filter the oxygen that goes into the bloodstream for the heart to distribute through the blood to the muscles. The bloodstream and circulatory system take away the toxins and chemicals produced by muscle fatigue to allow the muscles to recover for the next set of actions. My feet carry me by the use of the skeletal structure. Tendons and muscles make my bones move and provide padding for the joints that are used in the activity. Food taken in is processed through the stomach to be used as an energy source that works in providing the impetus for the muscle movement. If no food is available then fat cells stored are burned to provide the energy needed for movement.

The body is a homogeneous set of parts that all work together to accomplish the purposes dictated by the brain. The church in its ideal state is supposed to be like this too. Let’s look and see what scripture says about the church when using the image of a body as a comparison for us:

• 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 says this, “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free–and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.”
• 1 Corinthians 12:18 intones, “But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.”
• 1 Corinthians 12:26-27 tell us, “And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.”
• Colossians 1:18 says this, “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.”

The people within the body are the church and they represent all of the supporting members of the body like the hands, the feet, the heart, the lungs, the stomach, the arms, the legs, the ears, the eyes, the veins, the nervous system, etc. Christ is recognized as the brain or “the head of the body.” He is the Great Orchestrator of all of the actions the church, His body, makes. The church receives those directional thoughts through the scriptures. As we read them we acquire the “mind of Christ” as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:16. Just as the brain directs the actions of our bodies, so it is Christ’s mind that directs the actions of the church.

Interestingly, we can learn something else about the church from our bodies. The bloodstream and circulatory systems of our bodies clean away the toxins and chemicals we take in or that are produced from the body’s various actions. Their work keeps our bodies healthy and vital. The blood flushes these unneeded and destructive compounds away from the body and it does so all the way down to a cellular level. Each individual cell in our bodies is cleansed by our blood to keep it healthy. If blood flow to a cell is cut off then it dies.

Just as with our bodies, the blood of Christ flows continually over the individual members of the church keeping them clean and free from sin once they are baptized into Him. We can see this specific imagery from the Holy Spirit’s inspired thoughts expressed in 1 John 1:7, Galatians 3:27, and Acts 22:16. In fact from the apostle John we see this revelation: “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

Here, the apostle John conveys the idea of a continual cleansing in his inspired writing. The word “cleanses” in the verse implies an ongoing or continuous action not a one-time cleaning, as we can see from the use of the original language of the text.[2] Just as the circulatory system of our bodies cleanses away toxins from us all the way down to our individual cells, the blood of Christ keeps individual Christians continually free from sin through the flow of His blood over us. Zechariah’s words in the Old Testament support this thought: “In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness” (Zechariah 13:1). He was implying that very image through his prophetic vision of the crucifixion and subsequent shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross. That fountain, or figurative flow of blood, was opened on the day of the crucifixion and is still open now. It is still continually cleansing the spiritual inhabitants of “the house of David,” whom scripture recognizes as the members of Christ’s body, His church.

In order to access the body’s flow of blood for cleansing, you have to be a part of the body. It does not matter which part, just some part like a bone, an organ, or a skin cell. Our body produces new cells all the time and regenerates cells as it heals itself. The body of Christ also adds new members. Paul tells us how that is done in this verse of scripture: “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).

When we are baptized we “put on Christ.” We become a part of Him, a part of His body. This idea is further buttressed in the review of the great events of day of Pentecost described in the book of Acts. In chapter 2 of that New Testament book we are told by the apostle Peter how to be saved in verse 38. Then we are told what happens when that is done in verse 47: “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” God adds you to the body of Christ upon obedience to the command of baptism. When that is done you have access to that blood flowing from the “fountain . . . opened . . . for sin and for uncleanness” spoken of by Zechariah.

The idea of cleansing from sin and coming into contact spiritually with Christ’s blood, which was shed for that very purpose (see what Jesus said in Matthew 26:28), is also spoken of in Acts 22:16. The now contrite apostle Paul recounts the words of the preacher, Ananias, at his conversion: “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

Sins are washed away in baptism and nowhere else. We are added to the body of Christ, the church of Christ. Christ’s spiritual blood continues to flow over us keeping us clean from sin as long as we are a part of that body. If the flow of blood in the body or a part of the body stops, then the body or the part lacking blood flow subsequently dies.

Thinking in this context gives new meaning to Moses’s inspired comments in Leviticus 17:11 which say, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.” If the blood flow of Christ stops flowing over the church or a member of the church, life in Christ and atonement for sin is discontinued. The church is made alive and kept alive by the blood of Christ. The church then is the body of the saved, the body of the cleansed, and the body of the forgiven. All of this comes from putting on Christ through baptism.

We can see the image of the church as a body is quite applicable. The church is to have one sense of purpose. It is to serve Jesus Christ, head of the body. He directs the church’s actions, through His mind. The thoughts of His mind are found in the scriptures. Within this vein of thought flows this comparison as well. We eat food to keep our bodies healthy and energized. The body of Christ is also kept healthy and energized through our consumption, or reading, of the scriptures. Christ is “the Bread of Life” to us (John 6:33, 35, 48, 51). When we read the scriptures we consume Christ and acquire His mind. Just like our brains utilize food for energy to process thoughts, so the scriptures feed our spiritual natures with energy and direction for the work of God which is what the church is here to do.

As physical bodies have many diverse parts, the church is made up of many diverse people. In both there is diversity of function among all the parts of the body. Those diverse parts work together to fulfill the purpose of the head.

Finally, the church is the body of those cleansed from sin by the blood flow of Christ. His blood flows through His spiritual body to keep it healthy and vital while cleansing us from toxins and infection in every interconnected part of His being.

The Church is a Family

When we think of our families we think of those who love and care about us the most. We think of these people as close to us because of the relationship we have with them by blood and familiarity. Families are one of God’s greatest blessings to humanity and the gift of them was a part of God’s creation activities chronicled in the first two chapters of the book of Genesis.

The family in an ideal state is what we are looking at in this comparison. Through our families we learn the lessons that are so necessary for living a productive and fulfilling life. We learn how to love, work together, share, give, and forgive through our interactions with our families. Family is the place where love and obligation intersect. Through that union the needs of each member are met. Families have a structure and are supposed to be a haven from the harsher realities of life. Families are understood generally to be places of love, loyalty, and acceptance. But they are also made up of people who are connected by common blood. Hence the term “blood kin” is frequently used in describing family relationships. The common blood shared by the family of God is the blood of Jesus Christ (referenced in the previous section of this study) which spiritually flows over each member of the church.

Families share a common name as well. The apostle Paul said in Ephesians 3:14-15: “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.” God says this in Isaiah 43:6-7: “Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth — Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.” The church is God’s family. God is the Father and the members of the church are the sons and daughters in the family. In Hebrews 2:11, Jesus is represented as the elder brother of the family and the one through whom the family is saved.

Scripture specifically shows that God’s family bears His name, not the name of any other. Thus if the church is God’s family it is to be called by His name. It must be known by His chosen designations and NO other. A church that does not bear God’s name or that of His Son — Jesus Christ, then by default is not His. It belongs to another. How many names do we see on the thousands of religious institutions in the world today? Most of them do not bear God’s name and by not taking His name they are not of His family.

Further reinforcing the idea of the family and that church members are God’s sons and daughters, the apostle John wrote this in 1 John 3:1-2:

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

Keep in mind that John was writing this letter to his fellow Christians. His audience were already members of the church. Members of the church are the “children” in God’s family and God is seen as the Father. Try to imagine the best earthly father ever and you will only get a glimmer of how God is as a father. The image of a family is really brought home in this thought because the church has the most magnificent Father one could ever imagine. It has the most loving, kind, and just Father imaginable. We only need to read the parable that Jesus told of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32 to be able to see God’s gracious and loving nature towards His children.

In Hebrews 12:9, the writer calls God the “Father of spirits.” Having bestowed to each living person a spirit He is the father of all those who have ever lived. The apostle Paul echoes this thought in Acts 17:26-29 by calling all men everywhere “the offspring of God.” However we must note that there is quite a difference between being called “children of God” and being simply called “the offspring of God.” The term “offspring” mostly denotes origin, but not necessarily relationship. The term “children” denotes not only origin but also a definite loving and valuable relationship. So while all of humanity has its origination from God (the imparting to everyone of a spirit upon conception) only members of the church can be called His family. Only members of the church have that loving and close relationship with God.

To sum up the thoughts on this comparison, the use of the term “family” as another term for describing the church is seen as very appropriate and is supported completely by scripture. In the ideal, families love and care for one another and are close. They share common blood, a common name, and a common lineage. The church is to be like a family in all of those ways too. Members are to love and care for one another like siblings. They share common blood in the blood of Christ. They share a common name called out and given by God. Finally, God is the Father providing that common lineage to members of the church and also showing the loving and gracious imagery that should be the ideal aspiration of every human father who has ever lived.

The Church is a Household

A household is properly defined as “the people of a house collectively; a family including its servants.” It comes from a Middle English word that implies a residence that one “holds or secures.”[3] What are the benefits of a household? It is a place of safety, protection, and refuge. It is a place where those within have common cause with one another in these things, and where what is done is most likely done with a recognition of the common good in mind. A household has a commonly recognized head as well.

New Testament scripture refers to the church as a household in two separate places. Both of them can be found in the letters of Paul. Let’s look at these two references:

• Ephesians 2:19: “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”
• Galatians 6:10: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

Paul once again is writing to the churches he so diligently worked to establish for the Lord. He is trying to build them up, encourage them, and teach them further. These references give yet another angle from which to look at the church. Knowing the definition of a household as stated above we can see the comparisons that Paul is making.

First, in the Ephesian letter Paul referred to the church as “members of the household of God.” From this section of the verse we see that God is the head and there is no other. The church has no earthly head. Its head is in the heavenly places where sin cannot abide and that which is eternal holds sway.

The head of the household in the Middle Ages was looked to as the lord of the house, the provider, protector, and leader. God certainly is these things to the church in every capacity. He is the Lord and ruler, and the leader and giver of the direction for the energies of the church. God is the provider of all that the church needs. James states that “every good gift” comes from Him (James 1:17). He is the protector of the house (2 Thessalonians 3:3). God guards and protects the church from the evil one. He reigns supreme and no evil can undermine His protection. He is the omnipotent holder of the house and nothing can snatch it from His mighty grasp (also see John 10:28-29).

Along that same line of thought, it follows that the church gets its life from a single source: Christ (who is God) and faith in Him. He bought it with His blood shed on the cross (Acts 20:28). As such He is the owner of the occupants as well as the property of residence too. So like the head of a household, God owns the church lock stock and barrel. It is His to do with as He chooses and all of the direction is His to give due to the rights implied by that purchase and resulting ownership. Also worth mentioning is that as the household derives its name from its owner. The household bears the owners name and by comparison so should the church of God (Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 1:2).

In the other relevant passage to the idea of a “household,” referenced from the Galatian letter, we see the church being synonymous with the term “household of faith.” This evokes the imagery of a common cause or belief.  Faith comes from hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17), therefore faith is something that all get from one common source. That faith is commonly held and jointly understood. The idea of faith coming from one common source (that all can understand) implies the church as being of one mind in all things which was exactly what Jesus prayed so fervently for in John 17:21. Here we have the common cause of the church. Faith and the obedience implied by faith produces actions that are beneficial for the church and all members of it. These actions advance the church’s mission on earth when all of this being done in accordance with the wishes and commands of the leader which is God.

The Church is Part of the Kingdom

The word “kingdom” in its literal meaning implies “a territory ruled by a king.” The Bible makes it very clear that Jesus Christ is now the ruler over all of creation, and as “King of kings and Lord of lords” in the book of Revelation (17:14 and 19:16). He received His kingdom upon His ascension into heaven after His resurrection from His death on the cross. The event of His coronation was foretold in the prophecies in the book of Daniel. In Daniel 7:13 and 14, the prophet writes:

I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.

When these passages from Daniel are connected with the scriptures in the first chapter of the book of Acts, we can know the day this took place. In the first nine verses of the book of Acts, Luke gives us an abbreviated account of what Jesus did after His resurrection and what were His last words on earth to His disciples. In this section of scripture we are told that Jesus appeared to His apostles and spoke to them over a span of forty days. Given the fact that he was in the tomb for three days, and then appeared to them over the next forty days, we can know that He ascended into heaven forty three days after His resurrection. On that day in Acts 1:9 Luke chronicled what occurred: “Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” Hence we can know that Jesus was given the kingdom and all authority to rule over it at that time.

Seven days later would have been the day of Pentecost (fifty days after the Passover). That was the day that Peter preached the first gospel sermon recorded in Acts 2. That sermon literally marked the opening of the doors to the kingdom of Christ and to the church that had been foretold throughout the Old Testament prophecies and by Jesus Himself in Matthew 16:18-19. In these passages in Matthew, Jesus referred to the building of His church and to giving Peter “the keys of the kingdom of heaven,” thus connecting the two forever. The church is a part of the kingdom and Christ’s kingdom includes all of creation – everything under heaven and earth. The church is as much a part of the kingdom as the King himself is. The church is the virtual representation of the King on earth in its identity as the “body of Christ.” As such, members of the church are citizens of the kingdom and ambassadors of the royal court of heaven where Christ now reigns.

To reinforce this point, the apostle Paul tells us that upon being reconciled to God in Christ we are conveyed “into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Colossians 1:13, 21). This thought ties the method of entry to the church and the kingdom as being one in the same.

So the kingdom and the church are interrelated entities and they cannot be disconnected from one another. The kingdom of Christ is as much a reality of the last 2,000 years as is the church of Christ. Members of the church are the earthly representatives of the heavenly King and should behave so in every respect. They should conduct themselves as befitting the eternal royal court of heaven. Just as citizens of a country need to know the laws of the land, citizens of the kingdom need to know the laws of the kingdom and keep them.

Paul tells us in Galatians 6:2 that we are to “fulfill the law of Christ.” The citizenry of the kingdom of heaven is governed by a law just like any kingdom is. The divine imagery used by the apostles in their inspired writings to depict both church and kingdom was something that anyone could relate to at that time and certainly is a concept that we would understand now. The church as a part of the kingdom is subject to the King and His law, just as the church as a body is subject to the Head and His thoughts.

The Church is a Royal Priesthood

In 1 Peter 2:9, the apostle writing to a group of fellow Christians says, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people.”

God’s people have always had a priesthood. Under the Patriarchal Age (The time of Adam to Moses) that priesthood fell to the head of each family, mostly specifically the father or head of the tribe. He was responsible for the offering of sacrifices to God and for the worship, as well as making prayers and intercessions for the family he represented.

Under the Mosaic covenant, the priesthood fell to the tribe of the Levites. The Levites as a tribe were set aside for the work of the tabernacle and eventually the temple in Jerusalem. Differing from the previous age, there was now a High Priest. The High Priest came from the tribe of Levi too. However he came from a particular clan within the tribe. He belonged to those of the lineage of Aaron, Moses brother. The High Priest was responsible for making intercession for God’s people and for making the sacrifices and performing the rituals called for by the Law of Moses detailed in the book of Leviticus. They were also to be representatives of God’s holiness and glory to the people around them by showing God’s goodness and perfection in all that they did.

Priests under the Law of Moses were responsible for teaching the law to the people of Israel and for providing the daily moral guidance for the nation. They had no tribal homeland. They were to be scattered throughout the territory of Israel in various cities reserved for them so they could have daily contact with the people of the other tribes.

In the age of the church, under the new covenant, God established that now all of His people who have put on Christ in baptism are considered to be priests. Christians are of the royal house and of the priestly house through the work that Christ accomplished with His death on the cross. Upon completion of the work at Calvary, Christ was not only made King of kings, but He was also made the “great High Priest” (Hebrews 4:14). That is how Christians, the members of God’s family, came to be called a “royal priesthood.” Just as Christians are members of one body in Him, so they are members of the royal priesthood in Him as well.

Members of the church are consequently called upon to make their lives a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1). They are called upon to pray and make intercession for all people (1 Timothy 2:1). Their lives are to be examples to the world of God’s goodness and grace (1 Thessalonians 1:7-8). Their work is that they be dispersed throughout creation in order to carry the gospel message throughout the world (Matthew 28:19 and Mark 16:15). The church is to have no earthly homeland. See the similarities between the shadows of the Old Testament priesthood and the current priesthood under Christ?

With regards to the term “royal,” members of the church are also sitting enthroned with Christ even now in the heavenly places as we are told by Paul in Ephesians 2:6. Jesus is now enthroned there in His role as King with all authority given to Him and the church is enthroned there as well since the church is the body of Christ. As Christ sits on the throne so does the church. The two are one.

Hence the church is a royal priesthood indeed through the reigning of our Lord Jesus Christ. As John put it in Revelation 1:5-6:

Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

 Other Images Used for the Church

 This brief study would not be complete without mentioning some of the other imagery used to describe the church and God’s people. In this last section we will look at each of those briefly and comment upon the comparisons being made for their relevance to us.

A Holy Nation

In 1 Peter 2:9, Peter tells the churches he is writing to this: “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”  A nation is defined by borders and this nation is bound by the borders of the kingdom of Christ. It is considered to be holy meaning “special and set apart” All of God’s people in His church are considered holy, not just a special few. They are set apart for the task of glorifying God to the rest of creation and specifically mankind.

A Bride

The apostle John specifically uses the imagery of a bride and a wife for the church in the book of Revelation:

• “Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (21:1-2).
• “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife” (21:9).
• “And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (22:17).

Brides are always considered to be beautiful on their wedding day and the church is portrayed as beautiful and desirable to Christ. She is a helper to Him as a wife is to a husband. Also as a bride, the church has a protector who loves her and would willingly lay down His life for her as a husband would to protect the wife he loves and cherishes. Jesus as the bridegroom did that on the cross in order to bring the church into existence. He paid the price for the bride with His blood on the cross and now is her husband. Paul mentions this blood payment in Acts 20:28.

In Revelation 22:17, we see that the Holy Spirit and the church say, “Come,” working together to call all of those who will come to the Lord. The Holy Spirit does this through the revelation of the scriptures, and the church does this through the proclaiming the message of the scriptures. Just as a wife would invite someone into the husband’s house, so the church invites the world into the kingdom. In this way she serves Christ in His mission to save mankind. She is indispensable to the process.

The apostle Paul describes this husband/wife imagery in depth with this passage from Ephesians 5:25-31:

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 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. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one 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.

In the description of the marital relationship for the members of the church at Ephesus, Paul gives us a very special image of just who the church is to Jesus. When set next to the passages John wrote, they have even more significance. Christ loves the church with everything He has to the point of giving His very life for her. This demonstrates that the church is very special indeed in God’s eyes. 

A Flock

In John 10:11, 14-16 Jesus used this illustration for the church:

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep… I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

Jesus represents himself as the good shepherd and his people as sheep showing the care-giving relationship He would have with the church. Shepherds feed and water their flocks. They provide direction and lead their flocks to safety and away from danger.

Shepherds provide the wisdom for survival that the sheep do not have. They fight to protect their flocks from predators even to the point of injuring themselves or dying. They watch over their flocks constantly in order to keep them safe and to keep the sheep from straying off into danger. The sheep in a flock know the shepherd and trust him and will only follow his voice. It is a very close relationship that would have had great meaning to the audiences Jesus spoke to at the time. They would have understood the level of intimacy that Jesus was referring to with the church as he used these illustrations.

The good Shepherd provides for the church’s security and watches over the church and the individual members. He provides wisdom through the scriptures to lead the members of the church through life on the earth into the eternal security of heaven.

Sheep left on their own are in constant danger of being preyed upon by wolves and other predators. Jesus in using this comparison makes it quite clear that humanity needs a protector and a savior. Humanity on its own cannot be secured and kept from sin. Sin will prey upon all people. It is not a matter of if but when.

The church is represented here as the secure place for people from the predations of sin and as the place where humanity can trust a protector that cannot fail in keeping them safe. It is a place where their shepherd would be willing to die for them in order to save them as Jesus did when He went to the cross.

Additionally, the church is a place for all of humanity who would come to the good Shepherd. Jesus’ message during his earthly ministry was exclusively for the Jewish audiences that followed him at the time and this quotation from the gospel of John shows that he intended to reach the world when he spoke about “other sheep I have which are not of this fold.” The church was not intended for one ethnic group but for all people.

Soldiers in an Army

The apostle Paul used several military illustrations when talking about the church and individual members. One of the most famous is probably this passage from Ephesians 6:10-17:

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 the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Here Paul shows Christians portrayed as warriors fighting evil with the armament provided by God for their protection. They are also shown as having the offensive capabilities found in “the sword of the Spirit” needed to fight and win the battle for humanity’s salvation. The church is engaged in that fight just as Christ is.

In 2 Timothy 2:3-4, Paul furthers this illustrative theme when writing to his protégé Timothy: “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”

Armies engaged in war need to have single-minded focus upon victory and upon fighting the battles that eventually win the war. Jesus is compared to a commander of troops in this illustration and Christians as individual soldiers who endure the hardships of campaigning with a focus upon winning and nothing else. In this way the church is indeed an army for Christ and is seeking to please their commander by fighting “the good fight” (2 Timothy 4:7).

Victorious armies are characterized as disciplined, tough, faithful, loyal, and obedient to their commanders in every way. This comparison is quite appropriate for the church in the relationship of Christ in His role as “the Lord” and should give us a better understanding of what God expects of the church even through hardship. The church is indeed Christ’s army for fighting the war against sin, defending the truth of the gospel, and saving humanity.

A Spiritual House/Living Stones

1 Peter 2:4-7 says this:

Coming to Him as to 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. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone…

In saying this Peter clearly portrays the church as the house for God. It is not an earthly house that occupies any real estate on this planet, but a spiritual house in which all of the members of the church make up the walls. The people are the church or the house for God. The church is not some earthly building somewhere. Jesus is portrayed as the “chief cornerstone” in prophecy and Peter uses this reference here to show how the spiritual house is built. The laying of the cornerstone for a new building gives guidance for the lining up of all the other stones that will make up the walls of the building. This ensures straight, strong walls. Jesus is the chief cornerstone upon which the living stones, the members of the church, are to align themselves.

The church is the actual spiritual house of God. God’s Spirit dwells in each Christian making them indeed living stones. Paul would also explain this 1 Corinthians 3:16-17: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”

 The church is the house of God. Members of the church are the stones that make up the walls of the structure. This illustration in scripture from both Peter and Paul points out something that many seem to miss. The God of heaven dwells with and in the church itself. You cannot have anything to do with God if you have nothing to do with His church. It is that simple. The church is His chosen dwelling place. If you want to live with God in your life, you have to become a part of the church. He is found nowhere else in this world.

Conclusion

Notice that the church is always defined with an image implying a relationship of some sort and never by a doctrine. When the church is named, the name designates either a location or the ownership. God defines the church; the doctrines of men do not. These images are meant to show us different aspects about the church’s relationship to God. They each have something different to teach us about the characteristics of that relationship. It is my hope that I have clearly shown that. May God bless those who read this with the understanding that He intended.

[1] See discussion of “ekklesia” in article by Wayne Jackson: https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1500-ekklesia-revisited.

[2] Wuest, Kenneth S. Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997.

[3] “household.” Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 13 Mar. 2013. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/household>.