Loving on Jesus through His People... By Faith

The fourth facet, or angle from which the beauty of our Treasure shines forth, is the Treasure of Christ’s Body, the people of God.  Out of all the ways of looking at Christ, this one both the most tangible and the most elusive of all.  How many people have you heard who say, “I like Christ; it’s the Church I can’t stand!”  Perhaps you’ve felt this from time to time!  When the Church is acting like it should, in passion and unity and mission, there is nothing quite like it.  When the Church is at its worst, unresponsive and divided and apathetic, there are few things more infuriating and destructive.  So let’s take a brief look at what Jesus says about His people first, to get the perspective of the One who sees and knows all. 

First, He calls us His Family: “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:50).  “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3:1).  “You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba, Father!’  The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:15-17).  In fact, we’re told that Jesus “is not ashamed to call us brothers” (Hebrews 2:11).  So if, by our relationship to Jesus, our eldest brother in eternal life, we are the Family of God, then… to say it as bluntly as possible, we’re stuck with whatever siblings have become part of that Family, and they are stuck with us.  More positively, “there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life” (Luke 18:29-30). 

Secondly, He calls us His Bride.  This says more about the love of our Husband than about our own worthiness.  In Ephesians 5 we’re told that “Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25-27).  Christ is patiently and lovingly preparing us for the long-anticipated wedding, when the Bride will have “made herself ready; it was granted to her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure – for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints” (Revelation 19:7-8).  When Jesus thinks of His church, He doesn’t think of what she looked like when He pulled her out of the gutter of her sin.  With anticipation, He’s rejoicing in her splendor, her holiness, her flawless beauty, the righteousness of her deeds done through her union with Him.  Paul was not kidding when he said, “This mystery is profound”!

Third, He calls us His temple, His household, His dwelling place.  “You [Jews and Gentiles] are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.  In Him you also are being built into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:19-21).  But, mystery of mysteries, John says, “I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (Revelation 21:22).  This is the mystery of union with Christ, “I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you” (John 14:20).  When Jesus thinks of His church, He’s rejoicing in a fellowship so profound that the lines between persons can no longer be cleanly drawn.  Together we are intimately intertwined, the church with God, like lovers embracing and reveling in each others’ presence. 

Fourth, He calls us His Body.  I’m sure the analogy is familiar to you, that all parts of the Body are important, though the function of some is more obvious than others, and some get greater attention than the others.  “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individual members of one another” (Romans 12:4-5).  “But God so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another” (1 Corinthians 12:24-25).  If you’ve entered into this journey of faith with Jesus, then you share a Head with all the others who have also entered that journey, and in His sovereignty He has figured out the best way to mix us up together, so that each of us has a place in benefitting the rest.  The one part that none of us are is the Head – that belongs to Jesus.

            So… imagine someone approaches you and says, “I like you, I just can’t stand your brothers and sisters.”  Or, “I like you, but your wife is a pain in the butt!”  Or, “I like the way you started that building, but the rest of it is uninhabitable.”  Or, “I like you, but you sure are fat and ugly.”  I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure I’d hear the complement in that.  If we treasure Jesus, we’ve got to learn to see His people, His Family, His Bride, His Temple, His Body, with the same eyes that He sees them with.  That’s why we’re told that righteousness, including a righteous attitude toward the Church, is “by faith from first to last” (Romans 1:17).  Jesus, give us the eyes of faith to love You by loving Your church!

            So what does this mean for us as a worshipping community?  How can we see our gatherings as an opportunity to love on Jesus by loving one another?  Let me know your thoughts, whether you’re a leader, a member of the community, or a random drop-in.  I’ll gather these thoughts add some thoughts of my own in the next blog.  Send me an email!