The Christ & His Church
| BY SEAN CAVENDER |
Based upon the confession that Peter made that Jesus was the Christ, Jesus promised to build His church (Matthew 16:18). This is the first time that the church is mentioned in the New Testament. The church that Jesus refers to was His. He calls it “my church.” The church was a prized possession of Christ and would that He would purchase and build at a high cost. He purchased the church “with His own blood” (Acts 20:28).
Just imagine your favorite childhood toy, whether it was a shiny toy truck, or your favorite teddy bear. Think about how much you cherished that toy. You would show it off, take care of it, you wanted others to see it and know that it belonged to you. On a very basic level, this is how the New Testament speaks of Christ and His relationship to the church.
The husband-wife relationship is used to describe the relationship that Christ has with the church. Christ being the husband and the church being His bride (Ephesians 5:23-25). Christ has distinguished His church through cleansing her (Ephesians 5:26). The church is to be holy and perfect (Ephesians 5:27). Christ takes great care of His bride, “for no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church,” (Ephesians 5:29). Do you begin to recognize just how important the church is to Jesus? He was willing to give His life and His blood for His bride. That is the true meaning of love!
There was only one church that Christ promised to build. He did not promise to build “churches,” but promised to build “my church.” His promise was to build the church that would be under His leadership and guidance. His promise was to build the church of His possession, or the church of Christ.
Christ is the head of only one body (Ephesians 4:4; 5:23). The church is not merely a cold, religious institution that seeks to control its members. The church of Christ is the ultimate expression of love, grace, and truth. We need to make certain that we are members of the church of Christ.
