Five Pictures of the Church

Q: What does the Bible say about the love of Christ for the church?

The Bible reveals that Christ loves His church unconditionally and eternally, as portrayed in the Song of Solomon. The love of Christ for His church is a central theme in Scripture, illustrated beautifully in the Song of Solomon. Christ’s love is likened to the tender affection of a bridegroom for his bride, showing that despite the church's failings and times of spiritual languishing, His love remains steadfast. Even when Christ withdraws His manifest presence, His love does not change; it is a love that persists through trials and afflictions. Like a wise parent who temporarily withdraws attention to correct a wayward child, Christ’s love infuses the church with hope and assurance, affirming that He will never forsake His own.

Q: How do we know we are accepted by God?

Acceptance by God is rooted in Christ's work alone, not our performance or feelings. According to Reformed theology, our acceptance with God is founded entirely on the finished work of Jesus Christ, not on our actions or feelings. This truth is exemplified by the consistent declarations throughout Scripture that we are accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6). Our status before God is not altered by our sins or struggles; rather, it remains secure in Christ who justifies and reconciles us. Thus, while our enjoyment of this acceptance may fluctuate, our standing as forgiven and cherished children of God remains constant, anchored in the unchanging love of our Savior.

Q: Why is the church described as an army in the Bible?

The church is described as an army because it engages in spiritual warfare, standing firm against forces opposing the gospel. In the Scriptures, the church is depicted as an army to convey its role in spiritual warfare. This imagery highlights the readiness and unity of believers as they advance the gospel amidst a world that opposes Christ. The phrase 'terrible as an army with banners' emphasizes not only the strength of the church but also the necessity of the armor of God for battle. Believers are called to take up their spiritual weapons and contend for the faith, actively proclaiming the gospel and resisting the powers of darkness. This visual representation reminds us that the church’s mission is to confront evil with the truth of Christ’s victory.

Q: What does it mean that the church is one body in Christ?

The church as one body means all believers are united in Christ, transcending social and ethnic barriers. The doctrine that the church is one body in Christ highlights the unity of all believers regardless of their backgrounds. In Christ, traditional divisions such as race, gender, or social status are rendered insignificant. This oneness is rooted in the truth that believers are collectively identified as the body of Christ, functioning together under His headship (1 Corinthians 12:12-14). The call for unity reflects the nature of the triune God and His desire for His people to display the harmony and diversity of His creation within the church. Thus, this unity not only reinforces the importance of communal worship but also encourages active participation in the mission of Christ.

Q: Why is it important for the church to evangelize?

The church must evangelize to fulfill the Great Commission and share the gospel's transformative power. Evangelism is crucial for the church as it embodies the Great Commission given by Christ to His disciples in Matthew 28:18-20. This commandment highlights the responsibility of the church to go into all the world, teaching and baptizing nations. Evangelism serves to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, which is the means by which God brings about the salvation of His chosen people. Furthermore, it is an act of love for our neighbors and obedience to Christ’s command. The urgency of the gospel compels believers to share their faith, as it is through preaching that individuals come to understand their need for redemption and experience the grace of God.

Solomon chapter 6 song of Solomon
chapter 6 verses 4 through 10 In this blessed song of loves,
the love of Christ for his church and the love of his church for
him, we have a constantly recurring theme, and that theme is the
love of Christ for us and our love for him, our times of languishing
because of our sin and our times of reviving because of his grace. The Song of Solomon, much like
the Psalms, takes us into the closet of the believer, where
the Spirit of God shows us what goes on in our own heart's life
experience and allows us to see these things plainly set before
us in Holy Scripture. In this context before us, because
of her sin and her neglect, the Lord Jesus had temporarily withdrawn
from his church the manifestation of his presence. I stress the
word, the manifestation of his presence. He is always with her,
but for her own good, he sometimes hides his face. He's always with
us, but in order to draw our hearts out to seek after him,
whenever we neglect him, whenever we allow anything to come between
us and him. He will hide his face from us
and hide from us the sense of his presence that we may run
after him. And thus he graciously causes
us to run after him. Yet, though she did not have
the comforting sense of the Lord's presence, we see the church in
this passage still cherishing him in her heart and holding
him by faith. You read in chapter five how
she goes about seeking him and the daughters of Jerusalem ask
her, tell me what is your beloved more than another beloved that
we may seek him with thee? And she seems to say, well, just
sit down and let me tell you. And she says, let me tell you
of the excellence, the beauty and the glory of him whom my
soul loveth. He is indeed my beloved and he
is my friend. He is my God and my savior, but
he's my beloved and he's my friend. She was in great sorrow because
of the Lord's absence, but she never ceases to love him, and
she never ceases to believe him. She rested her soul upon Christ
alone, not upon her feelings, her emotions, or her experiences,
but Christ alone. Now, this is so very important
because we have all been taught from our youth up, and it is
just a natural part of self-righteous human religion to imagine that
whenever the Lord hides His face from us, or whenever we are keenly
aware of and conscious of our sins, then we ought to stand
back and say, well, I don't know whether I belong to the Lord
or not. I don't know whether I'm His or not. That makes assurance,
that makes acceptance with God to be based upon you, not on
Him and His grace. Here in this song, you see how
this beloved bride, this chosen one of Christ, the object of
his love, even when she cannot see his face, she looks at him
with confidence, with confident faith, being confident of his
love, his mercy, and his grace toward her. Look in chapter 6
in verse 3. Listen to these words. In the
midst of her deep, deep sorrow, while she is yet craving his
manifest presence, while she is longing for him to return
to her in a manifest way, she says, I am my beloved's. And
my beloved is mine. He feedeth among the livids.
Now here in this passage before us, chapter six, verses four
through ten, the Lord Jesus graciously reveals himself again to his
church. to comfort and assure her again
of His mercy, His love, and His grace. Now, let me remind you,
when I speak of the church, I'm talking about all true believers. The only way you get into the
church of the living God is to be born into it. The only way
you get into the family of God is to be born into it, not by
natural birth, but by spiritual birth. And all who are born of
God's Spirit are in the church, which is the bride and the body
of the Lord Jesus Christ. We were chosen in Him, redeemed
in Him, called in Him, justified in Him, accepted in Him, and
we are members of His church if we are in Him by the grace
of God, if we believe on the Son of God. All of us are members
in good standing in the house of God if we belong to the Son
of God. Now, in this passage, our Lord
gives us five blessed pictures of His church in this world right
now. These pictures are true of all
believers. They are true of all believers
collectively, and they are true of this congregation of believers,
and they are true of each of us personally, as we belong to
Jesus Christ the Lord. All right, here's the first thing,
verse four. The church of Christ is an army in this world. Thou art beautiful, O my love,
as Tirzah. Comely as Jerusalem, terrible
as an army with banners. He says that same thing in the
last clause of verse 10. Terrible as an army with banners. Teersa was a city in the tribe
of Manasseh. It means pleasant and acceptable. And this is how the Lord Jesus
looks on you. Pleasant and acceptable. Oh, what a word. He looks on
us, his church, his bride, pleasant and acceptable, not because we
have done something to distinguish ourselves from others. but because
He has done something to distinguish us from others. He has made us,
as you prayed it back, Baba, He's the one who distinguished
us. He's made us pleasant and acceptable. He is the one who
makes us to differ. He's washed us in His blood,
robed us in His righteousness, and He looks on us always as
pleasant and acceptable. Jerusalem, is the city of God. It symbolically is a type of
the church. In Galatians 4.26, we read, Jerusalem,
which is above, which is the mother of us all, is free. And
in that sense, Jerusalem is speaking of the church of God. In Hebrews
10.22, we have come unto Mount Zion, the new Jerusalem. That
new Jerusalem that comes down from God out of heaven in Revelation
is not some physical city, it's talking about the complete body
and bride of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are the city of the living
God. His church is his Jerusalem,
his city. He says now pray for the peace
of Jerusalem, not that city in Palestine. It's all right to
pray for God to give them peace, but that's not what that text
is talking about. He's talking about praying for the peace of
God's church. Satan would destroy the church
of God by destroying the peace of his church. And our Lord says,
you pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Great peace is to be ours only
as he keeps us in peace. So believers in this world are
described by our Lord here as being pleasant and acceptable.
The city of God, the people of the living God. And then we're
described as soldiers, soldiers enlisted in an army. We are the
soldiers of Christ in hostile enemy territory. It doesn't take
you long to find out. When you unite with the people
of God in this world, when you unite with the cause of Christ
in this world, When you identify yourself with the gospel of God's
free and sovereign grace in this world, you have enlisted in a
hostile battle between forces that shall never, never, never
be at peace in this world. The seed of the woman is always,
always the object of enmity from the seed of the serpent. The
people of God are always the object of enmity of the people
of this world. And the cause of Christ is always,
always under attack in this world. Therefore, our Lord tells us
plainly that while we walk in this world, we're to take the
whole armor of God, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate
of faith, and so on, so that we stand fast in this world in
the cause of Christ. Now, listen to this. The Church
of God is an army with banners. You see it? And the banner is
Jesus Christ himself. Isaiah 1110 says Christ is the
ensign. He's the banner. The gospel of
his grace, all the doctrines of it are the banners under which
this army marches. All true believers do. Christ,
our mighty captain, has given us plain marching orders. What
are we to do? Turn over to Matthew 28. I'll
show you one more time. I wish I could make folks understand
this. The function of God's church in this world is not to entertain
people on the way to hell, but it is rather to preach the gospel
of Jesus Christ in this world. That's our business, our only
business. And if we would give ourselves
to this business, we wouldn't have any time for any other business.
Look at this, Matthew 28, 18. Our Lord Jesus is giving his
last word to his disciples. Jesus came and spoken to them,
saying, all power, all power. Here's our captain, our mighty
captain, the captain of our salvation. He says, all power, all authority,
all dominion is given unto me in heaven and in earth. That's
a pretty good way to begin. That's a pretty good way to begin. Now, you're following me? You've
enlisted in my cause. You've enlisted in my army. I'm
sending you out in this world to do battle for me. I'm telling
you, you have no reason to fear. All power is mine. Now read on. He says, Go ye, therefore. Go ye, therefore. Quite literally,
he says, therefore, as you are going, as you're making your
pilgrimage through this world, he's not talking about some Distinct
call here to the mission work or to preaching he's talking
to you his disciples as you make your pilgrimage through this
world Teach all nations Teach them teach them what I've taught
you teach them the gospel Baptizing them now. He doesn't say baptize
them and then teach them. That's the way religion does
He says teach them and as they come to believe you baptize them
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the world. Amen. What's our business then? As we make our way through this
world, preach the gospel. Tell everybody what a great Savior
we found. Tell everybody what our great
Savior has found us. Tell everybody who our God and
Savior is and what he's accomplished for us in his death, in his burial,
in his resurrection, in his life on this earth, and in his life
in glory. Tell everybody who he is and
what he's done. And the matter of triumph and
ultimate victory is an absolute certainty. Our Lord said in Matthew
16, 18, upon this rock, I'll build my church. What rock? The
rock of Peter's confession, thou art the Christ, the son of the
living God. Upon this rock, I will build
my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. It's interesting, he uses the
word gates. The idea is that his church,
you and I, are sent out to attack, to storm, Hell itself. Not the picture of hell attacking
and storming us. Gates are weapons of defense,
not of offense. And it tells us here to storm
the very gates of hell with the gospel of His grace. And they'll
fall dead in front of you. We've seen it happen over and
over and over again. And we shall see it happen ultimately
in the final triumph of our Savior by His gospel in this world. All right, secondly, The church
is described in verse five as the object of Christ's love.
He says, turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome
me. Thy hair is as a flock of goats
that appear from Gilead. Here our Lord assures his troubled,
afflicted people that they are the objects of his love. His
love toward us never changes. He does at times withdraw from
us his manifest presence, but he never ceases to love us. Like
a wise parent who shows his child his displeasure, hoping to correct
the child, yet the parent never ceases to love the child. and
would have no barrier between him and the child. Our Lord Jesus
graciously at times forsakes us in the sense of his manifest
presence with us, but never, never, never does he forsake
us. Turn to Isaiah 54, let me show you. Isaiah 54. If you want
to understand the Lord's chastenings, loving chastisement of you. Bear these verses in mind. Isaiah
54 verse 7. The Lord God speaks and says
for a small moment. Every time I read those words
I underline them again. A small moment. Those are important
words. I have forsaken thee. But with
great mercies will I gather thee in a little A little wrath. How do you understand this? The
Lord's saying, now, this is just temporary. It's not going to
last long. It feels like it's going to last
forever. And it seems like horrible, horrible wrath. It seems like
utter abandonment. But I'm assuring you ahead of
time, in a little wrath, I hid my face from thee for a moment. But with everlasting kindness,
will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. For this
is as the waters of Noah unto me. For as I have sworn that
the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have
I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For
the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but my
kindness shall not depart from thee. Neither shall the covenant
of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.
I think maybe the hymn writer had those words in mind when
he wrote this hymn. Every human time may perish,
friend to friend unfaithful prove, mothers cease their own to cherish,
heaven and earth at last remove, but no changes attend Jehovah's
love. Zion's friend in nothing alters,
though all others may undo. His is love that never falters,
always to its object true. Happy Zion, crowned with mercies
ever new. Now this I assure you all, whatever
bitter cup is wrung out to you, whatever in God's wise, adorable,
good providence, He brings to pass in your life today or tomorrow
or any day on this earth. His love is without cause. And because his love is without
cause, his love is without change. It is without beginning and it
is without end. He says, my love stands forever. Having loved his own which rend
the world, he loved them to the end. Now here's a strange expression
of love. He says, turn away thine eyes
from me, for they have overcome me. How can we possibly understand
that? Our Lord Jesus uses the expressions
of a passionate lover. to express the tenderness of
a compassionate Redeemer toward us. Turn away your eyes. They've overcome me. He seems to be saying, I can't
resist those eyes looking to me, looking to me in faith with
hope. Look, looking to me with sorrowful
repentance, looking to me for everything. I can't resist those
eyes. Whatever it is that you wanted
me, here it is. It's yours. I'll forgive all
and I'll forget all. Turn away your eyes from me.
I'm overcome by Him. He so loves us that He is willing
to be overcome by us. We look to Him and looking to
Him, we have. What's the point, Pastor Jim?
The point's this, Larry. Whatever your circumstance, whatever
your trial, whatever your heartache, when He won't speak to you, and
it seems you can't speak to Him, keep on looking to Him. That's
it. You just keep looking to Him,
and He hears the cry of your heart. And he says, I freely
forgive all. I freely forgive in such a way
as to forget all. Now thirdly, the church of Christ
in verses six and seven is described as being perfect in his eyes.
As a matter of fact, if you want to at your leisure, compare chapter
four, verses one, two, and three, the words are almost identical
to these. He says in verse six, thy teeth or as a flock of sheep
which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins,
and there is not one barren among them, as a piece of pomegranate
are thy temples within thy locks." Now, this description is almost
identical to the description that he gives of us in chapter
4, verses 1, 2, and 3. But remember, this description
here in chapter 6 is given to his church in the time of her
deep sorrow, in her time of her great languishing, when she has
neglected him, when she has chosen her peace on her bed rather than
him, when she's chosen the things of this world and the cares of
this world and the pleasantness of her flesh over him, and yet
the description of her beauty is exactly the same. What's he
saying? He's saying, so great is my grace, so great is my love for you,
so great is my goodness to you, that nothing changes between
us, no matter what you do. I wish I could love like that.
But I'm telling you, it's wonderful to be loved like that. You see, our acceptance with
Christ is his work alone. Can you understand that? It is
all together his work. We are accepted in the beloved,
not because of what we do, but because of what he has done.
And it never vanishes. It never varies. Our standing
before God, our acceptance with God, our being approved of by
God never varies at all. Not at all. Our enjoyment of
it varies. Our delight in it varies. David
said, restored to me the joy of thy salvation. But David understood. He stood before God accepted.
I often ask the question, was David more accepted when he was
leaping and dancing before the Ark of God, rejoicing in what
that Ark represented, in God's salvation, bringing it up to
build a house for God, to worship God in Jerusalem, or when he
was in the arms of Bathsheba? Well, he was accepted the same,
except he had horribly sinned against his God. And for that
he must suffer the consequences of the bitterness of his sin
in his soul, squeezing out repentance from him. But his acceptance
with his God never varies. Our acceptance with God Almighty
is in Jesus Christ alone. And here in this passage, The
Lord describes the beauty and the perfection of his church
in exactly the same way in the midst of her great sorrow and
her great sin as he did before the sorrow and the sin was experienced. We are redeemed in Christ. We
are made righteous in Christ. We are forgiven in Christ. And
we're accepted in Christ. David understood that. He said,
blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
Fourthly, the church of Christ is one body in Christ. Look at
verse eight. There are three score queens,
four score concubines, and virgins without number. My dove, my undefiled,
is one. She is the only one of her mother. She is the choice one of her
that bear her. The daughters of Jerusalem saw
her and blessed her, yea, the queens and the concubines, and
they praised her. Now other kings have queens and
their wives and their concubines and mistresses, virgins and maidens,
but Christ our King makes all his people one. In the kingdom
of God, in the kingdom of grace, there is no such thing as rank. There is no such thing as class. There's no such thing as social
position. The people of God are one. Listen to what Paul says in Colossians
3. We put on the new man which is renewed in the knowledge after
the image of him that created him. Where there is neither Greek
nor Jew, circumcision, nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond, nor
free, but Christ is all and in all." Now, this is what that
means. It does not mean that Greeks cease to be Greeks or
that barbarians cease to be barbarians. It does not mean that Jews cease
to be Jews, Gentiles cease to be Gentiles when they come into
the kingdom of God. It doesn't mean that male ceases to be male,
female ceases to be female. That's ludicrous and silly. What
it does mean is this, none of those things matter. They don't
matter. Now, somebody uses passages like
this and say, well, that means we can ordain women and be deacons
and elders and pastors. That's silly. The Lord gives
plain instruction otherwise. He says no. Well, then there's
no equality. In my house, there's tremendous
equality. Shelby and I are one. We're one. But she's not the head of the
house, I am. That doesn't mean she's inferior to me. That doesn't
mean she's less than me. She's not the head of the house.
That's not her responsibility. It's mine. And in the kingdom
of God, there are offices and gifts and talents by which God's
people together serve Christ. But those things don't make one
higher than the other or one better than the other. We don't
recognize any kind of social or class distinction in God's
kingdom. No racial distinction in God's
kingdom. In Christ, we're one. All right. Let me show you one
other thing. The Church of Christ in this world is the light of
the world. Look at verse 10. Who is she that looketh forth
as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible
as an army with banners? The Church of Christ shines as
the light of the sun in this world, giving forth light to
them that sit in darkness. Our Lord said, you are the light
of the world. A city that's set on a hill cannot be here. Let me see if I can put some shoe
leather on that. That means that Buddy Darty and
Mark Hinson, those folks up there at Matthew's Conveyor System,
you're all the light they've got. You're all the light they've
got. Folks, you know over there in
Gary County, you're all the light they've got. All they've got.
You are the light of the world. Without you, there's no light
here. No light here. You who know Christ alone are
capable of dispensing light to men. You alone are capable of
showing forth the light of the gospel of the grace of God. In
its beginning, the church was like a rising sun in the morning,
the dawning of this new day. At its best, in this world, the
Church of Christ is like the moon at night. We reflect the
light of the Son of Righteousness. That's all we can do. We have
no light of our own. Our light is but the reflection
of His light. But one of these days, when we are complete, in
the kingdom of His glory, we shall shine forth as the sun. Look at Matthew 13, 43. Matthew
13, 43. Then shall the righteous shine
forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father. In that day
we shall be clothed with Christ the son, the son of righteousness. And like him, we shall display
the glory of God forever. This is how the church is described
in Revelation 12. There appeared a great wonder
in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her
feet, and upon her head was a crown of 12 stars. Isaiah describes
it like this. Moreover, the light of the moon
shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun
shall be sevenfold as the light of seven days in the day that
the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people and healeth the
stroke of their wound. All of these things are given
to us as pictures of his grace toward us so that we might be
taught to rest in his love. May God give us grace to do so
for Christ's sake. Amen.

Five Pictures of the Church

What does the Bible say about the love of Christ for the church?

How do we know we are accepted by God?

Why is the church described as an army in the Bible?

What does it mean that the church is one body in Christ?

Why is it important for the church to evangelize?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

Five Pictures of the Church

What does the Bible say about the love of Christ for the church?

How do we know we are accepted by God?

Why is the church described as an army in the Bible?

What does it mean that the church is one body in Christ?

Why is it important for the church to evangelize?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

Comments

More from Don Fortner

Same Scripture

Articles by Don Fortner

Books by Don Fortner

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book