Why is church important? #2

'Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.' Ephesians 5:25-32

Jesus and the church

• He loves us
• He gave himself up for us, by dying on the cross
• He cleanses us so that in God's sight we are holy
• He cares for us
• We become united with Him

It really is amazing when you think about this passage, not in the usual wedding-service way, but in the universal application is has for all Christians. We are all married to Jesus! And although we are saved as individual souls, precious in God's sight, when we are saved we become part of the corporate Body of Christ, the church.

So the church as a concept is made up of all Christians... but then there's also church in a local context, a specific body of members and a real and tangible community. This is where we see the concept lived out and made reality for us to understand and participate in.

Joshua Harris writes:
'[Jesus] calls and expects us to be part of [the church]... because we are part of it!
If Jesus loves the church, you and I should, too. We can't use the excuse that the church has messed up too many times or that we're disillusioned. Jesus is the only person who has the right to disown and give up on the church. But He never has. And He never will.' Stop Dating the Church, p40

Being a Christian who doesn't go to church is like being a brick lying on the ground (an analogy from Spurgeon which Harris quotes). It's useless and even trips people up! It's not what we're made for. We are made to be the people of God, living under His rule: that's what heaven is all about. Heaven is not going to be full of isolated individuals. No way! It's going to be people from every tribe, tongue and nation worshipping God together (Revelation 7:9).

The Christian life is hard. We find many struggles: against the world of people who have rejected God, against the devil who loves to trip us up, and against our own sinful nature which battles for supremacy within our hearts against God's Spirit. We need other Christians to keep us on the right track, to challenge us when we have compromised, to encourage us when we're down and ready to give up. To 'go solo' in the Christian life is to go against everything Jesus taught us about being humble and serving one another. It also buys into the lie that the less we give of ourselves and our time and money, the happier we will be. That's just not true! There is far more blessing in giving all of ourselves to the church, because it is an eternal investment.

Psalms 20-21: Trusting in God

Lessons from David- Psalms 20-21

These two psalms hold similar messages- we as humans need to recognise our limitations and trust in God completely. He will answer us and help us (1), and as David prays 'May He give you the desire of your heart' in Ps 20, he testifies in Ps 21 that God has done this (2).

The Lord saves His anointed (6), so instead of trusting in chariots and horses, we need to trust in the Lord (7).

Then we will be able to praise God more, as we see His glory more clearly. David spends most of Ps 21 thanking God for granting his requests (4-5)- but more than this, for giving him 'eternal blessings' and the 'joy of His presence' (6). This is the best of all.

Ultimately, David knows that his stability as a king depends not on his own strength but on God's grace (7). And David has the wisdom to look forward to the time when God will return to judge the wicked (8-12). God will be exalted in this as much as in saving the faithful.

Subjected to jealousy

Lessons from David- 1 Samuel 18

It's good to be reminded of what David endured before he became King. Having been anointed by Samuel, and defeated Goliath, David is subjected to Saul's jealousy and suspicion. His God-given success (5) is a reminder to Saul of his own depravity.

David is unfairly treated, from being targetted with a spear (10), to being trapped with Saul's schemes. Saul had promised to give whoever slayed Goliath one of his daughters in marriage; now he seeks to avoid keeping his promise or, worse still, use it against David (21).

But God's blessing is such, that He even uses Saul's threatening challenge (24-25) to bless David, as he completes it successfully. This chapter highlights David's success -a gift from God- and God's faithful protection even when he is in mortal danger.