Vol.
XLI
The
Divine Pattern for the Lord’s Church (7)
The
the
(concluded)
by Tom
McLemore
In
our previous article, we saw how the church as the body of Christ informs
us as to our mission and message. Before
we move on to consider some other imagery, please note the features of church
as the body of Christ that Paul stressed in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4.
It is God’s will that the members of the body “have the same care for one
another” (1 Corinthians
The concept of God’s people as flock
has been prominent throughout the history recorded in the Bible. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had flocks, as did
their descendants. David, the great
prototype of Christ, was taken from caring for his father’s sheep to become
king of
The Gospels demonstrate (by genealogy
and birth narratives), that Jesus Christ the Son of God was descended from
David according to the flesh (cf. Romans 1:3; 2 Timothy 2:8). Jesus spoke of himself as the good Shepherd,
and of his disciples as his sheep (see John 10). He described his work as seeking and saving
the lost sheep of the descendants of Jacob (Matthew
The church as flock provides a
pattern for the Lord’s church in its mission and message. Our mission is to teach people to follow him
(evangelism), but it is also to provide care for the sheep that are in the fold
(edification). The elders, also
designated overseers (“bishops”) and pastors (“shepherds”),
take the lead in this and serve under the Chief shepherd. However, it is also the task of all the
sheep to help and encourage each other.
The fundamental message that we communicate to each other is that we
should all follow the Shepherd, hear his voice, obey his commandments, and
trust in him completely.
Jesus, Paul, the author of Hebrews, and
Peter referred to the church as the household of God, Christ, and faith
(Matthew
Now let us take a brief look at an image
that stresses worship as the mission and message of the church, viz.,
the church as the temple of (in) the Lord. This was prophetically described by Isaiah,
Micah, and Ezekiel (Isaiah 2:1-4; Micah 4:1-7; Ezekiel 40-48; cf. also the
ideas expressed in Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 and the epistle to the Hebrews
relative to the tabernacle). Peter and Paul provide extensive consideration of this concept in 1
Peter 2:4-9; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 10, 16 (cf.
It is hoped that we can see that all of
these images (the church as the body of Christ, the flock, the household of
God, and the temple) have implications for our mission and message to the
world as well as to the church itself.
In the face of the prevalence of religious bodies constituted by the
precepts and commandments of men, the church as the body of Christ is
charged with the task of preaching the one gospel that results, when
people respond to it, in their being incorporated into the one body. Likewise, the flock presents Jesus
Christ, the good Shepherd who has laid down his life for the sheep. He is the Shepherd and he has one flock and
one fold. This presentation is a
plea to forsake the false shepherds and flocks and folds created by human
wisdom and to follow the true Shepherd and enter his fold by becoming one of his
sheep. Similarly as the household of
God, the message of the church for the world is a call to understand that
children of God are those who are born, not of blood, of the will of the flesh,
or of the will of man, but of God, i.e., born from above (anew), born of
water and the Spirit (John 1:12, 13; 3:3, 5; Galatians 3:26-29).
The church as the temple has a
message for the world. It is a summons
for human beings to cease worshiping themselves and to thank, worship, and obey
the true and living God (see Romans 1:18-32).
This implies worshiping him according to the pattern revealed in the
Scriptures, and in many cases the explanation for departures from that
pattern may be traced back to self-worship.
(A red flag ought to appear when you hear “We like this” rather than,
“God’s word teaches this”). The message
of the church as temple is also a communique to the religious world
to the effect that they worship in vain while preaching for doctrines the
precepts of men (Matthew 15:8, 9).
Of course, there are other biblical
considerations that could be addressed in connection with the mission and
message of the church of our Lord, but these major images are powerful and
practical for keeping our responsibility and task before our minds and to keep
us on track. In the next article, we
will consider the divine pattern for how the Lord’s church is to be governed
and who is to exercise authority over whom.
As to our mission and message, the
church of our Lord is his body, the flock of the good Shepherd, the household
of God, and the temple of the Lord. This
is our pattern, and when we are functioning accordingly Christ is pleased to
dwell among us and to work with us and through us (Matthew
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