God has revealed a lot about himself in the way he talks about the church. The apostle John wrote, “God is love” (1John 4:8). Those are beautiful words, and the truth they represent is both wonderful and comforting. Love is more than just an abstract concept or feeling, though. It’s a state of mind and being, and a force for good that manifests itself in tangible ways. Probably the most obvious of love’s many tangible manifestations is relationships. We’ve given those relationships names that describe the type or degree of love involved. It’s heartwarming to consider the relationship names God uses when he speaks of his church. These terms of God’s love reveal not only a lot about himself, but about us.
God calls the church his family. God calls us his children and rejoices to be our heavenly Father. God made us all, but there are a lot of rebellious and illegitimate children. To be accepted as part of God’s legitimate family is the greatest privilege I can think of! (See 1Timothy 3:15; Ephesians 3:15)
God calls the church his Son’s bride. We might say the church is God’s bride considering Jesus is God, the Son. If we speak of this from the standpoint of the Father, then we might say she’s his daughter. (See Ephesians 5:25-32; Revelation 21:2)
God calls the church his son. It is the “body of Christ,” the “fullness” of his Son (Ephesians 1:22-23). The church is “spiritual Israel,” which God called his “son” (Hosea 11:1). Jesus is God’s “one of a kind son” (John 3:16), and we in the church are all his sons through faith. (See Romans 8:14-15)
How great it is to be thought of so highly by God! Though some may not esteem the church so highly, God says “my family,” “my daughter,” “my sons,” “my bride.” Those are terms we can all understand. Family, that’s acceptance and support. Daughters and sons, that’s legitimacy, provision, protection, inheritance. Bride, that’s intimate love and oneness. So, what do you think about these terms of God’s love? What do they make you think of the church? What do they make you think about God?
—JLP