Dear Members and Friends of IBCZ,
Last Sunday we focused on the church, and what it means to believe in the church, as the Apostles’ Creed states. We saw that the church is the people of God called out of the world to live for God, set apart to be holy and to accomplish the work of God in the world.
Furthermore, to believe in the church means we believe that God is indeed working through the church and we have committed ourselves to participating in the life of the church.
Then we saw that the reason we can believe in the church is that the church belongs to Jesus. He promised that He is building His church (Mt. 16:18), for even with all its flaws, Jesus loves the church.
There is a classic hymn, written more than 100 years ago, that pictures so beautifully and powerfully Jesus’ relationship with and commitment to His church. Some of us grew up singing this hymn, entitled The Church’s One Foundation. The first verse goes like this:
The church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord;
She is his new creation
By water and the Word.
From heaven he came and sought her
To be his holy bride;
With his own blood he bought her,
And for her life he died.
This is such a powerful portrayal of the church, of its origin in Jesus (She is his new creation), and the depth of love Jesus has for His church (He bought her with his own blood, dying that we might have life). To top it all off, Jesus sees us as his bride, beloved and chosen by him.
This, of course, is the way Scripture describes the church and how important the church is to Jesus. May we have this same attitude of commitment to and love for the church that Jesus has, as we always strive to ensure that Jesus in our one, true foundation.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Bob