It is such a simple word, but we seem to say the word church to mean an inanimate object. Where did we get this meaning from?
The jewish sect was the first to hint of a structure of worship, in their own way, that was called a tabernacle. Us gentiles stole the concept but called it a church for worship. Our understanding of the purpose also was taken from the jews of the fact that we have to all get together to form a group to worship.
What we must understand is that God was using the imagery of the tabernacle as a picture for us to see,if we were to come to him and just commune with Him. This would be a complete picture of God and His people together as one.
This is a stopping point from this blog to highlight a characteristic of God. God’s understanding of “LIFE” is almost beyond words for us humans, but it is easier to understand if it is told in a story or a parable if Jesus was trying to get a point across to the disciples. We have to go beyond our thought process to understand God’s ways. Our ways are not His Ways,remember.
God’s economy(business) was in the old testament to keep the jewish people(Israel) together in way that they would be protected from the outside world without to many incidents. The rules and regulations that the jews added to the commandments and to eating and sacrificing laws added to their issues. This scenerio of keeping the jews together is actually the parable or story that you here in the psalms and other places that refer to the shepherd and the sheep. The description of the shepherd taking care of his sheep and protecting them from the wolves and lions is in reference to the world and to satan. (WoW)
But then, Christ came and changed this scene. The Shepherd was just a temporary condition for his people, until He came to change things. His dieing on the Cross,thus killing the natural way of doing “religion”, and bringing to Life the all-inclusive Christ which has now been processed for us, with Christ being born,dieing,and being raised to the Father, He is now complete in Us.
The Old ways are now over, a new way has been created that is better is now in affect. We now have a tabernacle or home with God in us,and us in Him. For this new way to be complete and stand on its own, all the old ways have to die. God’s living in us and us in Him is complete into it’s self!!!!! Why do we need to use the old ways to improve on the new way? But we do.
Our understanding of God’s People,His Church, His Bride, has got to change and it will.
Let’s come at this from the angle from the brides perspective and see if we can make it clear to us. Hear is the preface, God has already asked us the church to be his bride(He chose us before time!) One key here is realizing that this is in a corporate setting not as individual way of looking at it. The ones that accept the plea to be apart of Christ as one entity(His Bride) is the picture that we are at now. Now, since we as the bride have committed ourselves to Christ as the bride we “should” be focused on Him and Him only. This is not the case, in christianity. The bride’s only goal from this point on is to get ready for the wedding. Staying true to the groom is the ultimate goal from here out. My experience with girls and weddings are my forte’, I have 3 girls and 2 weddings. We know from the time they are asked til that special day, it is all about Him!!.
Where we are confused is that when Christ chose us and we said yes, We are now apart of Him, it is as we are already married or that we are ONE. This is also considered the body of Christ, or the Church.
Our being with Christ makes us apart of His body,church,bride. Let us see this revelation so that we may become what God wants us to represent.
His new BRIDE!!
The Eternal Purpose 