The Building, the Body, the Bride

Ephesians, writes J. I. Packer, uses “three basic images, or analogies, each illustrating some ongoing aspect” of the church: the building, the body, and the bride.

The Building

On the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with the Lord Jesus as the cornerstone, Gentile and Jewish believers are being built together, as so many building blocks or shapes stones laid side by side, to become “a holy temple in the Lord … a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (2:20-22). As in Old Testament times the temple was where God made people most vividly aware of his self-revealed reality and teaching, and where they in turn knew themselves closest to him (see the Psalms), so it is and will ever be in the church. That is a fact that all Christians should face, and celebrate joyfully from the heart. 

The Body

The church

which is one body under Christ its Head, grows and upbuilds itself in faith and love through the harmonious operation of each particular body part. That is to say, as each believer seeks to attain total Christlikeness, and as the Holy Spirit of Christ prompts each to cooperative work and service out of love to God, to neighbors, and to the body of Christ as such, the church moves forward into “the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God … to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” 4:1-16, esp. 13). The vision is of divinely managed coordination of the body, and of developing discernment of the truth and wisdom of God by the body corporately.

The Bride

As the bride is prepared by willing helpers for her wedding day, so Christ himself, the church’s Bridegroom, works to prepare the church, the object of his love, for the glory that he has in view for her—“that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle of any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (5:25-27). Ongoing sanctification for all Christians, separately and together, through a vast variety of events, circumstances, and conflicts, is accordingly the church’s present experience, while the approaching consummation of fellowship with Jesus is the church’s abiding hope, and the assurance of Jesus’s unfailing love remains its constant support. That is an outlook, and an upward and forward look, that all Christians should cherish and keep intact. 

Quoting from Taking God Seriously: Vital Things We Need to Know (pages 90-91).

Theological Term of the Week

atheism
“[T]he view that there is no God, no Supreme Being that deserves our worship and gives meaning and direction to the universe and human life.”1

• Scriptural applicable to atheism:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened (Romans 1:18-21 ESV).



The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1 ESV)

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Ten Points on the Theological Terms

1. I started posting definitions and explanations of theological terms way back in September of 2007. That’s seven years of almost weekly theological terms. It’s almost weekly because I’ve had a few short breaks from blogging. But if I was blogging anything at all, there would be a weekly theological term. 
   
   
2. The very first term ever was perspicuity of scripture. (The linked post has been updated to a newer format, so it looks a little different than it did originally.)
   
   
3. I’ve never run out of theological terms to define. I’ve thought I was close a few times, but someone would suggest a term or I’d come across a term while reading, and we’d be off to the races again. Once in a while, I’ll read something that leads to a whole new category of theological terms, like recently when I read What’s Your Worldview?, for instance. 
   
   
4. Some of the terms are not really theological terms. I’ll use any Christian or biblical word that a new believer or child might not understand. 
   
   
5. I’m still taking suggestions for theological terms. What’ve you got?
   
   
6. The theological terms are the most popular thing on my blog, and the page that lists all the terms gets as much traffic as the rest of the posts put together. 
   
   
7. I have plans to turn this one unwieldy page listing all the terms into several pages, with one page for A-E, one for F-J, and so on—and one page for each of the categories. I’m not sure when I’ll get this done, but it is on my list of things to do.
   
   
8. If I link to something in a theological term post, I’ve read it or listened to it, and judged the information to be useful, although I may not agree with every single thing in it. If a piece contains what I judge to be false teaching, it will include a warning. For instance, I’ve sometimes quoted people who advocate a heretical view so the reader can see the arguments used to support it, but I’ve noted that the doctrine defended is defective. 
   
   
9. Because links die or move over time, I should probably spend as much time updating old term posts as I do composing new ones, but that’d be no fun.
   
   
10. Once in a while, I get an email from someone telling me how they use the theological terms. Recently, someone told me they’re using them for Bible students in Africa who read English but aren’t familiar with technical doctrinal terms. Emails like this make me very happy and give me incentive to keep on defining and explaining theological terms.