FBCD_FaithEssentials_June_FlipBook

Faith Essentials

of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. Because we are all members of His body” (Ephesians 5:23,30). Vineyard — We move next from the body to the soil. Since biblical history plays out in an agricultural society, it makes perfect sense that a symbol of the church would emerge from this realm. The clearest Biblical example comes by way of a parable told by Jesus (Matthew 21:33-46). In this story a man plants a vineyard, which signifies Christ planting the church. The vineyard farmers kill the owner’s servants, and eventually his son, when they come to collect the fruit. These servants represent the Old Testament prophets who proclaimed the uncompromising message of God. Obviously, the son in the parable signifies Jesus, who dealt with the symbol of the vine in more detail in the Upper Room on the night before His crucifixion. There, He emphasized the vital connection between the church and its life-giving Source. He said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit” (John 15:5). Just like a hand is helpless without receiving orders from the brain, the branch will remain fruitless without proper connection to the vine. Like a bunch of brown and dying limbs that have been trimmed from a nearby tree, so will be the fate of a church and its members that separate themselves from the One who loves them and gave Himself for them. Flock— This is another agricultural image for the church used in the New Testament. Since Jesus is called the “Good Shepherd” (John 10:11), the “Great Shepherd” (Hebrews 13:20), and the “Chief Shepherd,” it’s only fitting that His followers, the church, would be characterized individually as sheep and corporately as a flock. Sheep are vulnerable and defenseless. In biblical times, and still in many parts of the world, they rely on their shepherd for direction to food and protection against wild animals. They also depend on one another, as a lone sheep is especially susceptible to danger.

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