STANDING IN THE GAP FOR THE CHURCH

Forty days of focussed prayer and fasting 20 June – 29 July

FAITH FOR A CHURCH, FAITH FOR A CITY

2 Chronicles 7:14 If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Eph:20-23 All this energy issues from Christ; God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.
'Thy Kingdom Come Thy Will be Done'

Saturday 30 June 2007

Devotion - Day 11

The Church – different names and titles.

God has given over 70 different names and titles to the Church. Each of these declares to us another facet of divine truth relative to the Church. It is only as we examine all of these individual pictures that we can have a complete understanding of the whole. Each of these individual pictures tells us something unique about the nature of the Church and what God plans to do through the Church. The Church is likened to many things including:

1. The Branch of the Lord’s Planting (Js. 60:21).
2. The City of the Living God (Heb. 12:22).
3. The Church of the Firstborn (Heb. 12:23).
4. The flock of God (Ezek. 34:15; I Pet. 5:2).
5. A Golden Lamp stand (Rev. 1:20).
6. God’s Field (I Cor. 3:9).
7. God’s Heritage (Joel 3:2; I Pet. 5:3).
8. Heavenly Jerusalem (Gal. 4:26; Heb. 12:22).
9. An Inheritance (Ps. 78:71); Is. 19:25).
10. The Israel of God (Gal. 6:16).
11. Mount Zion (Heb. 12:22).
12. The Mountain of the Lord’s House (Is. 2:2).
13. The Pillar and Ground of Truth (I Tim. 3:15).
14. A Pleasant Portion (Jet 12:10).
15. A Vineyard (Jer. 12:10 Matt. 21:41).
16. Bride of Christ (Rev. 21:9).
17. Congregation of Saints (Ps. 149:1; 89:5).
18. General Assembly (Heb. 12:23).

Each of these pictures could be examined individually to see the distinct contribution that each one of these makes to the whole concept of what God is doing through the Church, but we are going to give ourselves to a few of the main New Testament pictures of the Church that seem to be emphasized to a greater degree throughout the whole Bible. As we examine these including God’s Peculiar People, God’s Temple or Building, God’s Family or Household and the Body of Christ, we can expect to discover some of the truths that God has concealed in these pictures for our benefit.

Posted by Doxa Deo Blog-Admin at 00:23

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