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Ephesians – Analogies of the Church
Analogies of the Church in Ephesians
To compare is to help understand. In Ephesians there are several analogies of the church, each descriptive, and as a whole even more enlightening. At times it is difficult separating the individual believer from the universal one church because our identity becomes one.
1. The church is likened to a body. EACH MEMBER HAS A ROLE.
CSB’17 Eph 1:22-23: “And he subjected everything under his feet and appointed him as head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.”
2. The church is likened to a temple. WE ARE HOLY AND GOD’S DWELLING.
CSB’17 Eph 2:21-22: “In him the whole building, being put together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.”
3. The church is likened to a mystery. GOD REVEALED THE MYSTERY OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH FOR JEW AND GENTILE.
CSB’17 Eph 3:8-10: “This grace was given to me — the least of all the saints — to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches of Christ, and to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things. This is so that God’s multi-faceted wisdom may now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens.”
4. The church is likened to a new creation/nation. OUR UNITED CITIZENSHIP IS REGARDLESS OF RACE.
CSB’17 Eph 2:12: “At that time you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world.”
5. The church is likened to a bride. WE ARE LOVED.
CSB’17 Eph 5:31-32: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church.”
6. The church is likened to a soldier. THERE IS A BATTLE ONLY GOD CAN EQIUP US TO WIN.
CSB’17 Eph 6:11-13: “Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.”
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