Posted on 03/04/2019 5:54:48 AM PST by Gamecock
At the heart of Christianity is the doctrine of the mystical union of the believer with Christ. The New Testament does not only call us to believe in Christ, but to believe into Christ. Faith links us directly into Christ. We become in Him and He in us. This mysterious union is carried over into the relationship between Christ and the church. The church is His bride, whom He has brought into a real, profound, and powerful union.
We normally assume that the image of the church as the bride of Christ is a metaphor borrowed from the institution of human marriage. In this case, the earthly serves as the model for the heavenly. Perhaps that is the intent of Scripture. I am not sure. It may well be the other way around. It may be that the earthly estate of marriage is based on the heavenly model of the mystical union of Christ and His bride. Marriage is the reflection of the heavenly reality, not the basis for a heavenly image.
The perfect unity of persons existed in eternity in the nature of the Trinity itself. Though the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not “one flesh,” they are one being in perfect eternal harmony. In the Godhead, there is no possibility of divorce. It is a union that cannot and will not be broken. It is the eternal pattern of relationship that defines our human relationship. We share with God not only an analogy of being, but also an analogy of relationship. It is found in the mystery of marriage.
Coram Deo
Reflect on the mysterious union of Christ and the church as illustrated by the marriage relationship.
Passages for Further Study
Ephesians 5:31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
Ephesians 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
Ping
Christ and the church. The church is His bride, whom He has brought into a real, profound, and powerful union.
In our lifetimes here, most of us are given just a few instances where we are in tune with some one else. A boss, a business partner, a teacher, a spouse, a friend. Very rare but worth pondering on.
I had an older brother I worked with as a kid. I revered him, modeled him, ect. I found that after a while, I could anticipate what he wanted.
“thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.”
What does that mean?
From a man’s perspective, I think God points and grunts and I know what He wants.
Now you're talking like a dynamic equivalency interpreter, who rather than just give you God's Words but goes above that level of understanding and thinks he/she can tell you what God was thinking.
Grunts? Charismatic babble? I doubt it. We all would do well just to hear and obey what He has said in intelligible words. It is the level of instant Spirit-given obedience that measures how deeply onw is in Christ and He in His servant.
Now you’re talking like a dynamic equivalency interprete
We pray, “thy will be done as it is in heaven.”
Did you ever wonder what that was like? I do. To be one with the Father. To know his will so intimately, you don’t have to even think. The closest earthly example is what I described.
Are you discipling anyone?
your point?
The point is, are you close enough to my Heavenly Father and His Son to do as the Son has asked (Lukr 6:46)? If you are, it is a good thing to hear.
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