You Can Know You Have Eternal Life
#683
Man's Search for Inner Peace (97)
The Christian's Relationship (3)
by Jim Mettenbrink
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One of the interesting features
of the New Testament is how the relationship of the saved (Christians)
to one another and to God are described using various metaphors.
We have considered, citizens of the Jesus kingdom, Christian
(belonging to Christ), church (called from a sinful
world to Christ), the body (interdependency among Christians)
and the family (growing up together into the likeness of Christ
and supporting one another as siblings). Another description
of the Christian relationship is that of intimacy to Jesus
marriage.
The Old Testament reveals the uniqueness
of the covenant relationship between God and ancient Israel.
The covenant was one of marriage Return, O backsliding children, says the Lord;
for
I am married to you (Jeremiah 3:14). It
is also revealed when Israels idolatry is called adultery.
You
are an adulterous wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband (Ezekiel 16:32). For they have committed
adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed
adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons whom
they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them. (Ezekiel 23:37). Ezekiel
declared this in the POW camp as the reason the Jews were removed
from their homeland. About the same time Jeremiah prophesied
in Jerusalem, Can
a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her attire? Yet
My people have forgotten Me days without number (Jeremiah 2:32). Israel
was Gods wife!
The believers relationship
is the same when they are baptized into Christ. The essence
of this submission is the vow to be faithful to Christ and baptism,
the wedding ring. Baptism is the visible symbol of this
most sacred and eternal vow. However, as in a true marriage,
the vow the a person makes in his baptism is a commitment from
the depth of ones spirit. The apostle Paul used the
relationship between Christ and Christians to teach the ideal
of the human marriage relationship. The Christians
relationship to Christ is simply that intimate.
However, becoming a Christian,
that is the bride of Christ, does not mean that all Christians
will remain faithful to Jesus. James, the Lords brother
admonished Christians who loved the world Adulterers and adulteresses!
Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity
with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the
world makes himself an enemy of God
(James 4:4). Note unfaithful Christians are guilty
of adultery, implying they are the unfaithful wife married to
Christ!
In the last day, Jesus (the
lamb of God) will present His faithful bride to throne of
God in heaven. Then
one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the
seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, Come,
I will show you the bride, the Lambs wife (Revelation 21:9). A
Christian is the wife of Jesus.
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