I woke up the other morning with a thought going through my head that would not leave me, “what is it that Jesus loved?” And the accompanying thought that I surely wanted to be sure that I loved what Jesus loved. I could not get the thought out of my head: What does Jesus love? It is clear from the Bible that God loves the world and loves it so much that He sent Jesus as the Savior. It is equally clear from teh Bible that the people of God are called and commanded by God to love one another. And I am sure that when I have time to reearch the way the word for “love” is used in relationship to Jesus, I will discover the particulary ways in which the love of Jesus is expressed. But that day my mind went to one text that became the focus for my day, Ephesians 5 [+/-]Ephesians 5
[5:1]Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.
[2]And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up
for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
[3]But sexual immorality and all impurity or
covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper
among saints. [4]Let there be no filthiness nor foolish
talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead
let there be thanksgiving. [5]For you may be sure of this,
that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is
covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the
kingdom of Christ and God. [6]Let no one deceive you with
empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God
comes upon the sons of disobedience. [7]Therefore do not
become partners with them; [8]for at one time you were
darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as
children of light [9](for the fruit of light is found in
all that is good and right and true), [10]and try to
discern what is pleasing to the Lord. [11]Take no part in
the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
[12]For it is shameful even to speak of the things that
they do in secret. [13]But when anything is exposed by the
light, it becomes visible, [14]for anything that becomes
visible is light. Therefore it says,
"Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."
[15]Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but
as wise, [16]making the best use of the time, because the
days are evil. [17]Therefore do not be foolish, but
understand what the will of the Lord is. [18]And do not get
drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with
the Spirit, [19]addressing one another in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord
with your heart, [20]giving thanks always and for
everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, [21]submitting to one another out of reverence for
Christ.
[22]Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
[23]For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ
is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its
Savior. [24]Now as the church submits to Christ, so also
wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
[25]Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the
church and gave himself up for her, [26]that he might
sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water
with the word, [27]so that he might present the church to
himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such
thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. [28]In
the same way husbands should love their wives as their own
bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. [29]For no one
ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it,
just as Christ does the church, [30]because we are members
of his body. [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.
[33]However, let each one of you love his wife as himself,
and let the wife see that she respects her husband. (ESV)
where we are told that Jesus loved the church and gave Himself up for her.
Jesus loved the church. Jesus died for the church as the demonstration of His love for the church. Now the whole idea of Jesus dying for the church raises theological concerns that are not the concern of this particular blog. What struck me that day was the simple, straightforward, right-there-in-front-of-me communication that Jesus loves the church. And if Jesus loves the church, then every peson who belongs to Jesus must also love the church. If Jesus loved the church enough to give Himself for her then as a follower of Jesus, I must also love the church in that kind of way.
When the Bible says that Jesus loved the church, it is speaking of a person. Jesus is the church inasmuch as He is the head and the church is the body so that to love the church is to love Jesus. But it is speaking of more than a person, it is also speaking of a purpose. It is in the church and through the church, and only in and through the church, that Jesus manifests Himself to the world and accomplishes His mission to the world. So that when I love the church I not only love the person of Jesus; I also love the purpose of Jesus. But there is more. The church is people. Flawed people. Forgiven people. Faithful and sometimes faithless people. But there is no church where there are not people, those whom Jesus loved and those who love Jesus bound together in worship and witness.
Do you love what Jesus loved? Do you love the church? Do you know what really hit me that day? There are people who think that the question, “do you love Jesus?” and “do you love the church?” are separable questions. How do you separate a head from a body and still have life? You don’t. Neither can you separate love for Jesus from love for the church so that if you do not love the church for which He died, you do not love that which He loves enough to die for and thus have no ground upon which to stand when you say, “I love Jesus.”
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