Written by Joel R. Beeke and Paul M. Smalley |
Friday, September 13, 2024
One of the most beautiful ways in which God’s Word describes the church is through vivid metaphors that illuminate the identity and corporate life of the church in union with Christ. Some of these metaphors, such as Christ’s bride and body, are so familiar to Christians that we often fail to think about the amazing implications that such images have for the church. Other metaphors are less well known but also are worthy of our attention and meditation.
There is a richness to the church that defies human comprehension. God draws from a treasury of terms to describe his magnum opus, including words related to the family (seed, sons, and brethren), the gathering of worshipers (assembly, congregation, and church), the identity of a distinct group (people and nation), the holiness of his people (saints and priests), the divine cause of their existence (the elect, called, and faithful), their submissive allegiance to Christ (disciples), and God’s great love for them (special treasure and inheritance).
One of the most beautiful ways in which God’s Word describes the church is through vivid metaphors that illuminate the identity and corporate life of the church in union with Christ. Some of these metaphors, such as Christ’s bride and body, are so familiar to Christians that we often fail to think about the amazing implications that such images have for the church. Other metaphors are less well known but also are worthy of our attention and meditation.
1. A Flock
One of the oldest metaphors for the church is the flock of God. A flock of sheep depends on a shepherd for guidance, provision, and protection. Jacob blessed Joseph in the name of “the God who has been my shepherd [ra‘ah] all my life long” (Gen. 48:15 ESV; cf. 49:24). The Lord is the “Shepherd of Israel,” who leads his people “like a flock.”1 Hence, David says, “The Lord is my shepherd” (Ps. 23:1). Israel also had human “shepherds,” sometimes translated as “pastors,” especially the kings from the house of David.2 When God’s people lack a qualified leader, they are “sheep” without a “shepherd.”3 The Lord brought David from tending his father’s sheep to “feed” (ra‘ah) or “shepherd” the people of God (Ps. 78:70–72). Hence, we see that the shepherd-flock metaphor is deeply rooted in God’s covenantal promises to the patriarchs, the nation of Israel, and David. This was another way of saying that he would be their God and they would be his people through his appointed king.
With the incarnation of the Lord, the flock of God becomes centered on Christ and defined by its dependence on him. Christ is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11–15). He is also “the door of the sheep,” through which they find salvation and life (John 10:1–10). Christ says he came for the “lost sheep” of Israel (Matt. 10:6; 15:24; cf. Jer. 50:6). His disciples are his “little flock,” to whom the Father gives the kingdom (Luke 12:32). His love for sinners is like that of a shepherd seeking lost sheep (Luke 15:4–7), and the church should seek people who go astray (Matt. 18:12–13). His death is not the end; he takes up his life again and calls his sheep from inside and outside Israel to make one flock (John 18:16–18).
2. A Garden, Vineyard, or Field
Agricultural metaphors, such as garden, vineyard, and field, communicate that the church flourishes by God’s blessing and must bear good fruit. Isaiah told a parable in which “the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel,” and though God gave his vineyard every advantage, it produced oppression instead of the fruit of justice (Isa. 5:1–7).4 Christ tells his own parable of the vineyard, in which the tenants mistreat the owner’s servants and kill his son rather than render up the fruit they owe him (Matt. 21:33–41). Christ’s application is sobering: “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matt. 21:43). The identity of this fruitful “nation” is revealed in Christ’s parable of “the true vine,” in which he says, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:1, 5). Christ claims to embody the true Israel, in which no one can participate except by union and communion with him.5
The image of God’s people as a living, botanical organism shows us the unity of the church through the ages. The prophets spoke of Israel as an “olive tree” (Jer. 11:16; Hos. 14:6). Paul compares God’s people to an olive tree in which both “root” and “branches” are “holy” to God (Rom. 11:16). When some of Abraham’s physical offspring rejected Christ in unbelief, these “branches” were “broken off” by God, but he grafted new branches, Gentiles, into the same tree, warning them, too, that they would remain only by faith (Rom. 11:17–24). Though many Jews presently do not believe in Christ, God is able to graft them into the tree when they turn to the Lord in faith (Rom. 11:23). There is one tree, one people of God, rooted in the patriarchs and including all who believe in Christ alone for salvation.
Paul describes the church as a field cultivated by the ministry of the Word: “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase” (1 Cor. 3:6–7). Paul explains, “You are God’s field” (1 Cor. 3:9 ESV).6 The lesson is that preachers, like servants hired by a farmer, are responsible to work faithfully but only God can cause the church to grow by his grace.
3. A City, Jerusalem, or Zion
From the beginning of David’s monarchy, Jerusalem, also called the city of David or “Zion,”7 had a central place in God’s plan.8 Solomon built God’s house there according to the Lord’s covenant with David (2 Sam. 7:4–17), which itself was a partial fulfillment of God’s covenant with Israel (2 Sam. 7:23–27). In Scripture, the city can represent the whole people of God.9 For the prophets, Zion became the focal point of Israel’s hope, symbolizing the redeemed and faithful people of God who enjoy his presence and serve his purpose to influence the world.10