The Body of Christ
The Old Testament reminds us that in a special sense, God chose Israel to be His people. While the descendants of Jacob were enslaved in Egypt, God’s word to Moses was “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry” (Ex. 3:7).
Later Moses reminded the generation God had delivered from bondage, “The Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be His people” (Deut. 4:20).
As an expression of this special relationship with God, later generations of Israel learned to sing, “We are His people and the sheep of His pasture” (Ps. 100:3). When subsequent generations turned away from God, He gave them a promise: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14).
While Israel was God’s old covenant people, the Church is His new covenant people.
Saving mission
The saving mission of Christ was God’s plan to redeem sinners “from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession” (Titus 2:14). In a similar way, the Bible addresses God’s new covenant people, declaring, “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God” (1 Pet. 2:9–10).
When we think of Christians as the people of God, we must use a wide-angle lens so we are thinking of the redeemed in all places and throughout all time, not merely a local congregation. The Bible contains a number of images or analogies with which to describe God’s people in this broader sense, among which is a bride, building, family, temple, flock, household and priesthood.
After declaring God the Father raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly place, Ephesians 1:20–23 continues by declaring the Father put all things under His feet and “gave Him to be head over the church, which is His body.”
During the remaining weeks of February, Theology 101 will seek to explore truths about being God’s people, conveyed by the image of His people as a body — the body of Christ.
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