¶ … Church is a spiritual organization that is ideally viewed through a Biblical lens. Among the most important metaphors for the Church is that of the "Body of Christ," an image signifying the way God permeates all aspects of the Church organization including all members and clergy as well as all tools, sacraments, and structures. As with any other "body," the Church can be viewed as a living organism. Each of its component parts often works independently but always in tandem with the whole, for the fulfillment of common goals such as the deliverance of human beings unto God. As McVay (2006) points out, the New Testament offers an abundance of "minor images" or lenses of the Church that aid in understanding the organization's mission and role on earth (p. 286). These minor images include that of the "fish net," with Christ as the fisherman. In fact, in Matthew 4:19, substantiated in Mark 1:17, Jesus affirms that each member of the Church assumes the role of a fisherman in the spiritually potent act of proselytizing and spreading the gospel: "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people." The Bible also...
When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away," (Matthew 13:47-49). Although the Church does have a physical component, such as the actual house of worship where believers gather in His name, the Church also has a metaphoric and more meaningful function as it serves God's will.
The meaning of the number seven becomes more complex: "The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches," (Revelations 1:20). Later we learn that the seven seals (Revelations 6) and the seven trumpets announcing the coming of Christ (Revelations
One of the most striking parallels between society in Malachi's time and today's world is expressed in Chapter 3, verse 15: "now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape." The arrogant among us are the people who are admired most: the sordid celebrities and celebrity athletes who lead lives distant from God. Furthermore, the "evildoers" of the world are prospering
“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ,” (Ephesians 5:21). This outstanding sentence clarifies one of Paul’s main objectives in outlining the household codes of Ephesians. Christ is the head of the Church, to which all Christians belong. However, Paul quickly shifts focus to the patriarchal marriage union to model Christian social norms: “Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything,”
Kingdom Metaphors Metaphors for the Kingdom The Bible itself contains many metaphors of how the Kingdom of God will look, or of the characteristics of God in His Kingdom. The paper "And Finally…the Kingdom of God is Like…" gives several contemporary examples of what people have seen of the Kingdom and the characters who inhabit it. Such as the Holy Spirit being a guiding star. This paper takes a look at one
..formal and temporal purification" and were "under the old law, which provided...for formal, or ritualistic pardon, and restored to human fellowship, sin and transgressions remained, burdening the conscience." (Luther 1483-1546) Therefore, the old law "did not benefit the soul at all, inasmuch as God did not institute it to purify and safeguard the conscience, nor to bestow the Spirit." (Luther 1483-1546) the old law's existence was "merely for the purpose
(Leaves, 680) Similarly Whitman informs us: Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin of all poems, You shall possess the good of the earth and sun…there are millions of suns left, You shall no longer take things at second or third hand…nor look through the eyes of the dead…nor feed on the specters in books, You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me.
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now