Chafer, Bible doctrines: Church-Body Bride of Christ

8/4/2019 Chafer, Bible doctrines: Church-Body Bride of Christ

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The Church: The

Body and Bride ofChrist and her

RewardChafer, chapter 40

Friday 9 September 2011


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A. The 7 figures of Christ and his church

1. Christ the shepherd and

believers the sheep - seen

especially in Ps 23, and also Jn 10

a. Christ came by the door - i.e. the

line of David

b. Christ is the true shepherd,

followed by the sheep

c. Christ is also the door for the

sheep - entrance into salvation and

security for the sheep -Jn

10:28-29

d. Life and food for he sheep areprovided by the shepherd - Ps 23:1



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e. In contrast other shepherds

are hired hands who would not

give themselves for the sheepf. There is fellowship of sheep

and shepherd - the Son knows

the Father, so the sheep know

the shepherdg. In the present age there is

one fold with Jew and Gentileboth in it together having

salvation -Jn 10:16h. Christ, the shepherd,

intercedes for the sheep -

Heb 7:25,



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2. Christ is the true vine andbelievers are the branches -Jn 15

Indicating union and communion

with Christ.

We are told to abide in unbrokenfellowship,Jn 15:10 - leading to

pruning and cleansing,Jn 15:2 -

effectual prayerJn 15:7 - celestial

joyJn 15:11 - and eternal truthJn 15:16



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3. Christ is the cornerstone and

the church the stones of the

buildingThe church is a temple - Eph

2:21

God is building his church - Matt

16:18Each living stone partakes of the

divine nature - 1 Pet 2:5

Christ is the chief cornerstone and

foundation - 1 Cor 3:11The building is a dwelling for God

- Eph 2:20

There is great dependence on

Christ and one another



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2:21






- Eph 2:20



Consequently, you are no longer

foreigners and strangers, but fellowcitizens with Gods people and also

members of his household, built on

the foundation of the apostles and

prophets, with Christ Jesus himself asthe chief cornerstone. In him the

whole building is joined together and

rises to become a holy temple in the

Lord. And in him you too are beingbuilt together to become a dwelling in

which God lives by his Spirit.



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2:21






- Eph 2:20





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2:21






- Eph 2:20



In ancient times the cornerstone

was the stone at the corner of two

walls that united them. It was the

visible corner of the foundation ofthe building and the starting point

of all future building above the

foundation. It was the most costly

stone because of its beauty andstrength. It was also the largest,

most solid and carefully

constructed stone. To cast aside the

cornerstone would be to resist anyfuture building on that foundation.

The Cornerstone was the place

where the building was joined and

also the place where it rested.http://bibleseo.com/church/jesus-christ-cornerstone-church/

http://bibleseo.com/church/jesus-christ-cornerstone-church/http://bibleseo.com/church/jesus-christ-cornerstone-church/http://bibleseo.com/church/jesus-christ-cornerstone-church/http://bibleseo.com/church/jesus-christ-cornerstone-church/


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4. Christ is the High priest with

us as believer- priests - 4 fold

service

A. Rom 12:1-2 - offers sacrifice of

service

B. Offers worship in praise and

thanksgiving, intercession and prayer -

Christ enters through his own blood -

Rom 8:26-27, Col 4:12, 1 Tim

2:1, Heb 10:19-22C. We offer a sacrifice of good works

D. We sacrifice our substance as well as

our bodies - Heb 13:16



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5. Christ is the head and the

church the body revealingthe present purpose of God

See later sections



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6. Christ is the last Adam,

the church the new

creation - the old Adam is

replaced by Christ who is

the head of a new creatures

in Christ

In his resurrection Christestablished a new order - believers

are now in Christ not in Adam,

sharing in all that christ has done

and achieved. There is a newcommemorative day, the first day

of the week in contrast to

previously being the Sabbath,

which is the old order.Friday 9 September 2011


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7. Christ is the

bridegroom, the churchthe bride, which

prophetically shows

present and future

relationships of christand the church.

Israel was in the OT an

unfaithful wife - the church is

a pure virgin bride, this is the

most important image of the

church.



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The church is joined togetherand formed into the body of

Christ by the baptism of the

Holy Spirit - 1 Cor 12:13 -For we were all baptized by one

Spirit so as to form one body

whether Jews or Gentiles, slave

or freeand we were all given

the one Spirit to drink.

This reveals 3 things:

B. The church as the body of Christ



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1. The church is a self

developing body-

comprised of individuals who

have gifts, Eph 4:11-16

Believers are called and

exhorted, but also equipped to

serve God in various capacities.

Eph 4:13 - until we all reach

unity in the faith and in the

knowledge of the Son of God andbecome mature, attaining to the

whole measure of the fullness of

Christ.



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2. Members are appointed to a specific service

in keeping with their gift - We need to examine

ourselves soberly and determine our gift so that we servemost effectively - Rom 12:6-8, 1 Cor 12:28

Chafer suggests we should not confuse natural

giftedness with spiritual giftedness. He goes on, Spiritual

gifts are not sought but given by the HSp - 1 Cor 12:11.

In the apostolic age some gifts were sign gifts which did

not continue in our present age. Every gift is regulated by

the WOG. Believers may be required to do work outsideof their obvious gifting, always remembering their main

gift. We need to continually present our bodies to God for

his direction - Rom 12:1-2Friday 9 September 2011


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3. The body is a livingorganism united eternally

in Christ

Consisting of Jews, Gentiles,cultures and races - Eph 1;23,

2:15-16, 4:12-16, 5:30

Previous divisions are ignored and

all are equal in the grace of God.Eph 3:6 - This mystery is that

through the gospel the Gentiles areheirs together with Israel, members

together of one body, and sharerstogether in the promise in Christ

esus.

The unity ofEph 4:4-7 is an

eternal unity.

The average HumanImmunodeficiency Virus (HIV),responsible for AIDS, is about

0.000031 inches (120

Angstroms) long.Friday 9 September 2011


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This has prophetic significance as thevirgin church is eagerly awaiting the

coming of her bridegroom - 1 Cor

11:2

JTB mentions Christ as the bridegroom-Jn 3:29

Eph 5:22-23 is the main reference

source: The work of Christ

1. In his death - v25

2. Present work - v26

3. Present it without spot, wrinkle etc.

v27

C. Christ as the bridegroom and thechurch as the bride



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On the cross Christ fulfilled the

symbolism of paying a dowry.

In this age he is preparing and

cleansing his bride for future

relationship - before taking her

to heaven, where the church will

appear perfect.

A wedding feast of all saints will

follow - Rev 19:7-8 - at the

time Christ is coming to earthto start his kingdom.

In Christ we see 5

characteristics of diving love:



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1. Gods eternal love stems from

the fact that God is love -1Jn4:8

Love is part of his being - if his

love was removed his character

would change -Jn 13:1 on thelove of Christ - Having loved his

own who were in the world, he

loved them to the end- literally

this is without end

There is no fluctuation or

ceasing with the love of God.



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2. The love of God is the

motivation for his

ceaseless activity-This was shown once for all in

the sacrifice of Christ - but, in

fact this reveals an eternal

attitude of God towards men -shown in God creating the

universe he made provision for

Christ to be slain - and, his

compassion for the lost beingthe same today as it always has

been

Gods eternal love is unchanging.

Turkmenistan



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3. The love of God has

transparent purity- no

selfishness, no benefit for himself is

ever sought, God needs nothing we

can bring - but he needs us to satisfy

his infinite love.

God calls us beloved - we are made

to be loved

4. The love of God has

limitless intensity- the most

costly thing in the universe is theblood of Gods son - yet God gave it

while they were still sinners - and

now nothing can separate us form his

loveFriday 9 September 2011


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5. The love of God has inexhaustible

benevolence (well meaning, kind) - the world has no

hope without the love of God! And this love is not passive

but active, God acts on behalf of the sinner, taking theircondemnation, Jn 15:13, without corrupting his own holiness

- God keeps acting on behalf of the sinner placing them in

his highest glory.

Saving grace is more than love: it is Gods love set absolutely free

and made to triumph over his righteous judgments against the

sinner.

God has a perfect hatred for sin - a counterpart to his love -which makes him discipline his children - Rev 3:19, Heb

12:6

In being united with Christ the believer is loved by the

fatherJn 17:23Friday 9 September 2011


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Indirect manifestations of the love of God include:

The NT speaks little of human love and makes much of

Gods love, and much is made of Gods love not lovingGod:

Poured into out hearts - Rom 5:5

Fruit of HSp - Gal 5:22

Truth born of God will result in loving God - 1 Jn, 1 Cor13

Gods love - loves the lost worldJn 3:16 - hates evil 1 Jn

2:15-17 - loves the redeemedJn 13:34-35 - loves

IsraelJer 31:3 - loves those who have wandered from

him Lk 15:4, 20 - is sacrificialJn 3:16

Showing and practicing the love of God was commanded

by Christ -Jn 13:34-35, Gal 5:13



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D. The bride adorned and rewarded

At the judgment seat of Christ the

church will be judged and rewarded

For sin born again people will

not come under judgment, the

penalty for this has been borne byChrist -Jn 3:18, 5:24, Rom 5:1,

8:1, Col 2:13, Heb 10:14 etc.

For daily life and service an

account must be given beforeGod when Christ comes for

his own - Rom 14:10, 2 Cor

5:10, 1 Cor 4:5, 2 Tim 4:8



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Salvation will not be judged at this

time - it is simply the reward or loss

for each believer depending upon

service. 3 ideas in scripture show this

reward:

1. Stewardship - Rom 14:10-12

You, then, why do you judge your brother

or sister? Or why do you treat them with

contempt? For we will all stand before

Gods judgment seat. It is written:

As surely as I live, says the Lord,every knee will bow before me; every

tongue will acknowledge God.

So then, each of us will give an account

of ourselves to God.Friday 9 September 2011


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We do not evaluate the value of a

believers works or life, though we

can comment on sin.

We all have to give account to God -

all that we are and have is a gift from

God, intellect, physical being, finance

etc. - so we are to steward those

things and will be asked to give an

account of how we used them.

1 Cor 6:19-20 - Do you not know

that your bodies are temples of theHoly Spirit, who is in you, whom you

have received from God? You are not

your own; you were bought at a price.

Therefore honor God with your bodies.Friday 9 September 2011


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2. Your life is a building built upon

Christs foundation - 1 Cor 3:9-15Note: - this is about believers

- as a believer you are building upon the

foundation of salvation in Christ, which is

not about character in this passage but

about your works

- your work is of wood hay etc which will

be destroyed by fire or of silver, gold etc.which are refined by it

- the loss is of reward not of salvation



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about your works




For we are co-workers in Gods service; you are

Gods field, Gods building.10 By the grace God has given me, I laid afoundation as a wise builder, and someone else is

building on it. But each one should build with care.

11 For no one can lay any foundation other than

the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12If

anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver,costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will

be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring

it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire

will test the quality of each persons work. 14 Ifwhat has been built survives, the builder will

receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder

will suffer loss but yet will be savedeven though

only as one escaping through the flames.Friday 9 September 2011


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about your works






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3. We run the race to receive the

prize revealing the quality of our

service - 1 Cor 9:16-17 (especiallyv24-27)

Initially Paul speaks of his own service

and his faithfulness as a basis for reward -

then speaks of running with great effortto receive the reward.

We should exert all our strength tosurpass all others - we should be

restrained, subjecting our body to

discipline so we do not lose out or give

half hearted service.

Our reward is called - a prize 1 Cor9:24 - a crown Phil 4:1, Jas 1:12 etc.



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3. We run the race to receive the

prize revealing the quality of our

service - 1 Cor 9:16-17 (especiallyv24-27)

Initially Paul speaks of his own service

and his faithfulness as a basis for reward -

then speaks of running with great effortto receive the reward.

We should exert all our strength tosurpass all others - we should be

restrained, subjecting our body to

discipline so we do not lose out or give

half hearted service.

Our reward is called - a prize 1 Cor9:24 - a crown Phil 4:1, Jas 1:12 etc.



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We owe God nothing in return for

salvation, it is a gift - but a life of

devotion should be given to him, and willbe rewarded - hence the doctrine of

rewards here is the counterpart to the

doctrine of grace.

Rev 4:10the twenty-four elders fall downbefore him who sits on the throne and

worship him who lives for ever and ever.

They lay their crowns before the throne... -

Chafer says this is about us, we cast our

crowns before him, so then we have to

further ask what is our reward in

heaven?



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Rev 22:3 -No longer will there be any

curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will

be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

Chafer further backs this up referring toMatt 25:14-30 - which might not refer

to the church directly but is a principle for

them.

2 Cor 5:10-11-For we must all appearbefore the judgment seat of Christ, so that

each of us may receive what is due us for thethings done while in the body, whether good

or bad.This is not about sin (we are already

justified) or sanctification (we are already

in the presence of God) - it is about our

works, good or worthless?Friday 9 September 2011


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Rev 22:3 -No longer will there be any

curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will

be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

Chafer further backs this up referring toMatt 25:14-30 - which might not refer

to the church directly but is a principle for

them.

2 Cor 5:10-11-For we must all appearbefore the judgment seat of Christ, so that

each of us may receive what is due us for thethings done while in the body, whether good

or bad.This is not about sin (we are already

justified) or sanctification (we are already

in the presence of God) - it is about our

works, good or worthless?

Documents

Chafer, Bible doctrines: Church-Body Bride of Christ