15. Pictures of the Church
Pictures of the Church[1]
Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a great and godly man, a gifted preacher whose sermons I read and study with appreciation and edification. He was indeed “a preacher’s preacher.” I quote Spurgeon frequently in my preaching and writing because he has the gift of saying wise things in a creative way, but the following quotation isn’t one of his best.
It is noticeable that after the Holy Ghost had been given, fewer parables were used, and the saints were more plainly taught of God. When Paul spoke or wrote to the churches in his epistles he employed few parables, because he addressed those who were advanced in grace and willing to learn. As Christian minds made progress the style of their teachers became less figurative, and more plainly doctrinal.[2]
I’m unworthy to carry Spurgeon’s shoes, but I must humbly disagree with him. It’s my conviction that just the opposite is true: God often used metaphorical language especially for mature Christians knowing that they knew how to interpret and apply it.[3] The New Testament epistles are exploding with exciting images that help us better understand our relationship to Christ and His church.
As for Spurgeon’s dichotomy between the “figurative” and the “more plainly doctrinal,” it just doesn’t hold water. Some of the most important doctrinal truths in Scripture are presented in the epistles in metaphorical language, because that was the best way for the writers to present them. When he wanted to refute the stupid ideas some Greeks held about the resurrection of the human body, Paul wrote about seeds and stars (1 Cor. 15:35-49). Peter reached into political life when he called God’s people “aliens and strangers” (1 Peter 1:17; 2:11), and he reached back into Jewish religious life when he called the saints “a holy priesthood,” “a royal priesthood,” and “living stones” in God’s temple (1 Peter 2:5, 9). This imagery isn’t a picture book for babes, although they can learn from it; it’s a picture gallery, a Louvre, if you please, for the more mature.
Paul’s favorite images seem to be architecture, agriculture, the army, and anatomy. But he often borrowed from Old Testament Jewish life and used images like leaven and bread, tents, sheep, the priesthood, and the annual Jewish feasts. In his book Images of the Church in the New Testament, Paul Minear lists nearly 100 different analogies of the believer or the church, most of them found in the Pauline epistles.
In this incomplete survey of images in the epistles, I will first summarize the major pictures of the church (and the believer), and then mention some of the other important images that relate to the Christian life.
The Army
Living as they did in a military state, the writers of the New Testament epistles would be expected to use military figures that would be familiar to their readers. Ephesians 6:10-18 describes both the enemy that opposes us and the equipment we must use to defeat him. See also Romans 13:11-13 and 1 Thessalonians 5:5-8 (Isa. 59:17). Ephesians 4:8 refers to “prisoners of war,” and the verb methistemi in Colossians 1:13 can refer to the deporting of prisoners. See also Luke 4:18. The three images Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 9:7 can all be applied to the church, and see also 2 Corinthians 6:7 and 10:2-6. Paul called his associate Epaphroditus a “fellow soldier” (Phil. 2:25).
The image of the “Roman triumph” in 2 Corinthians 2:14-17 reminds us that Jesus Christ has won the victory and we follow in His train.[4] The fragrance of the incense offered to the gods would mean life and honor to the victorious soldiers, but death to the captives in the procession. Colossians 2:15 is a parallel passage.
The verb parangello carries the idea of a military command given by a superior officer, as does the noun parangellia; and both are used by Paul in writing to the Thessalonians and to Timothy. See 1 Thessalonians 4:2, 11 and 2 Thessalonians 3:4, 6, 10, 12. God gave these orders to the Apostle Paul, who in turn passed them on to the church; and God expected His people to obey.
Paul reminded Timothy of his calling as a soldier (2 Tim. 2:3-4), and he ordered him (parangello) to stay on duty (1 Tim. 1:3), fight the battle (1 Tim. 1:18), obey the orders given to him (1 Tim. 6:13-14), and guard what had been committed to his care (1 Tim. 6:20; see 2 Tim. 1:14). Timothy was also to “command” the church to obey what Paul had written in his letters (1 Tim. 4:11; 5:7; 6:17). As soldiers of the Lord, God’s people aren’t given the privilege of “picking and choosing” what order they will obey.[5]
Athletics
Things athletic were almost as pervasive in the Empire as things military, and the people didn’t lack for gymnasiums, coliseums, and opportunities to compete in official games, both national and local. Not unlike many “sports fans” today, the Romans were spectators who considered sports primarily as entertainment, while the Greeks stressed participation for the glory of one’s city or nation. Amateur sports today is more like the Greek approach, while professional sports follows the Roman pattern of athletics.
Greek boys were enrolled in the gymnasium at an early age, and the goal of their education was the developing of “a sound mind in a sound body.” Boxing, wresthng, running, swimming, rowing, discus throwing, and weight lifting were among the activities they had to master. In the official games, the Greeks counted first place only, which adds light to Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 9:24 that all of God’s “athletes” may win a crown.
We have already seen that ministry is compared to running a race and finishing a course (Acts 13:25; 20:24; Gal. 2:2; Phil. 2:16; and see Jer. 12:5). The Christian life is a race (Gal. 5:7; Phil. 3:12-14; Heb. 12:1), and success demands discipline and obedience to the rules (1 Cor. 9:24-27; 2 Tim. 2:5; see also Heb. 10:32 and 12:4-13). Successful Christian living also demands determination. The Greek words agon and agonizomai (cf. our English word “agony”) relate to athletics and are translated variously: fight, strive, race, struggle, wrestle, compete. Paul’s familiar statement in 2 Timothy 4:7 (“I have fought the good fight”) has nothing to do with war; it’s a description of the foot race. Paul was about to finish the race and he wanted to finish triumphantly.[6]
The good athlete knows how to practice teamwork. Paul uses sunathleo (“striving together”) in Philippians 1:27 and 4:3. Euodia and Syntyche had been “teammates” with Paul in Philippi, and it pained him to see them disagreeing and causing division on the “team.”
First Corinthians 4:9 certainly refers to the Roman gladiatorial entertainments in the arena, when the prisoners fought wild beasts and the crowds cried for blood. Usually the weakest prisoners, who couldn’t provide much entertainment, were brought in at the end of the show; and that’s where Paul put himself and the other apostles. The “super-apostles” that had taken over in Corinth (2 Cor. 11) would have been champions in the arena, but Paul was just God’s weakling.
The significant references to “crowns” are: 1 Corinthians 9:25; Philippians 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 2:19; 2 Timothy 4:8; and 1 Peter 5:4. Colossians 2:18 warns the believer not to let false teachers “declare [them] unworthy of a prize.” The “rich welcome into the eternal kingdom” (2 Peter 1:11) has athletic overtones. Those who won prizes at the national games were welcomed royally by their townspeople and led through a special gate or flowered arch. Often a statue of the winner was dedicated in his honor.
“You are God’s field” (1 Cor. 3:9)[7] applies to the local church. In the Parable of the Sower, the soil represents human hearts receiving the seed of the Word; and in the Parable of the Weeds, “the field is the world,” and the seed represents children of the kingdom planted where the Lord of the Harvest wants them.
Paul “planted” the church in Corinth by sowing the seed of the Word of the Gospel (1 Cor. 2; see Col. 1:6), Apollos continued the work, and “God made it grow” (1 Cor. 3:6-7). God desires that His “field” increase and produce a harvest, and to do this, He assigns different workers to different tasks. There is no competition in the work because all of us are serving the Lord and seeking a harvest (John 4:34-38). Whether we plow (Luke 9:62), sow, water, or harvest, we are all working for one Master and seeking to achieve one purpose; and the Master will see to it that each worker receives the right reward.
The Apostle Paul longed to go to Rome that he might “have a harvest” among the people there (Rom. 1:13). He prayed that the Philippian saints might be “filled with the fruit of righteousness” (Phil. 1:11; see Gal. 5:22-23) and that the Colossian believers might bear “fruit in every good work” (Col. 1:10). Believers are God’s “firstfruits” (Rom. 16:5; James 1:18; and see 1 Cor. 15:20-23 and Rom. 8:22-23).
It’s interesting to see how often Paul related Christian giving to the metaphor of sowing and reaping (1 Cor. 9:1-12; 2 Cor. 9:6-11; Gal. 6:6-9), and he specifically applied it to the paying of the pastor (2 Tim. 2:6; see 1 Tim. 5:17-18). The special offering for the Jewish believers in Judea was “fruit” and not something Paul had extorted from the churches (Rom. 15:28). Christian worship and praise are fruit from the lips of grateful people (Heb. 13:15; see Hosea 14:2).
In the area of practical godliness, Paul warned the Ephesian believers against “the fruitless deeds of darkness” (Eph. 5:1-14). If the church wants to bear fruit to the glory of God, the saints must walk in the light and yield themselves to God. This is emphasized in Romans 6:21-23 where Paul contrasts the painful harvest of the old life with the holy harvest of the new life.
There was a solidarity in the nation of Israel, so that the sin of one person brought guilt to the whole nation (Josh. 7:1, 11); but the concept of God’s people being members of a spiritual body is not found in the Old Testament. Three key passages are involved here[8]—Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12-14, and Ephesians 4:1-16—and they follow a similar pattern.
Romans 12
1 Corinthians 12–14
Ephesians 4:1-16
Unity 12:4-5
Unity 12:1-13
Unity 4:1-6
Diversity 12:6-8
Diversity 12:14-31
Diversity 4:7-13
Maturity 12:9-21
Maturity chapters 13–14
Maturity 4:14-16
All of the passages emphasize the unity of the church under one Head, Jesus Christ, through the baptism of the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 12:13). But unity without diversity is uniformity, and a body can’t function if the whole body is an eye or an ear. At the same time, a body can’t function if the individual members “do their own thing” and fail to minister together. Unity without diversity is uniformity, but diversity without unity is anarchy; and both are destructive.
The thing that keeps unity and diversity from destroying each other (and the functioning of the body) is maturity. As the body matures to be more like Jesus Christ, and as each member functions in the Spirit, there is harmony in the body and growth that glorifies God. The believers in Corinth were so anxious to practice their individual gifts for personal recognition that diversity was creating disunity, and it all stemmed from the spiritual immaturity of the believers (1 Cor. 3:1-4; 13:11; 14:20). In our churches today, we read 1 Corinthians 13 at weddings when we should also read it at business meetings!
Several of the New Testament images of the church include the elements of unity and diversity. For example, an army is made up of diverse elements (infantry, signal corps, intelligence, etc.), and yet there is a unity that comes from the individuals and the various units fighting the same enemy and obeying the same orders. The family, marriage, a building, a farm, and the priesthood all illustrate diversity within unity and a unity that makes diversity possible. The key, of course, is maturity, whether in marriage, the family, or the church. The church grows through nutrition, not just “addition.”
There is so much division today among churches and within churches that we fail to appreciate the impact that was made upon pagan society in the first century when the church burst upon the scene. There was no other assembly in society where rich and poor, free people and slaves, men and women, officials and social outcasts, Jews and Gentiles, educated people and barbarians could meet as one without comparison or competition, for no other purpose than to worship and glorify God. That we have moved away from this miracle is a scandal in the church.
Bread
First Corinthians 5:6-8 and 10:16-17 associate the local church with the loaf of unleavened bread used in the eucharist. We have already noted that leaven in Scripture is consistently an image of corruption, whether personal sin or doctrinal heresy. The sin that the Corinthians permitted in their assembly had turned unleavened bread into leavened bread, and God couldn’t accept it.
The preacher may be tempted to go beyond the basic truths that Paul was teaching. He was concerned primarily about unity (one loaf) and purity (an unleavened loaf). A loaf of bread begins with many individual heads of grain that must be ground, united, and put through the fire. While there may be spiritual applications to the grinding and baking, Paul ignores these two processes; and perhaps we should too.
The Bride
Paul saw Christ and His church illustrated by the relationship between husband and wife (Eph. 5:22-31; Gen. 2:24). The emphasis in the passage is on the loving care of the husband and the willing submission of the wife. The Old Testament prophets pictured Israel as the unfaithful wife who had gone into idolatrous prostitution, but this image isn’t used of the church collectively in the New Testament. The contrast in the Book of Revelation is between the prostitute (Rev. 17–18) and the pure bride of the Lamb (19:1-9; 21:9ff).[9]
While the church collectively is a bride, the local church also is pictured this way (2 Cor. 11:1-3). Like a concerned father, Paul wanted to keep the church at Corinth faithful to the Lord so that she would be ready for her wedding day. I’ll have more to say about this image when we consider the local church as a family. Some expositors would interpret and apply the Song of Songs to the relationship between Christ and His church.
The Building
The first mention of the church in the New Testament involves the metaphor of building: “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18); and Paul’s frequent use of “edify” (oikodomeo) echoes this metaphor. God’s people are built up through the Word (Acts 20:32; 1 Cor. 14:4, 17), love (1 Cor. 8:1 and 10:23; Rom. 14:19), fellowship (1 Thes. 5:11), exercising gifts in the local church (1 Cor. 14:1-12; Eph. 4:12, 16), caring for one another (Rom. 15:1-3), submission to authority (2 Cor. 12:19; 13:10), and godly conversation (Eph. 4:29).
The spiritual temple of God is both universal (Eph. 2:19-22) and local (1 Cor. 3:9b-17). The foundation of the church universal was laid by the apostles and prophets, and Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:20); but the foundation of the local church is Jesus Christ, and that foundation is laid when the Gospel is proclaimed (1 Cor. 2:1-5). Anything in the local assembly that cannot be built on Christ will not survive the judgment of God.[10]
It’s unfortunate that 1 Corinthians 3:9b-17 is so often preached with an emphasis on “building your life” instead of building the local church. While there is certainly a personal application in the passage, the basic interpretation has to do with the local assembly.[11] Some of the Corinthian believers thought they could build the church by following philosophy and human wisdom and imitating the world, but this approach actually destroys the church (3:18-22). To build with man’s wisdom and methods is to use perishable materials, but to follow God’s wisdom is to build with that which is beautiful and permanent (Prov. 2:1-10; 3:13-15; 8:8-11), that which would endure the fires of divine judgment.
God’s people are “living stones” in the temple He is building, and Jesus is also a “living stone,” chosen and precious (1 Peter 2:4-9). We must not forget that Peter was originally named Simon, and that “Peter” means “a rock.” The reference to Matthew 16:13-20 is clear.
The Family
The frequent use of “brother” and “brothers” in the epistles reminds us that the church is a family made up of sinners who were born again into the family of God.[12] Along with “disciples,” “brothers” is the title most frequently used for God’s people in the Book of Acts. The church as “God’s household” or “family” is mentioned in Galatians 6:10, Ephesians 2:19, 1 Timothy 3:15 (and see 2 Tim. 2:20), and 1 Peter 4:17 (with reference to Ezek. 9).
When writing to the Corinthians, Paul referred to himself as a “spiritual father” who had “begotten them” through the Gospel (1 Cor. 4:14-15; and see 1 Peter 1:23–2:3). Jesus cautioned His disciples not to follow the example of the rabbis and covet titles (Matt. 23:8-12), but the function of “spiritual father” is certainly included in ministry. Not only does the father beget the children, but he feeds them (1 Cor. 3:1-2; see Heb. 5:11-14), encourages them (1 Thes. 2:9-12), instructs them (1 Cor. 4:14-17), and disciplines them if necessary (1 Cor. 4:21). He protects the church from seduction the way a father protects a daughter engaged to be married (2 Cor. 11:1-5).
But Paul also compared himself to a loving “nursing mother.” He would gladly have imparted his own life for the sake of the children he loved (1 Thes. 2:7-8). Paul travailed to bring spiritual children into the family, and he travailed again to see them mature in the Lord (Gal. 4:19; see Col. 1:28). See Numbers 11:12-14 for Moses’ burdens as a “father” to Israel, and note also Isaiah 40:11.
Paul uniformly used the word teknon when referring to spiritual children, except in Galatians 4:19, where he used John’s favorite word, teknion—“little children” in the KJV, “dear children” in the NIV. In John 13:33, Jesus used this diminutive of teknon as a term of endearment, and John uses it seven times (1 John 2:1, 12, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21). John also uses the phrase “born of God” eight times (1 John 2:29; 3:9 [twice]; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18 [twice]). Of course, all of this refers back to Christ’s teaching on “the new birth” recorded in John 3.
The church is a nursery where children are born into God’s family and helped to mature. Paul the evangelist was the obstetrician, and Paul the pastor was the pediatrician; but he was also a “spiritual father and mother” to his converts. The people in the church family are at all stages of life and growth (1 John 2:12-14), and those who minister must keep this in mind. As spiritual parents, we reproduce ourselves, but we don’t duplicate ourselves. Each new child of God born into the family is unique and must be allowed to develop according to the plan God has for that individual. As believers become more like Christ (Eph. 4:13, 15), they become “more like themselves” and produce in their own unique way the good works God has prepared for them (Eph. 2:10).
The Priesthood
The key references are 1 Peter 2:5 and 9, and Revelation 1:6 and 5:10. We are a holy priesthood because we serve a holy God. We are a royal priesthood because we minister through Jesus Christ, a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, who ministers as both King and Priest (Heb. 7). Under the Old Covenant, God’s people had a priesthood; but under the New Covenant, God’s people are a priesthood. Lesslie Newbigin explains why:
We are not made ministers in order that the rest of the Church may be excused from serving; we are made ministers in order to help the whole Church to be a serving church and to lead it in this service. Just so, we are made priests in order that the whole Church may be trained to be a truly priestly body, fulfilling in its whole life the great High Priesthood of Jesus.[13]
Clustered around the concept of priestly ministry are the Greek words leitourgeo, leitourgia, and leitourgos, which give us our English word “liturgy.” While the original words meant “to give public service to the State at one’s own expense,” they are used in the LXX (Septuagint) for the ministry of the Jewish priests and Levites. (See also Luke 1:23 and Heb. 8:2, 6.) As New Testament priests, our sacrifice and service to God are acceptable only through the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5).
Paul and Barnabas were offering priestly service to God in worship when He called them to leave Antioch and carry the Gospel abroad (Acts 13:2). Believers are to present their bodies as living sacrifices to God (Rom. 12:1-2; see Phil. 2:17). Our praise to the Lord (Heb. 13:15) and our works for the Lord (Heb. 13:16) should be presented as sacrifices to God. Paul considered the winning of lost souls to Christ as the offering up of a sacrifice (Rom. 15:16), and likewise the sharing of money to meet the needs of God’s people (Rom. 15:27; see 2 Cor. 9:12; Phil. 2:25 and 4:18). Whatever we are doing for God as believers, we must do as priests who are seeking to glorify Him.
The Flock[14]
We’ve had occasion to deal with this image as used in the Old Testament, the Gospels, and the Book of Acts. The word “pastor” in Ephesians 4:11 is “shepherd.” Jesus Christ is the Shepherd (1 Peter 2:25), the Great Shepherd (Heb. 13:20), and the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4). All who serve the church in pastoral roles are under-shepherds who must answer to Him. Peter calls the church “the flock” (1 Peter 5:2-3), certainly an allusion to our Lord’s words to him in John 21. Paul used the shepherd as an illustration of ministers of the Gospel being supported by the people they serve (1 Cor. 9:7).
Even though many great men in Scripture were shepherds—Abel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David, for example—in New Testament days, shepherds were at the bottom of the social ladder. Their work not only prevented them from attending temple and synagogue services, but it rendered them almost constantly ceremonially unclean. Shepherds were generally despised by the people, even though their work was essential to the entire worship system of the nation. By His life, death, and present ministry, our Lord certainly elevated the position of the shepherd.
The verb poimaino, “to shepherd, to tend a flock,” is also used of civil rulers and can mean “to govern.” See Matthew 2:6 and Revelation 2:27, 12:5, 19:15. Even in heaven, Jesus the Lamb will minister as the Shepherd (Rev. 7:17).
The People of God
According to Acts 15:14, God is today calling out “a people for himself.” For centuries, Israel was identified as “the people” or “his people,” that is, the people of God. (See Matt. 1:21; 2:6; 4:16; Luke 1:77; 2:32; 7:16; John 18:14.) But as the church moved across the Roman Empire, the followers of Jesus Christ came to be identified as “the people of God” (John 11:49-52; 2 Cor. 6:16; Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 2:9-10; Rev. 18:4; 21:3). The fact that God had His people in Corinth was an encouragement for Paul to stay there in spite of great opposition (Acts 18:1-11).[15]
This “new people” is the “one new man” (Eph. 2:12ff) that God has created out of believing Jews and Gentiles.[16] That there is continuity between God’s Old Testament people and His New Covenant people is seen in the way Old Testament passages are quoted and applied to the church (Heb. 8:7-13 [Jer. 31:31-34]; Heb. 10:30 [Deut. 32:35]; 1 Peter 2:9-10 [Ex. 19:1-6]; Gal. 4:21-31). That continuity does not mean identity is seen in the fact that Jesus and the New Testament writers seem to see a distinction between the future of national Israel and the future of the church.[17]
God’s people today are seen as citizens of another country (Eph. 2:12, 19; Phil. 1:27 [politeuo, “conduct yourselves as citizens”]; Phil. 3:17-20 [politeuma, “citizenship”]). Paul uses politeuo in his testimony in Acts 23:1, translated in the NIV as “fulfilled my duty.” Perhaps there’s the suggestion here that Paul considered himself a good Roman citizen as well as a good citizen of heaven.
As the people of God, we are aliens, sojourners, pilgrims, and strangers (1 Peter 1:1; 2:11; Heb. 11:9, 13). Someone has well said that a vagabond has no home, a stranger is away from home, but a pilgrim is headed home and is motivated by that hope. Abraham lived in a tent and looked for a city; his nephew Lot looked at a city and abandoned his tent (Gen. 13). The words paroikos and parepidemos describe people who are “resident aliens in a foreign land” (see Gen. 17:8; 23:4; 1 Chron. 29:15; Ps. 39:12; 119:19).
This metaphor introduces the subject of the church’s relationship to the world and its responsibilities in the world.[18] Israel was warned not to mingle with the nations or imitate their practices, but to live as a “separated people” to the glory of God (Deut. 4, 7, 11). Abraham the sojourner was able to do business with the natives of the land (Gen. 23), and even enlist them to fight a war, but he didn’t compromise his testimony (Gen. 14). His descendants, however, didn’t follow his good example but frequently turned for help to the idols of the nations and had to be warned by the prophets. Solomon used religious compromise as a political expedient, a practice that eventually brought the judgment of God on the nation. Paul used several Old Testament images to exhort the Corinthians to live separated lives (2 Cor. 6:14-18).[19]
The Circumcision
The references are Galatians 6:12-16, Philippians 3:2-3, and Colossians 2:11. As we have seen, this important Jewish initiation rite was meant to symbolize an inner change (Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Jer. 4:4; 6:10; Ezek. 44:7; Rom. 2:26-29). The “Judaizers” who hounded Paul and tried to capture his converts (“Watch out for those dogs!”) were practicing “mutilation of the flesh” and not true circumcision. The true circumcision is performed by the Spirit, not men, and it brings glory to Jesus Christ, not to preachers or converts. Paul boasted in the cross because that’s where Christ performed the work necessary for him to become a part of the true “Israel of God.”
There are other pictures of the church in the epistles, but this survey will give you some idea of the opportunities the preacher has to present imaginatively the nature and ministry of the church in today’s world.
One question remains: Why did the writers of the New Testament epistles use so many pictures of the church? Why not just settle for one major image, or perhaps a few? Because the church of Jesus Christ is so great, and our Lord’s relationship to His church is so rich and varied, that no one image can tell us all we need to know.
How the church sees itself will determine what the church does and the way it does it. If we see the church only as an army, then our ministry will become aggressively militant. If we see only the image of the body, then we might become “ingrown” as we seek to discover our gifts and minister to each other. An overemphasis on the image of the bride could make us mystical and so wrapped up in devotion that we forget duty. If we are only priests, then worship becomes the most important thing. If we are only witnesses, then proclamation takes the forefront.
As we minister the Word of God, we must maintain a balanced view of the church, lest both preacher and people start limping instead of walking. “Body life” is a good thing; so is “Evangelism Explosion.” The one doesn’t cancel the other. A spiritually healthy body ought to reach out to a lost world, and faithful witnesses ought to contribute to worship as well as world evangelism. But being the kind of creatures we are, it’s difficult to keep in balance.
There are times when the church must be reminded that it’s an army and that there’s an enemy to fight. At other times, God’s people need to be told that they are priests at the altar and that God delights in their worship. Wise is the householder who knows when to bring out of the treasury just the truths that the people need to keep them rightly related to their Lord (Matt. 13:52).
“Are we aware of this living, powerful character of God’s Word? Does it deal with us like a sharp, two-edged sword? Or do we handle it as though it were just one more book to be studied and analyzed?”
“Logicians may reason about abstractions. But the great mass of men must have images.”