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So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God (Eph. 2:19).

At the Border

In the summer 2002, I was traveling on a bus from Budapest, Hungary into Romania. As we stopped at the border, security checked our passports. Although I'd traveled this route a dozen times before, this time was different.

Apparently, my current appearance did not match that of my passport photo. I was ushered off the bus into an office with a few Hungarian officials. The room was filled with broken English, Romanian, and Hungarian phrases. After a few phone calls and 20 minutes of sweating, my American citizenship was confirmed, and I was graciously allowed to pass through the border.

As a stranger in another land, I experienced several cultural and linguistic differences. I realized, however, that my citizenship carries certain expectations that are assumed in my identity.

Citizens of the Kingdom

Although the church and the kingdom are distinct from each other, they are interrelated. Believers in the church are a part of the kingdom. George Ladd writes, "We may say that the kingdom of God creates the church. The redemptive rule of God brings into being a new people who receive the blessings of the divine reign." (Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd Ed.)

The bottom line is that the kingdom came to the world in Christ. The kingdom works through the church, and Christ will return to fully establish his kingdom. In the meantime, believers live in the already/not-yet tension as citizens of this kingdom. With this identity comes a great responsibility to conduct ourselves as citizens of this kingdom.

Defending Your Title

A biblical understanding of core gospel identities will drastically reshape the corporate church. These identities include:

• God calls us both in designation and direction.
• God is our Father; we are his sons and daughters.
• Christ is the bridegroom; we are his bride.
• Christ is the head; we are the body.
• Christ is our king; we are citizens of his kingdom.

These identities are a declaration of the person and work of Christ. Living in these gospel identities is both a present and future reality.

In the film The Dark Knight, Batman stated, "It's not who I am, but what I do that defines me." As believers, however, we are not defined by who we are and what we do. We are defined by who Christ is and what He's done. The significance of operating within these identities will shape the corporate understanding of who we are as a community of believers—the Church.

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For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another (Rom. 12:4-5).

Backpack Ministry

I once had a discussion with a friend who works for a parachurch ministry. My friend loves Christ and the church, and was struggling with the relationship of his ministry to the larger church body. He stated, "It functions less like an arm and more like a backpack. It may be on the body, but doesn't always work well with the body." We went on to discuss the benefits of this utility, how it can serve the body, as well as the potential injury it may cause to the body.

Body Language

If all were a single member, where would the body be?…But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together (1 Cor. 12:19, 24-26).

The word "corporate" comes from the Latin corporare, meaning "a united body." Understanding the corporate nature of God's people has strong implications for the church. Paul, affirming the Old Testament understanding of corporate identity, uses his "body language" in reference to both various members of one congregation (1 Cor. 12:27) as well as believers of other local congregations (Rom. 12:4-5, 16:3-15). (Dictionary of Paul and His Letters)

Relational Significance

First, we understand Christ to be the head (Eph. 1:22-23). He is the source of life for the body and the authority over the body. Second, we see our relationship with other members of the body. There is both unity and diversity (Eph. 2:16-18). Yet there is an interdependence of each part to the others—there are no "rogue members," and they are "joined and knit together" (Eph. 4:16, Rom. 12:5). This applies to both various members of one local church as well as various local churches to each other.

Functional significance

Functionally, there is a Christward orientation with all activities of the members of the body. There are no competing agendas amongst the various parts and certainly no self-inflicted injury. There is an "other-member" focus between the various members. They are to build up each other in service, love, and growth (Eph. 4:16). Imagine the affect the unified body can have as each member functions as a part of the body, rather than as a backpack.

To be continued.

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For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior (Eph. 5:23).

Divorce Rates Among Christians

I was shocked to hear that the divorce rate among Christians is no different than non-Christians, according to the Barna Group. In a recent conversation, I was told that the divorce rate of Christians is actually higher than that of non-Christians because non-Christians are simply no longer getting married, but rather choose to date indefinitely, cohabitate, or remain single.

The Unfaithful Bride

In the Old Testament, Israel is referred to as God's bride (Is. 50:1, 54:6, Jer. 3:1,8-9, 20, 5:7, Ez. 16:32, Hos. 3:1). Sadly, the language is often in the context of Israel's unfaithfulness to God. Rather than maintain the pure covenant relationship, God's people "play the whore with many lovers" (Jer. 3:1).

Paul uses marriage imagery in the New Testament to describe the church (Eph. 5:22-33). The beauty of this marriage language in the New Testament is that it depicts Christ as the rescuer of an unfaithful bride, saving her from whorish pursuits. Christ restores the bride to the beauty God so desires for her, and there is a great feast of celebration (Rev. 19:7-9).

Even in church work, various pursuits distract us from the Christward orientation we are to have. Under the guise of ministry, other agendas and idols compete for our love and attention. A fellow pastor once referred to these idols and commented, "Stop dating the harlot and marry the bride!"

Marriage Is a Statement About the Groom

• Christ loves his bride (Eph. 5:25)
• Christ is the savior of his bride (Eph. 5:23)
• Christ purifies his bride (Eph. 5:26)

Marriage Is a Statement About the Bride

• The bride submits to the groom (Eph. 5:24)
• The bride is in union with the groom (Eph. 5:31)
• The bride respects the groom (Eph. 5:33)

Implications

Although there are many applications to marriage for men and women, there is a profound statement to the corporate church. Our identity as a people is found in the person and work of Christ. Our orientation and direction is toward him. As pastors, we understand the great love we must have for the bride. Indeed, if we love Christ we must love his bride.

To be continued.

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But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God (Gal. 4:4-7).

The Plight of Orphans

I spent the summer of 2001 in a little town in Romania working with a ministry to orphan children. We ran a summer camp with kids from several different orphanages in various towns. During one week, a brother and sister who had never met connected with each other. All of their issues of abandonment, personal value, and lost identity faded away as they felt a sense of identity and belonging.

The Gospel of Adoption

The good news for children in adoption is that they are no longer strangers or guests, but they are sons and daughters, enjoying all of the joys and benefits of family relationships and inheritance. Adoption is both a statement of identity for the adopted child and a revelation of the character of the adoptive parent.

The apostle Paul writes of huiothesia, often translated as "adoption" or "sonship," to refer to both Israelites (Rom. 9:4) and Christians (Gal. 4:4-7; Rom. 8:15, 23; Eph. 1:5). (Dictionary of Paul and His Letters)

Scripture tells us a great deal about our adoption:

1. God is our Father.
   "I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me," says the Lord Almighty (2 Cor. 6:18).
2. We are sons and daughters.
   See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are (1 John 3:1).
3. Our adoption is both a present and future reality (Systematic Theology): We enjoy both a present identity and relationship as children of God, yet we also await a promised future inheritance (Eph. 1).

Implications

Understanding the revealed character of God as a loving father and the gospel work of adoption through Jesus Christ, we have a new identity. Since "calling" is indicative of both identity and character, our adoption as children is indicative of the loving character of our Father. In light of this, there are several implications for believers as the children of God:

• We submit to the Father's authority.
• We enjoy the Father's provision for our needs.
• We steward the name and character of our Father.
• We relate to each other as brothers and sisters.
• We await a future inheritance.
• We presently live in our gospel identity as God's children.

To be continued.

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What's in a Name?

A friend recently told me about a pastor of a large local church challenging his people to avoid using names such as "Christian" or "church" because of the potentially negative connotation that they bring. This is a growing trend among churches today, yet there are no biblical grounds for the avoidance of using these names.

The Case for Calling

In Ephesians 4:1, Paul writes: "I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called." Paul's charge is one of invitation to live in the manner indicative of your name.

The Greek kaleo which we often translate "to call," is noted three times in the above passage: parakaleo ("urge") is a "calling alongside of," kleseos ("calling") implies an invitation, while eklesia carries the meanings of "naming" and "designation." (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament) This is just one of numerous cases in Scripture that instruct believers to conduct themselves as their title indicates.

Designation and Direction

Calling and naming is seen throughout Scripture. From the initial naming of the cosmos in Genesis to the final consummation of the new creation in Revelation, naming and renaming is a constant theme. God designates creation, names his people, calls his people, and renames his people, all to reveal who he is and define who they are.

The very nature of the names and titles by which we are called is that they define us and describe the one who calls us. In the series Defending Your Title: Reclaiming Biblical Identities, we will explore a few of these identities to see what they reveal to us about the God who calls us, as well as the implications for those who are called.

To be continued.

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