City Life Starter

Written by Paul Lane

The Word

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
    in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.

²⁸ And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 1:26-28 (ESV)

² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out
of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.² 

Revelation 21:2

Reflection

The two passages here today are like bookends to the life of mankind.  In Genesis, we see man’s creation and God giving man responsibilities.  In Revelation, we see man in completed form, as the bride of Christ.  This brings us to two of my favorite questions:

1. Who is man?
2. What kind of leadership is appropriate for governing man?

For Question 1, we see in Genesis that man is something different from the animals.  Man is a being created with special abilities, special gifts, and a special purpose.  Man is to tend God’s creation, a creation, I would note, that was particularly made for him.  Think of the story of Noah. When God goes to save man, He also saves the created things around him.

Now think of Question 2.  While man was created in an elevated state and then fell, I think it is easy to see why some kind of government is needed for all of us.  If you study human history, you will see many forms of government’s tried, with varying degrees of success, but the Bible points us to one form of government that is perfectly made for man.  It is made for “original man”, “fallen man”, and “unfallen man” or “redeemed man.”  That’s right, it conforms to man’s state, because it is made of men.  As we learned in Sunday School, the church is not the building, it is not the steeple, look inside.  The church is the people. 

As Pastor Chris taught us this Sunday, there are many attributes of the church (listed below.)  And this makes sense, given that it is built to attend to man.  If man were a simpler being, the church could be simpler, and the list of church attributes would be shorter.  But man is an extremely complex being, which means that the government around man must be complex enough to address his needs. 

Attributes of the Church:

Body – I Cor 12:12-27

Bride – Rev 21:2

Flock – I Peter 5:2-4

Vine & Branches – John 15:1-8

Temple of God – I Cor 3:16

Sojourner – Hebrews 11:13

Salt & Light – Matthew 5:13-36

Olive Tree – Romans 11:17-34

Household – Ephesians 2:18

Army – 2 Timothy 2:3-4

However, the church is not just a list of attributes.  It is a collection of people, who are brought together by God to live as one organism, that is one body.  So, we have church leaders, church workers, and church members participating in the life of the church and fulfilling God’s call.  These are people acquainted with the struggles of life, so they are not far away from what you are dealing with. 

Application

Take a few minutes and think on each of these attributes, one at a time.  Are there any that stick out to you right now?  Pray about it and ask the Lord to lead you into a deeper understanding of it.  For example, if you are led to think on the Temple of God, pray that God will teach you how to realize yourself as His temple in your daily life.  Or if you are looking to understand the household of God, pray that God work to remove those things in your life that prevent you from entering his presence, and that the Holy Spirit empower you to overcome your fears and struggles.

Ultimately, the idea here is to live the church.  Build relationships with people in the church.  Pray for them and allow yourself to be prayed for. Teach, and be taught.  Allow God to work in your life through the church and you will begin to see it as a family. As one pastor likes to say, “God has arms in this world, and they are hanging from your shoulders.”

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank You that you lead us in all righteousness, and that You supply all our needs.  Lord, I pray for the relationships in the church.  I pray that You strengthen them and use them to build and encourage the church members.  And that You teach us how to live in true community, laying down our lives to serve one another.  In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.