Bride | Craig T. Owens

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7 Images Of The Church

October 28, 2025 — Craig T. Owens

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word. (Ephesians 5:25-26)

Dr. Henry Halley points to seven images the Bible portrays of how Jesus interacts with His saints.

“1. The Shepherd and the sheep emphasizes both the warm leadership and protection of Christ and the helplessness and dependency of believers (John 10:1-18).

2. The vine and the branches points out the necessity for Christians to depend on Christ’s sustaining strength for growth (John 15:1-8).

3. Christ as high priest and the church as a kingdom of priests stress the joyful worship, fellowship, and service which the church can render to God through Christ (Hebrews 5:1-10; 7:1; 8:6; 1 Peter 2:5-9).

4. The cornerstone and building stones (Matthew 21:42) accents the foundational value of Christ to everything the church is and does, as well as Christ’s value to the unity of believers. Love is to be the mortar which solidly holds the living stones together (1 Corinthians 3:9; 13:1-13; Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:5).

5. The head and many-membered body, the church, is a vibrant organism, not merely an organization; it draws its vitality and direction from Christ, the Head, and each believer has a unique and necessary place in its growth (1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 27; Ephesians 4:4).

6. The last Adam and new creation presents Christ as the initiator of a new creation of believers as Adam was of the old creation (1 Corinthians 15:22, 45; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

7. The bridegroom and bride beautifully emphasizes the intimate fellowship and co-ownership existing between Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:25-33; Revelation 19:7-8; 21:9).”

You can read all of the Bible verses listed in this post by clicking here.

Three Pictures Of The Church

August 2, 2021 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

When you’ve been at a church service have you ever asked yourself, “What are we doing here? What exactly is ‘church’? What are we supposed to be doing?”

Some people think church is saints going out to tell people about Jesus, and some people think church is saints coming together to hear about Jesus (see Matthew 28:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:18). I think this is an either-or trap.

I think a better way of looking at this is “both-and” and “so that”: BOTH coming to a gathering of believers so that we can be equipped to go out AND going out to tell people about Jesus so that we can bring new disciples into the church.

Our foundational truth statement says: The Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of her great commission. Each believer, born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn, which are written in heaven.

To help us see where we play a vital role in all of this, the Bible gives us three pictures of the church:

A Body
A Building
A Bride

(see Ephesians 1:22-23; 1 Corinthians 12:12-26; Ephesians 2:19-22; John 3:29; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:21-33)

All of these pictures speak of multiple parts making up one unified, healthy whole. Remove any part or any function, and the whole thing is diminished. All of these pictures also speak of intentionality. No one becomes healthy by accident, or builds a sound structure by accident, or enjoys a fulfilling marriage by accident. Health, soundness, and fulfillment all result from being intentional about our choices and interactions.

I believe these three pictures also help us see what the church isn’t and is.

A healthy church isn’t about numbers
A healthy church isn’t about the day of the week that we meet
A healthy church isn’t about an “order of service” (there is no such thing listed in the New Testament!)
A healthy church is about Jesus being the focal point. As Jesus said, “I will build My Church.”
A healthy church is about being intentional in everything we do
A healthy church is about doing everything we can to glorify Jesus, both when we come together and when we go out into the world

(see Matthew 18:20; Romans 14:5; Matthew 16:18; Acts 10:38; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Hebrews 10:23-25)

The first Church in the New Testament showed us how they followed the example of Jesus. Before trying to fulfill the Great Commission of going into all the world, they first obeyed the directive from Jesus to stay in Jerusalem until they were empowered by the Holy Spirit. Then we see an intentionality, and an empowerment, and a complete reliance on the Holy Spirit in everything they undertook from that point on.

(see Acts 1:8; 2:42-47; 4:29-35; 6:1-7; 8:4, 26; 10:19-20; 13:1-3; 15:1-29)

It’s not about going to “my church” or going to “your church.” It’s about being the Church (with a capital “C”)—the Body of of Christ, the Building of Christ, the Bride of Christ.

Bottom line:

**Christians are being the Church when they are intentionally living in a way that makes Jesus known.**

This is a part of our ongoing series looking at our foundational truths. If you’ve missed any of the messages in this series, you can find the full list by clicking here.

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Thursdays With Spurgeon—Jesus Gives His Bride Good Gifts

April 23, 2020 — Craig T. Owens

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Charles Spurgeon. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Spurgeon” in the search box to read more entries.

Jesus Gives His Bride Good Gifts

Our Lord Jesus Christ has nothing that He does not give to His church. He gave Himself for us and He continues, still, to give Himself to us. He receives the gifts, but He only acts as the conduit through which the grace of God flows to us. It pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell, and of His fullness have we all received. …

These gifts, given in the form of men, are given for men [Ephesians 4:8-13]. Churches do not exist for preachers, but preachers for churches. … My brothers and sisters in the church, we who are your pastors are your servants for Christ’s sake. Our rule is not that of lordship, but of love. …

See how wonderful, then, was that ascension of our Lord in which He scattered down mercies so rich and appropriate among the sons of men! From His glorious elevation above all heavens He sends forth pastors, preachers, and evangelists, through whom the Holy Spirit works mightily in those who believe. By them He gathers the redeemed together and builds them up as a church to His glory!

From Our Lord’s Triumphant Ascension

Both the apostle Paul and King David from whom he quotes (see Psalm 68:18-19) see God’s victories as our victories. In the same letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul says that Jesus gave up everything for His Bride—the Church.

To bring His Bride into the fullness of her radiance, Jesus gave gifts to the Church in the form of people—apostles, pastors, evangelists, teachers, and servants that will help build up the Church and bring her into full maturity.

Don’t ever downplay the important role that you, dear Christian, play in His Bride. YOU are a gift from Jesus and a gift to His Bride!