The Called Out. This is the basic meaning of the term in the Greek (ekklesia) from which we derive "church." It comes from ek which means "out of" and kaleo which means "to call" or "to summon." Hence, the called or the summoned out. Simon Peter has this to say in 1 Peter 2:9, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light...." The Gospel of Christ is the instrument of our call. We read in 2 Thess. 2:14, "Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

The People Of God. At one time Physical Israel constituted God's people through whom he worked out his plan to send the Mighty Messiah, his only begotten Son, into this weary, wicked world of ours. Since the book of Acts, God's people have been those known as Christians as per Acts 11:26; 26:28 and 1 Peter 4:16. Peter addressed such in his first epistle. He wrote, "Which in times past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy" (1 Peter 2:10). Modern day premillennialism uniformly refers to Jews who deny Christ, hate the church and reject the New Testament as being God's people and even his SPECIAL people. It is significant that in both Revelation 2:9 and 3:9, Jesus referred to such as a "synagogue of Satan." That does not sound like they are God's special people. All premillennial preachers would do well to take note of these two passages and learn once and for all who ARE and who ARE NOT God's people. God's people today are the ones who love, revere and obey his Son. They are the church that wears the noble name of the Christ.

The Body Of Christ. Paul is the only one of the eight New Testament penmen to use this very striking analogy. He uses it only in a quartet of his epistles, viz., Romans, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians and Colossians. The human body has one head and the Lord's church has one head (Eph. 1:22,23; Col. 1:18). The human head has one body but it is composed of many members (1 Cor. 12:12ff). The human body is subject to its head-not its head subject to the body. The same is true with the church. Christ is head and the body is to be subject to him (Eph. 5:23,24). There is great unity in a healthy, normal body and there is to be unity in the body or church of the Lord. The Lord so prayed in John 17:20-23 and Paul pleaded for it in 1 Corinthians 1:10ff. The body is one or singular. So is the body or church of the Lord (Eph. 4:4ff; 1 Cor. 12:20,27). There is to be great care of the bodily members for each other and this is surely true in the Lord's church (1 Cor. 12:25,26). The human body is not to have heads many but one and the church or body of Christ is not to have heads many but only one (Col. 1:18). The human head is not to have bodies many but only one. The same is true with the Christ. He, as head, does not have bodies many but one and one only as 1 Cor. 12: 20 and Eph. 4:4 make crystal clear.

The Bride Of Christ. This is the great analogy behind Paul's remarks in that breathtakingly beautiful passage of Ephesians 5: 22-33 and from which our title and main gist of this study are derived. Romans 7: 4 speaks of those who are married to Christ. Paul told the Corinthians of their espousal to Christ. He desired to present them to the Lord as a chaste or pure virgin (2 Cor. 11:2). As the bride of Christ we wear his name (Christian), do his bidding (Eph. 5:24), share in his inheritance (Rev. 3:21) and be a holy, gracious, glorious and faithful spouse to him, spiritually speaking.

The Family Or Household Of God. Paul so uses the term in Ephesians 2:19 and 1 Timothy 3:15. We enter the family of God by the new birth which is outlined in John 3:3ff. God only has children In - not Outside - his family just as every good and righteous man, and who has been that way all his life as an adult, has his children ONLY in his family. For one to tell you that your family is not important would be the highest of insults. For one to say that God's family-the church-is not important is likewise the highest of insults to him and his Glorious Son. God only has one family and that settles once and for all how many churches God intends to save.

The Temple Of God. Paul wrote, "In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit" (Eph. 2:21,22). The great lesson here is that the church is a place of worship and service to God and his Glorious Son.

The Kingdom Of God. Kingdom and church are used to refer to the same divine organism or institution in such places as Matthew 16:18,19; Luke 22:29,30 (note that the Lord's Table is in the kingdom but the church observed the Supper in Acts 2:42; 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:20ff); Heb. 12:23,28,29; Rev. 1,2,3 where John spoke of the kingdom and the church to refer to the same people. Christ is king; the kingdom is his (John 18:36). The church is not a spiritual democracy but a spiritual monarchy with Christ on the throne and all of us as his subjects. We are frequently asked why we do not sprinkle or receive babies as members. The King has not authorized such. We are asked why we do not employ mechanical music in worship. The King has not authorized it. We are asked why we partake of the Lord's supper each Lord's Day. The King has authorized it. We must do only what he has authorized; we are not to do what he has not authorized. We Must respect him when he is silent on something and not presume it will be all right to go ahead with it.

The Vineyard Of The Lord. This is the picture we have in Matthew 20 and the imagery of our being God's husbandry in 1 Cor. 3:9. This projects the church as a realm of work-not for spiritual retirement-not for the lazy and indolent.

The Army Of God. In both 1 Thess. 5 and Eph. 6, Paul speaks of the armor in which Christians are to be panoplied. Hebrews 2:10 speaks of Christ as being the captain of our salvation. In 2 Timothy 2, Paul desires Timothy to be a good soldier of Christ and in 1 Timothy 6:12 to fight the good fight of faith. In 2 Timothy 4:7 we read of Paul's fighting the good fight. A non-controversialist in the church once criticized a great defender of the faith by saying, "He is a fighter." It was really the highest of an unintended compliment.

Are you a member of the church Paul spoke about in Ephesians 5:32? If not, you need to hear Christ, believe in his Deity, repent of your sins, confess faith in him, be immersed in water for or unto the remission of sins and thus be added to the church about which you can read in the New Testament (Rom. 10:17; Acts 16:30; 17:30; Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 2:38; Gal. 3:27; Acts 2:47). These are the conditions of entering the Lord's church; the condition of staying there and ultimately wearing the crown of eternal righteousness in that Heavenly Canaan is a godly life.

--Robert R. Taylor, Jr., 2^nd of 2 parts

SYMPATHY is extended to Elizabeth Hill and family on the passing of her brother-in-law, Jody Barnett, Sunday, February 11.

DISTRIBUTE MEETING FLYERS: Saturday, February 24. Ages 10 - 14. 10 am.

KIDS GET TOGETHER: Sunday night after services at Dairy Queen, February 18.

FOOD ITEM: Canned Corn

r SHUT-INS: Pauline Irvin, Nellie Wallace, Mary Dexter, Annie Nauman, Faye Jackson, Clydie Morrow, Frances Massengill, Doug Kimbrough, Sula Perry, Harry Prater, Lucille Leatherwood, Dorothy Johnson.

Sunday, 9:45 The Christian Graces;

10:30, How to Make a Strong Church

7pm, A Formula for Success

Mon. 7pm, What It Means to Be a Christian

Tues. 7pm, Can I Know I Am Saved?

Wed. 7pm, Is It Possible to Live a Faithful Christian Life?

Thur. 7pm, Why I Cannot Give Up As a Christian

Fri. 7pm, Why Christians Stop Being Faithful