Biblical Images of the Church

1. *
From the New Testament

2. Matt 9: 36 At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned like sheep without a shepherd.
Matt 26: 31 Then Jesus said to them, “This night all of you will have your faith in
me shaken, for it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock
will be dispersed.”
John 10: 14-15 I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just
as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for
the sheep.
Lk 12:32 Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to
give you the kingdom
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It is to the shepherd that the sheep belong. He is their lord. At the same time he
cares for them with love and eagerness, because they are his wealth and his joy.

3. Matt 13:3-8 And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A sower went out to
sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some
fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was
not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some
seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on
rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Matt 13: 24-30 He proposed another parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven may be
likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his
enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop
grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to
him and said, „Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds
come from?‟ He answered, „An enemy has done this.‟ His slaves said to him, „Do you
want us to go and pull them up?‟ He replied, „No, if you pull up the weeds you might
uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest
time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for
burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”‟
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You are God’s field. We must live from Christ who is the “tree of life”.

4. Mark 4: 30-32 He said, “To what shall we
compare the kingdom of God, or what
parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard
seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is
the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But
once it is sown, it springs up and becomes
the largest of plants and puts forth large
branches, so that the birds of the sky can
dwell in its shade.”
I Cor 3: 6-9 I planted, Apollos watered, but God
caused the growth. Therefore, neither the one
who plants nor the one who waters is anything,
but only God, who causes the growth. The one
who plants and the one who waters are equal, and
each will receive wages in proportion to his labor.
For we are God‟s co-workers; you are God‟s field,
God‟s building.
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You are God’s field. We must live from Christ who is the “tree of life”.

5. John 15: 1-8 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does
not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of
the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who
does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into
a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and
it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
Matt 21: 33-41“Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,* put a hedge around it,
dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time
drew near, he sent his servants* to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one
they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the
first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, „They will respect my
son.‟ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, „This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and
acquire his inheritance.‟ They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What will the owner of
the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?” They answered* him, “He will put those wretched men to a
wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.”
*
You are God’s field. We must live from Christ who is the “tree of life”.

6. Matt 20:1-16 “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his
vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about
nine o‟clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, „You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.‟ So they went off. [And] he went out again around noon, and around three
o‟clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o‟clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, „Why
do you stand here idle all day?‟ They answered, „Because no one has hired us.‟ He said to them, „You too go into
my vineyard.‟ When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, „Summon the laborers and
give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.‟ When those who had started about five
o‟clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive
more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner,
saying, „These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day‟s burden
and the heat.‟ He said to one of them in reply, „My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for
the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? am I not
free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?‟ Thus, the last will be first,
and the first will be last.”
Matt 21:28-32 “What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, „Son, go out and work
in the vineyard today.‟ He said in reply, „I will not,‟ but afterwards he changed his mind and went. The man came
to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, „Yes, sir,‟ but did not go. Which of the two did his
father‟s will?” They answered, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes
are entering the kingdom of God before you.
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You are God’s field. We must live from Christ who is the “tree of life”.

7. I Cor 3: 9-15 For we are God‟s co-workers; you are God‟s field, God‟s building.
According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a
foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he
builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there,
namely, Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious
stones, wood, hay, or straw, the work of each will come to light, for the Day will
disclose it. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire [itself] will test the quality of
each one‟s work. If the work stands that someone built upon the foundation, that
person will receive a wage. But if someone‟s work is burned up, that one will suffer
loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire.
Matt 21: 42 Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the scriptures: „The stone
that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been
done, and it is wonderful in our eyes‟?
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The Church a “building of God” The true foundation, Christ the cornerstone.

8. I Peter 2: 4-10 Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and
precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a
spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ. For it says in scripture: “Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a
cornerstone, chosen and precious, and whoever believes in it shall not be put to
shame.” Therefore, its value is for you who have faith, but for those without faith:
“The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone(Psalm 118: 22),”
and “A stone that will make people stumble, and a rock that will make them fall.”
They stumble by disobeying the word, as is their destiny. But you are “a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the
praises” of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you
were “no people” but now you are God‟s people; you “had not received mercy” but
now you have received mercy.
I Tim 3: 15 But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the
household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation
of truth.
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The Church a “building of God” The true foundation, Christ the cornerstone.

9. Like Eve, The Church is the “mother of the living”
Like Mary the Church is virgin and mother
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God makes us sharers in the life of his own family – Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

10. Romans 12: 1-8 I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer
your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual
worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the
renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is
good and pleasing and perfect. For by the grace given to me I tell everyone
among you not to think of himself more highly than one ought to think, but to
think soberly, each according to the measure of faith that God has
apportioned. For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not
have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and
individually parts of one another. Since we have gifts that differ according to
the grace given to us, let us exercise them: if prophecy, in proportion to the
faith; if ministry, in ministering; if one is a teacher, in teaching; if one exhorts,
in exhortation; if one contributes, in generosity; if one is over others, with
diligence; if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Col 1: 18 He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
Col 1: 24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am
filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body,
which is the church.
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The most important image is the Body of Christ. Christians one body of Christ, or
one body in Christ!