The Church's one foundation, Is Jesus Christ her Lord;

She is his new creation, By water and the word;

From Heav'n he came and sought her, To be his holy bride;

With his own blood he bought her, And for her life he died.

 

I was so surprised to hear that this hymn, "The Church's One Foundation", was penned after a theological controversy that divided the church right here in South Africa in 1866. Against that backdrop, it was written to help believers hold on to biblical truth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmdIh4M7jSQ

 

Talking of the Church’s foundation, Revelation 21 presents the Bride as the splendour of the New Jerusalem, the City of God. The Church, Christ’s Bride, is built on the foundation of the apostles, all Jewish men.

 

"Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone." (Ephesians 2:19-20)

 

In "Finding Messiah", Jennifer M Rosner wrote, “That Jesus is Jewish matters; Jesus came as the climax of a particular story with a particular people, and that story and people continues to matter to God. When we lose sight of this sense of continuity, we risk cutting ourselves off from the story God is continuing to tell.”

 

I was always fascinated by the notion of the covenants God had instituted with Israel, especially the one God described as everlasting in Genesis 17:7. How do we see God’s relationship with Israel in relation to the Church today?

 

After researching for some time, Jennifer’s book proved most insightful. I would also urge personal study of the Word. Considering that Isaiah 54:5 describes God himself as Israel’s husband, Jennifer continued: “If God can so easily annul God’s covenant with Israel, what guarantees God’s indefinite faithfulness to the new, covenant people?”

 

God instituted marriage to one wife. Therefore, what would be the implication for today? She asks, “If he ditched his past love, how do Christians know that his faithfulness can be trusted? In short, the very character of God is at stake.”

 

And finally, “After all, if the church is to truly understand its own identity, it must understand the covenant body to which through Christ, it has been joined together.”

 

The Word of God is so rich; there are enough nuggets of gold to be mined for a lifetime of Bible study.

 

Prayer: Lord God, I marvel at your plans over millennia. You worked through a family, then a nation that would facilitate reconciliation worldwide. How amazing! Amen.