The Bible uses deeply personal language connecting the church to Jesus. The church is the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, and the people of God. But how does the Bible connect God’s people to the Holy Spirit? By calling us the Spirit’s temple. When the Bible talks about the people of God as the temple of the...

One of the ways the New Testament describes the church is as the body of Christ. But how is the church Christ’s body, and what does that mean for how we live together?   When the church is described as Christ’s body, it means, basically, that the church is Christ’s representative here on earth, with Christ as its head (Col....

The Bible is full of different themes and images that foreshadow Christ’s work to save people from their sins. When we think about the role of the priest, for example, we can pretty quickly jump to Jesus being our perfect priest. And while this is true, there’s also an aspect of the priesthood that is fulfilled in God’s intention...

One of my favorite verses about the life of the church is First Thessalonians 5:11, which tells us to encourage and build up one another. But what does it mean to build up one another? Is that like giving compliments or saying kind words, or does it go much deeper? Let’s explore this idea together.  The word we often...

Unless you live a very peculiar kind of life, Exaltation is a word we don’t use much at all in everyday conversation. But if you are a Christian, you do benefit from it every day. Exaltation means to lift someone up, or to elevate them in status. In other words, it is the opposite of humiliation, which means to...

The word “humiliation” is not one that we often associate with Jesus. It’s one that we can’t help but read in a negative light. But as we will see, when it’s connected to Jesus, it has some really good news.  Humiliation as we typically understand it, means to put someone to shame. But in an older sense, the word...