Home Outreach Leaders Articles for Outreach & Missions 14 Anatomy Metaphors for the Church to Reach the World

14 Anatomy Metaphors for the Church to Reach the World

God’s Field

(1 Cor. 3). We are the crops that have been planted and have grown up in God’s field. Jesus Christ is the seed. God the Father causes the growth. The DNA of the seed is the nature of Christ. When the crops grow appropriately, they express Him.

I would like to offer you the illustration of a bouquet of roses. In a bouquet, each rose has the same life. They are part of the same species. But they are not vitally connected. So they don’t grow together. Compare the bouquet of roses to a rose bush. In a rose bush, the roses are one organic whole. Each rose possess its own individuality, but none are individualistic. They grow together for they share the same root. The bush passes through seasons of death and resurrection together. They are one organism. The church that the New Testament envisions is a rose bush, not a bouquet of roses.

Test 10: Are the members of your church growing more into the likeness of Christ, and are they doing it together? Are people changing while being in the church? Is their character being molded into the image of Jesus? Are they passing through spiritual seasons together? Are they a rose bush or a bouquet of flowers?

Beyond God’s field, the church is . . .

A Vineyard

(John 15). Jesus Christ is the vine tree as well as the new wine. We are the branches and the cluster of grapes. The tree and the branches cannot be separated from one another. In a real sense, the branch is in the tree, and the tree is in the branch.

Isaiah 65:8 says, “The new wine is found in the cluster.” In any cluster of grapes, some grapes will be green. Those green grapes must remain in the cluster in order for them to ripen. If a grape is removed from the cluster and left on its own, it will crinkle and wrinkle. That is, it will become a raisin.

The unveiling of Christ comes from the whole cluster. The individualistic Christian who is journeying through life alone is a “raisin Christian.” In addition, the branches of a vine extend out as the tree grows. So long as the tree is growing outward, it will live and continue to grow. But if it grows inwardly, it will eventually die.

Test 11: Is your church like a vineyard where the cluster of grapes lives and grows together? Or is it made up of “raisin Christians” who live outside the cluster? Is your church ex­tending outside of itself to influence others or is it insular and ingrown?

Beyond the vineyard, the church is . . .

A Sheepfold

(John 10; 21; 1 Pet. 2). Jesus Christ is the Great Shepherd, and we are His beloved sheep. Sheep are the only animal that require the existence of a human being for their survival. Sheep are the most helpless of God’s creatures. A sheep left on its own will die. Sheep also travel together. If one of them moves independently from the flock, they will be raw meat for predators.

Test 12: Do the members of your church seek and follow the direction of the one Shepherd together? Or do they blindly follow a human being? Do they all move together as a flock with one mind? Or do they move independently and individualistically, as sheep without a Shepherd?

Beyond the sheepfold, the church is . . .

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frankviola@churchleaders.com'
FRANK VIOLA has helped thousands of people around the world to deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ and enter into a more vibrant and authentic experience of church. His mission is to help serious followers of Jesus know their Lord more deeply, gain fresh perspectives on old or ignored subjects, and make the Bible come alive. Viola has written many books on these themes, including God's Favorite Place on Earth and From Eternity to Here. His blog, Beyond Evangelical, is rated as one of the most popular in Christian circles today.