Part Two covered a few of the Bible’s symbols for the church of God: a family, a city or cities, and mountains or hills. As a symbolic or, as some might consider it, a coded book, the Bible’s array of imagery describing the church is not complete with just these few symbols. As God’s sons and daughters, His elect, His firstfruits, and as Jesus Christ’s Bride-to-be, the New Testament church receives special attention in God’s Word, often in symbolic form.
Such “apple of the eye” attention deserves our continued investigation. In this study, we will examine other familiar symbols of the church, as well as some general symbols that, depending on the context, can denote both genuine and counterfeit churches or religions.
1. Is the church symbolized as a vine or vineyard? Psalm 80:8; John 15:1-5.
Comment: Asaph conceives ancient Israel as a vine brought out of Egypt and planted in the Promised Land. While instructing the disciples before His death, Jesus echoes Asaph with a vineyard analogy. In some passages, the disciples are the vine’s branches, and at other times, the entire church is depicted as a vine or a whole vineyard planted by Christ.
2. Can the vine/vineyard analogy be meaningfully projected forward from Old Testament Israel to the New Testament church? Hosea 10:1; Joel 1:7-14; Isaiah 5:1-7.
Comment: Hosea, Joel, and Isaiah frequently refer to the latter days as their prophecies’ time of fulfillment. Notice that Joel’s criticism includes the ministers, priests, farmers, and vinedressers in his references to the vine of God, calling into account both ministry and laity of the church (see also Jeremiah 12:10). Similarly, Isaiah 5 describes, as an end-time prophecy, the problems God sees in His vineyard, the church. In the Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers (Matthew 21:33-40), Jesus uses the vineyard metaphor in a similar Old Testament fashion, indicating that His other uses of the symbol for the church in the gospels were deliberate, showing a passing of the torch from Old Covenant Israel to the New Covenant Israel of God (Galatians 6:16).
3. Can “house,” “temple,” “building,” or “sanctuary” also represent the church? Isaiah 5:7-9.
Comment: In Isaiah 5:7, God plainly states that “the vineyard . . . is the house of Israel.” As the chapter continues, God harmonizes the analogy of the vineyard being trampled with houses being destroyed. Likewise, in I Corinthians 3:9, Paul combines vineyard and house in describing the church at Corinth, and in I Timothy 3:15, he uses “the house of God” in parallel with “the church of the living God.” The Bible includes many references to the church as a temple, house, or building, whether in type as the physical houses of Israel and Judah or the congregation in the wilderness, or as a present or future reference to a spiritual house, the New Testament church (see Isaiah 56:7; Zechariah 8:9; Ephesians 2:21-22; Hebrews 3:6; etc.).
4. The Bible frequently mentions sheep, shepherds, and flocks. Are these also symbolic of Christians as individuals or the church as a whole? Psalm 23; Ezekiel 34:1-12; Matthew 25:31-33; Mark 6:34; Romans 8:36.
Comment: Sheep, flocks of sheep, and their shepherds are prominent biblical symbols illustrating God’s chosen people. When comparing sheep to people, the parallels are both striking and humbling. Christ shepherds His people toward the Kingdom of God (Psalm 23; John 10:1-16), using His servants as under-shepherds to lead His church (Matthew 10:6, 16; John 21:15-17; Acts 20:28; I Peter 5:2-3).
5. While Scripture often depicts the church as a family, does it also describe her as a bride or wife? II Corinthians 11:2.
Comment: It is impossible to describe God’s church or an individual Christian entirely in one analogy. Consequently, God uses many familiar figures to help us understand His purpose for His people. In Ephesians 5:22-32, Paul reveals that the husband-wife relationship is analogous to that of Christ and the church, instructing that our marriages should reflect His example. Proverbs 31:10-31 describes the character of a faithful, productive, loving woman fit to marry a king. Jesus’ Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matthew 22:1-14) pictures the length to which the Father goes to invite and prepare those who will participate in the Son’s wedding. In the Song of Songs, it is hard to miss the analogy of Christ wooing His bride-to-be at His return, especially when contrasted with His unfaithful wife, ancient Israel (Ezekiel 16; Hosea 1—3). Christ will marry the church upon His return, and she will reign with Him over the nations (Revelation 19:7-9; 21:1-9; 22:17).
7. Are women frequently descriptive of both the true church and false churches? Isaiah 62:11-12; Jeremiah 6:2; Micah 4:8-10; Zephaniah 3:14-17; Isaiah 32:9-15.
Comment: Overall, in prophecy, female figures represent a system of some sort—religious, governmental, economic, cultural, etc. Faithful women can symbolize God’s way, specifically Israel or the church (Revelation 12:1-6, 13-17; 17:1-6) or God’s covenant (Galatians 4:26-27). Conversely, unfaithful women, like harlots, can signify backsliding nations or anti-God systems that encompass the globe (Hosea 1:2-3; 2:2-13; Zechariah 5:5-11; Revelation 17-18). The context determines the nature and scope of the figure described.
No single symbol—even stretched to its limits—can completely describe the various attitudes, conditions, and traits of the church, so God sprinkled His Word with several colorful, meaningful analogies to cover the subject. By combining the types and imagery, God’s people can gain a clear understanding of themselves through His eyes and make the necessary changes in preparation for His Kingdom.
