CHRIST IS KING;
THE CHURCH HIS BRIDE
“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
Christian, What do you Believe?
The questions that we ask of Scripture, and that are asked of us Christians by the lost people of the world, have already been asked before. The answers have been searched out in the Scriptures by bold men of the faith. They mined the Scriptures. They sought God. They prayed. They debated. They refined. They reformed. And those men have written down the answers for our edification. And we live in a time where it is easier than ever to obtain them. Since the early days of the Church, these doctrinal statements have taken the forms of creeds, confessions, and catechisms, and they have helped to grow and guide countless generations into a fuller knowledge of the truth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The Song of Songs
The Song of Songs, tucked in the middle of the Bible, is love made wisdom. It is the righteous view of a man and a woman who unashamedly love one another with their whole being. And as their love informs their admirations, it informs their actions. This poem informs all poets. It also informs all loves. However, there is an unfortunate stigma that pervades the Christian’s perception of the Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon). It is always looked upon as the “steamy book” of the Bible. The mere mention of its name in an adult Bible study will elicit 1st grade giggles, or some off-handed jokes about pomegranates. To be sure, our fascination with this book does stem from the provocative imagery. Perhaps, though, it goes deeper. I say it strikes at our core. We don’t read anything this vividly intimate, yet proudly published anywhere else in the Bible since, “this is bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh,” (Genesis 2:23) and it makes us nervous. Why all of the illustrious descriptions? Why so many allusions to plants, animals, food, and jewels to describe a love and love itself?