In the life of the congregation, sheep reproduce sheep, while shepherds reproduce shepherds. And to the degree that shepherds reproduce shepherds, the flock will be in a healthy state to be fruitful, multiply and replenish the fold. This, like God’s creation mandate to Adam and
In one of his many sermons on the Ephesians marriage text, Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes, How many of us have realized that we are always to think of the married state in terms of the doctrine of the atonement? Is that our customary way of thinking
Paul loved the church. And he had a particular love for the church at Ephesus—the church in which, as far as we know, he spent more time than any other church (with the exception of Antioch). Paul stayed in Ephesus for three years, and his
The world is heading toward the day when it will again be a beautiful, curse-free garden (Revelation 22)—just like it was before Adam gave heed to the slithering, God-defying serpent. God’s means towards this end is His church, His Garden. When God created Adam and
