Jesus Loves the Church

Today from Ephesians 5, I want us to consider the love Jesus has for the Church. When the Bible talks about church, it is not referring to the church building, but the people who make up the church. Those people who God has saved and who are now followers of Jesus Christ.
God Created Marriage to Reflect the Relationship b/w Christ and the Church – v.31-32
I want to look at Ephesians 5 with you today focusing on how Jesus feels about His Church.

1. Jesus Loves and is Passionately Committed to His Church

How do we know that Jesus loves His Church? I will give you four ways from Eph 5.
1) He sacrificed Himself to save the Church – v25
2) He separated His Church from evil and claimed them for His own. – v26
3) He is devoted to the spiritual growth of His Church – v27-30
4) He is committed to the Church until the end.
O how Jesus loves the Church!
2) We should love what Jesus loves.

How do you know if you are growing as a Christian? What can you use to measure it?

One way is to ask yourself do I love what God loves and do I hate what God hates?
If Jesus loves the Church, you and I should too.

3. We should love and be passionately committed to the church.
   The strongest argument I know for why you and I should love and care about the church is that Jesus does. The greatest motivation we could ever find for being passionately committed to the Church is that Jesus is passionately committed to the Church.

How can I be apathetic about the very thing for which Jesus shed His blood to create?

How could I have a take or leave it attitude about the Church when Jesus is working every day purifying the Church for Himself?