According to the New Testament, Christ’s care of the church has two aspects. The inner aspect is the nourishing, and the outer aspect is the cherishing. To be nourished is to have something imparted into us inwardly, whereas to be cherished is to be warmed and comforted outwardly. Cherishing is related to environment. In our environment or circumstances the Lord Jesus is often real to us as a warm, tender breeze blowing upon us. As this warm breeze comes upon us, we have the sense of being soothed tenderly. Although this takes place in the environment, it is something more than the environment itself. It is even something that surpasses the Lord’s presence. When the Lord’s presence becomes a gentle breeze, we experience His cherishing. This cherishing includes soothing, comfort, and rest.
In the environment of the church life, we often experience the Lord’s cherishing, although we may not even be conscious of it. However, if for any length of time we are in an environment where there is no church, we sense that the climate has changed and that the environment is different. Then we begin to sense that we have lost something, that the tender, warm breeze is no longer blowing upon us. We may have everything necessary for our material existence, but we know that something we formerly enjoyed is missing. When we return to the church life, we immediately and spontaneously enter into the environment and atmosphere of the Lord’s cherishing. Once again we are warmed, soothed, and comforted. This is cherishing.
Just as a child is cherished by the very presence of his mother, so we are cherished by the Lord’s presence. My little granddaughter often desires simply to be intimately in her mother’s presence. Simply to be in the presence of her mother is a comfort to her. The presence of her mother provides a tender, warm atmosphere. In like manner, the Lord’s presence produces an atmosphere of tenderness and warmth to cherish our very being.
We experience such an atmosphere in the church meetings. I am saddened whenever there are saints who do not care for the meetings, but prefer simply to have fellowship in their homes. No matter how enjoyable the fellowship may be in your home, the atmosphere there is not nearly as cherishing as the atmosphere in the meetings. How pleasant is the spiritual climate in the gathering of the saints! As soon as we enter this atmosphere, we are cherished by the Lord’s presence. It is by the atmosphere produced by the Lord’s brooding presence that the Lord cherishes the church. To be in this climate, this atmosphere, this environment, gives us rest, comfort, healing, cleansing, and encouragement. No atmosphere can compare to the atmosphere of the church meetings. For this reason I do not want to miss even one meeting of the church.
Nourishing and cherishing go together. Through the nourishing we enjoy the supply of life inwardly, and through the cherishing we experience the soothing, comforting atmosphere outwardly. Whenever we are in an atmosphere of cherishing, we can absorb every word of the ministry. This indicates that under the cherishing we receive nourishing. A church that is nourished and cherished in such a way will be strong and healthy.
The nourishing and the cherishing are the church’s portion, and they should be found in every meeting. If there is no nourishing and cherishing in the meetings, then there is a problem. The problem, however, may be with you and not with the church. If you are proper, normal, and healthy, you will enjoy the cherishing atmosphere of the Lord’s presence in the church and in this atmosphere receive the nourishing supply of life. Praise the Lord for the way He cares for the church! The church people have the privilege of enjoying the Lord in such a fine, tender, intimate, real way.
As Eve was Adam’s wife, so the church is Christ’s Bride (John 3:29; Rev. 19:7; 21:2, 9). Furthermore, Eve was Adam’s increase, and the church is Christ’s increase (John 3:30). When John the Baptist was told of the many who were coming to Christ, John said, “He who has the bride is the bridegroom” (John 3:29). Then he went on to say, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (v. 30). The increase in verse 30 is the Bride in verse 29. For the Lord to increase means that He must have the Bride. All the following must go to Him. All those who believe in Him should follow Him to be His increase. Although John spoke a clear word regarding this, he was not willing to practice it. This was the reason that God allowed him to be imprisoned and later beheaded. Eventually, John the Baptist received nothing, and all the increase, the Bride, went to the Bridegroom to be His increase. Just as Eve was Adam’s increase, so the church as the Bride of Christ is Christ’s increase.
If we are impressed with the various aspects of the mysterious type of Christ and the church unveiled in this chapter of Ephesians, we shall have not only a proper church life, but also a proper married life. The wives will know what their responsibility is, and the husbands will know their responsibility. Paul’s burden here was to cover both married life and the church life at the same time. In his writing he did not separate married life from the church life. Rather, he blended the two together, for he knew that married life is actually part of the church life. Without the married life being proper, it is difficult to have a proper church life. We thank the Lord that through the proper church life our married life also can become proper. How wonderful! This is a mysterious type of Christ and the church.