The Reformation made the gospel, not ecclesiastical organizations, the test of the true church. Yet the Reformers, particularly in the Calvinistic churches sought biblical standards for the organization of the church.
Three marks were defined in distinguishing a true church of Christ: true preaching of the Word; proper observance of the sacraments; faithful exercise of church discipline.
– Edmund Clowney, The Church: Contours in Christian Theology, copyright 1988, page 101
There Jesus was stripped naked of his robe and dignity so that we could be clothed with a dignity and standing we don’t deserve. On the cross Jesus was treated as an outcast so that we could be brought into God’s family freely by grace. There Jesus drank the cup of eternal justice so that we might have the cup of the Father’s joy. There was no other way for the heavenly Father to bring us in, except at the expense of our true elder brother.
– Tim Keller, Prodigal God, copyright 2008, page 85
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