"But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all." Gal. 4:26
I would like to first say, "Happy Mother’s Day" to all the mothers present here this morning. "Mother’s Day" is a very special time for me personally, because, I can not think of anyone else (except for Lisa) that I love more than my own mother. Dads, I know you are very hard workers, and faithful providers, and good fathers, but I have never seen a man that could ever labor as hard as giving birth. You mothers amaze me, how strong you are. You can carry heavy children, groceries, love, burdens, etc... Mothers, I believe you deserve more than just one day a year to be honored.
On the second Sunday in May each year, many people honor motherhood by celebrating Mother’s Day. Mothers are especially honored this day by many families in various parts of the world and in lots of churches.
First to suggest Mother’s Day in the United States was Julia Ward Howe, who came up with the idea in 1872.
Howe was from Boston, and her suggestion was followed by celebrations in Massachusetts for a number of years on June 2.
The day, in addition to honoring mothers, was also dedicated to peace.
Earlier, in England, a special day called Mothering Sunday was celebrated in mid-Lent. Similar celebrations had also been held in Yugoslavia and other European countries for many years.
The introduction of a formal Mother’s Day developed slowly. A Kentucky schoolteacher named Mary Towels Saseen started organizing Mother’s Day celebrations in her state in 1887. Frank Hering of South Bend, IN, launched a regional campaign in 1904 and Anna Jarvis of Grafton, WV, launched a national campaign in 1907.
It was Jarvis who chose the second Sunday in May as the date for the holiday, and she also started the custom of wearing carnations: a white one if the person’s mother is dead, a brightly-colored one if she is living.
At the meeting of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Minneapolis, in 1912, a delegate from Jarvis’ church in West Virginia introduced a resolution officially recognizing Anna as the founder of Mother’s Day, and suggested that the special day be observed nationally each May.
National recognition for Mother’s Day finally came on May 9, 1914, when President Woodrow Wilson signed a joint resolution recommending that Congress and the executive branch of the government observe Mother’s Day each year.
The following year, Wilson was authorized by Congress to officially proclaim Mother’s Day as an annual national observance. And since then, many other countries have followed the tradition.
The first mother ever mentioned in "God’s Word" is Eve. She was made by God, out of the side of Adam. Gen. 2:21-23, "21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."
She received her name from her husband. *Gen. 3:20, "And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living." Someone once said, "God made woman from man’s side, and ever since, man has had a pain in his side."
*Eve is known as the mother of the human race. Had Eve not given birth to her son Cain, we would probably not be in existence today. We can all trace our ancestry back to Eve.
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Let me call your attention to the words of our text. Gal. 4:26, "But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all."
*Eve is referred to as the mother of the living. Paul writes in our text referring to Jerusalem (The Church of God that contains all who are washed by the blood of the Lamb and living to the light of the Scripture that they have,) that She is "the mother of us all." What a glorious and beautiful portrayal of the Church of God. She is a mother. She is pure, spotless, holy, glorious, nurturing, fertile and loving. She is the "Bride of Christ."
Eph. 5:23-32, " 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. 25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church."
Rev. 21:9, "And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife." In order to understand the "Bride of Christ" we must first see her type. The type of the "Bride" is first given in Genesis 2:18-25, "18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. 19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. 20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man."
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed." Notice Eve was given to Adam to be his bride, as a gift from God. The Church was given to Christ as His Bride, from God as a gift. Rev. 21:9, "I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife." The “Church of the Living God” is considered to be the wife of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no closer relationship than the relationship between husband and wife. Notice I didn’t say, husband and husband. I believe God still orders marriage between a man and woman.
*The Bible makes mention of "types and shadows" Heb. 10:1 says, "For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things" This reveals to us that the Church of God is an anti-type (shadow) of its type Eve.
Using types and shadows, the Bible clearly reveals two Adams as father, and two Eve’s as mother. The first Adam is referred to as the father of the human race. The origin of the human race started in Gen. 4:1, "Adam knew Eve his wife: and she conceived, and bare Cain." As already mentioned, all of us can trace our ancestry all the way back to Adam. The first Adam started the human race, thus being the type of something good to come. The second Adam, started the spiritual race. He is the Lord of all the redeemed! He is the Lord Jesus Christ. I Cor. 15:21, 22, " 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." The first Adam brought sin into the world, and Christ, the second Adam, brought salvation to all men who would receive it. Adam brought spiritual death, Christ brought spiritual life. Rom. 5:19, "For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."
Rom. 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
*The first Adam was put to sleep for God’s gift, the second Adam was put to death for God’s gift. Gen. 2:21, "And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam,"
John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
*The first Adam received his bride from his side, the second Adam received His bride from His side. Gen. 2:21, 22, "And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man."
John 19:34, "But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water."
*Eve, the mother of the living, was made from the side of her husband Adam, the Church ("The Mother of us all") came from the side of her husband, Jesus Christ. When a person is saved, he or she enters into the Church through the precious blood of Jesus Christ that flowed from His side. Salvation is impossible without the saving blood of Jesus Christ. The Bible reads in Heb. 9:22, "without the shedding of blood is no remission." Jesus said in Matt. 28, "this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Luke said in Acts 20:28, "the Church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." The Apostle Paul said in Rom. 5:9, "being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved." Peter said in I Pet. 1:19, referring to our salvation, "with the precious blood of Christ." John said in I John 1:7, "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
John also said in Rev. 1:5, "Unto him that loved us; and washed us from our sins in his own blood." Jesus has paid a great price for you to be saved. He is "the way." There is no other way to make it to heaven.
*Eve, the mother of the living, was made by God to be a help mate to Adam. The Church, "the Mother of us all" was made to help Jesus in His mission to “seek and save that which is lost.” Eve was made one flesh with Adam. Gen. 2:24, "They shall be one flesh." The church is made the “body of Christ.” I Cor. 12:27, "Ye are the body of Christ." Eph. 1:21&22, "The church which is his body."
*As the mother, the church is nurturing. I can remember when I was young, my mom would nurture me. We in the church need to nurture young Christians as "babes in the Lord." We must cultivate young Christians in love.
Mom used to encourage me. We need to encourage one another. Heb. 3:13 says, "exhort one another daily." With "the devil as a roaring lion" trying to devour the Church with his greatest weapon of discouragement, we need each other’s encouragement.
Mom used to cry with me when I hurt. The Church of God needs to shed tears with the hurting members of the body. "When one has a heartache, we all share the tears."
Mom used to be happy for me when I had a victory. In the Church of God, we need to rejoice when one of our members has a victory. "And rejoice in each victory in the family so dear."
Mom always had a song to sing. The Church of God should be a singing church. We have something to sing about.
Mom used to pray for me. The Church of God should be a praying church.
There are many more things, I could say in comparison with the "mother of us all," but I believe we can plainly see that is not necessary.
In closing, I would like to ask just one question. Who is the greatest mother that has ever lived, and is still living today? For most or if not all of us, we would say that we have the greatest mother in the world, and we should think that because the fifth commandment (in the ten commandments) tells us to honor our mother, but I have to confess to you that the greatest mother is not my mother or your mother, She is the Church of the Living God" and "Mother of us all."
And She needs to be esteemed above every mother. She is beyond a shadow of a doubt, "The Greatest Mother Alive."
Gal. 4:26, "But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all."
O Church of God
Charles W. Naylor Andrew L. Byers
Verse 1
The church of God one body is,
One Spirit lives within;
And all her members are redeemed,
And triumph over sin.
Chorus
O Church of God! I love thy courts,
Thou mother of the free;
Thou blessed home of all the saved,
I dwell content in thee.
Verse 2
Divinely built, divinely ruled,
To God she doth submit;
His will her law, his truth her guide,
Her path is glory lit.
Verse 3
God sets her members each in place,
According to His will--
Apostles, prophets, teachers, all,
His purpose to fulfill.
Verse 4
Salvation is her holy walls,
The cross her sign of power;
Her captain is the mighty God,
Who guards her every hour.
Verse 5
In beauty stand, O Church of God,
With righteousness arrayed;
Put on thy strength and face thy foes
With courage undismayed.
