The Bible contains many descriptive images of the church. In many people’s minds, the church today is not something that engenders admiration, much less a positive influence. If not ridiculed for hypocrisy and pride, it is at least ignored by too many, or so it seems, by those on the outside. But for those who understand her true identity, she is admired and loved for the beauty accorded her by the Lord. After all, it is to Jesus that we should look for her true identity and character, not to those whom He has called to Himself and is in the process of sanctifying.
Among those images of the church in the Bible are such marvelous pictures of the church as Jesus’ sheep (the flock of His pasture over which He is the Good Shepherd), His Body (of which He is the Head), a temple (in which He is the chief cornerstone), and perhaps most beautiful of all, the church as his bride (for whom He is the Groom). Some have identified as many as 100 images of the church in Scripture. Many of these are found in the hymnody of the church, so that in singing of her, believers are acknowledging and celebrating her spiritual DNA. Several of these images are drawn together most lyrically in the hymn, “We Are God’s People,” written in 1976 by Bryan Jeffery Leech (1931-2015).
Leech was born in Middlesex, England, and spent more than half of his life in the United States, coming to the States in 1955 after serving in the Royal Army and studying at London Bible College. He continued his education at Barrington College and later North Park Seminary. After having been ordained to the ministry in 1961 in the Evangelical Covenant Church, he served Covenant congregations in Boston, Montclair (New Jersey), San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Oakland. He died in 2015 in California. In addition to his pastoral duties, Leech was a member of the commission that prepared “The Covenant Hymnal” (1973) and was assistant editor for “Hymns for the Family of God” (1976), which contains many compositions by the Gaithers.
Leech did not begin writing hymns until his mid-thirties, and he went on to compose more than five hundred hymns, songs, anthems, and cantatas. He won a hymn-writing contest in 1973 for his hymn “Let God Be God.” One of his most popular is “We Are God’s People.” He shared the background story behind the writing of that hymn.
We had at that time very few popular hymns relating to the church. So on a gray, smoggy morning at a friend’s office in Southern California, I decided to work toward remedying this lack by writing one of my own. The day was the 4th of July, 1975. I sat at a typewriter in his office and I did not get up until I had written all four verses. The result was “We Are God’s People.” It turned out to be the favorite of all my hymn texts. I loved singing it and I like especially the mixture of the metaphors in it, some biblical and some my own, which illustrate the true nature of the church. “We are a temple, the Spirit’s dwelling place, formed in great weakness, a cup to hold God’s grace; we die alone, for on its own each ember loses fire: yet joined in one flame burns on to give warmth and light, and to inspire.”
In today’s American culture, increasing attention is being given to matters related to “identity.” This has become one of the primary “flash-points” in what is often called “Woke” political and social issues. It is a recent phenomenon that has dominated much commentary and instruction (which has actually become indoctrination!) that refers to an awakening to the perceived injustices in not only racial matters (as with the “Black Matters Matter” movement), but in all spheres of life. It has become one of the key factors that, in combination with intersectionality (the combination of ethnic, educational, geographical and sexual influences in each person’s life) leads to a belief that there is always a power struggle between “the oppressed and the oppressors” and produces a deep-seated belief in victimization and a Marxist approach to overthrowing those systems that are producing that oppression.
A part of this new trend has been the insistence that each individual has the right to adopt their own identity, and that it is a case of criminal “hate speech” when anyone challenges that self-imposed “identity.” This is evident in the entirely new matter of transgenderism, for example, when a biological male chooses to “identify” as a female, and enters sports competition based on the newly embraced identity. It carries over into the whole field of anti-binary absurdity that is now claiming that there are 58 (or more!) genders one can choose to adopt. Consider the obvious farcicality of a recent on-line advertisement of a T-shirt with a rainbow and the words, “There are 58 genders,” with an order form in which the customer’s selection must choose between only male and female! Two of the most helpful resources to understand the errors of our culture and the biblical truth we must earnestly defend are recent books by Carl Trueman and Voddie Baucham.
And that’s where Leech’s hymn reflects part of a biblical world and life view that rejects such ridiculous self-ism in the matter of personal identity. A Christian’s identity is not found in any self or culturally imposed quality, but rather in the identity God has assigned. This is not only true of sexuality. It is true in the simple logic in every factor about each individual. We are who God made us to be. And most importantly, our primary identity is not our ethnic background, educational status, vocational activity, or anything else, but rather our identity is that we are children of God, priests in a royal priesthood, members of the body of Christ, and part of the bride of Christ! This hymn by Leech celebrates our true identity, along with the implications for daily living that flow from that.
Another way of considering this identity issue is to ask ourselves, “Who does God think I am?” And the wonderful answer is that He sees me as an adopted child, redeemed by the blood of Jesus, eternally and inseparably joined to Christ, and a citizen forever of heaven, awaiting the full inheritance purchased for me at Calvary to be granted to me at the moment of my death as I enter into the state of glorification. That’s who I am! This hymn reminds me of my identity in Christ as part of the church.
In stanza 1, we are God’s people, His chosen ones. This is based on the imagery in 1 Peter 2:9, that the community of faith is built on the foundation of Christ (“our cornerstone is Christ alone”), and that by God’s call and election those who are in the church are declared to be a race, a people, a royal priesthood. What a lofty description! Leech looks beyond the identity we have as the Lord’s people, to call us to “live transparently.” By this he most likely means that we ought to be cultivating an attitude of heart and mind toward one another that demonstrates our spiritual connection to one another as well as to the Lord. In that attitude, we ought then to “walk heart to heart and hand to hand.”
We are God’s people, the chosen of the Lord,
Born of his Spirit, established by His Word;
Our cornerstone is Christ alone, and strong in Him we stand:
O let us live transparently, and walk heart to heart and hand to hand.
In stanza 2, we are God’s loved ones, the Bride of Christ. This continues to build on the 1 Peter imagery, painting a magnificent picture of the church’s highly honored status. In this instance, it is one of both beauty and deep affection. As one minister used to say, “I’ve never seen an ugly bride.” As the bride of Christ, we may not feel lovely, but in His sight we are truly beautiful. And we are cherished by the Father who chose us for His Son, as well as by the Son Himself as the groom in this eternal relationship. Once again Leech calls believers to consider how we ought to regard one another with a love that is like His love for us, sharing our joys and cares, and pleasing Him.
We are God’s loved ones, the Bride of Christ our Lord,
For we have known it, the love of God outpoured;
Now let us learn how to return the gift of love once giv’n:
O let us share each joy and care, and live with a zeal that pleases heav’n.
In stanza 3, we are His Body, with the Lord as Head. This highlights the church’s character by using the biblical imagery of the human body. It is composed of many diverse parts, each different from the others and each with its own unique and essential contribution to the health and function of the whole. And whether our part is that of a hand or knee or finger or foot, we are all to be increasingly guided by Christ as the Head. In that role, He not only exercises control, giving directions to each member, but also watching out for the well-being of each member. The application of that character is that as “a family, diverse yet truly one,” we are to exercise our spiritual gifts by giving not only to one another, but most importantly to Him.
We are the Body of which the Lord is Head,
Called to obey Him, now risen from the dead;
He wills us be a family, diverse yet truly one:
O let us give our gifts to God, and so shall His work on earth be done.
In stanza 4, we are the temple in which the Spirit dwells. This points us toward 1 Corinthians 3:16, that the church is more than community and that she serves as God’s temple in human form, the place where God’s Spirit dwells within each of us individually, but also collectively. We acknowledge that we have been “formed in great weakness,” but that God has made us strong to serve Him in Christ. Here Leech has drawn from that familiar analogy of an ember in a fire that gradually dies when by itself, but is rekindled to burn with light and heat once again when brought back to the rest in a single fire. We have many opportunities to do that today, from Lord’s Day corporate worship to small group Bible study and family devotions.
We are a temple, the Spirit’s dwelling place,
Formed in great weakness, a cup to hold God’s grace;
We die alone, for on its own each member loses fire:
Yet joined in one the flame burns on to give warmth and light, and to inspire.
The tune SYMPHONY is an arrangement of the opening theme from the fourth movement of Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C minor. Brahms began writing this work in 1855, but the first movement was not completed until 1862. For unknown reasons, Brahms did not return to the work until the summer of 1874. While the work was completed in September 1876, Brahms continued to make minor revisions until its premiere performance in Karlsruhe, Germany, on November 4, 1876. Leech himself recommended the adaptation of the Brahms’ theme as the hymn tune because of its musical strength and the singability of the melody. Composer Fred Bock (1939-1998) did the actual arrangement of the tune. The use of classical melodies as hymn tunes was common in the nineteenth century. The present arrangement is one of the relatively few examples of such adaptations in the late twentieth century.
Here is the song as sung gloriously with congregation, choir, orchestra, and organ.