[Biblemat] S) THE GLORIOUS CHURCH

[J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com]

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  Here is a study from my
recent files.  Use to the glory of God.

THE GLORIOUS CHURCH

     "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the
church, and gave Himself up for it; that He might sanctify it,
having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, that
He might present it unto Himself a glorious church, not hav-
ing spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without 
blemish..."  (Read all of Eph. 5:25-32).

     In an age when the church is quite often considered to be
unnecessary and unimportant, it is good to go back again to
the language of the Holy Scriptures to find the value of the 
church which Jesus Christ places on it.  The church (Greek,
"ekklesia" or "called out" ) is composed of those who are de-
livered out of the darkness of sin and into the light of the
righteousness of God: "Who delivered us out of the power of
darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of
His love; in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness
of our sins" (Col. 1:13,14).  These members of that church
have been saved by faith through the gospel.  "the power of
God unto salvation" (Rom. 1:16).  Those members are "called
to be saints" (1 Cor. 1:2).  Having heard the gospel of Christ,
they are led to be baptized into Christ (Rom. 6:3) for the remi-
ssion of their sins (Acts 2:38), as the Lord promised: "He that
believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mk. 16:16).

     Jesus had promised, "I will build My church" (Matt. 16:18).
And the apostle Paul, in our text, refers to that church as "a
glorious church."  The word "glorious" is defined as: "Exhibi-
ting attributes, or having qualities or acts that deserve glory;
praiseworthy; splendid" (Webster).  Now, what is there about
that church that makes it "a glorious church"?  Let us notice
some basic gospel truths about that church which truly makes it "a glorious 
church."

The PRICE Of That Church: -- The apostle Paul, to the elders
of the church in Ephesus, said: "Take heed unto yourselves,
and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you
bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which He purchased
with His own blood" (Acts 20:28).  In our text above, Eph. 5:
25, the Bible says, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the 
church, and gave Himself up for it."
There could be no higher price than this!  The Son of God 
gave His life, His blood, for that church.

     The value of something is determined by what price one is
willing to pay for it.  Thus, an article priced so high it will not
sell is priced above its value.  If you are willing to pay $15,000
for an automobile, that is the value you place on it.  Now, what value does 
the Lord Jesus place on His church?  What
price did He pay for it?

     What is salvation worth?  Jesus asks, "For what shall a 
man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his
own soul? or wht shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
(Matt. 16:26).  What is your salvation worth to you?  The Bible says, "Ye 
were bought with a price" (1 Cor. 6:20), and
Peter shows what that price is: "Knowing that ye were redeemed, not with 
corruptible things, with silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down 
from your fathers
but with precious blood, as of a lamb without spot, even the
blood of Christ" (1 Pet. 1:18,19).  The same blood that redee-
ms you from sin was the purchase price of the church.

     The cost of the church is the cost of salvation -- and Jesus paid for 
both by the shedding of His blood on the cross.  To answer the question, then, 
"What is your soul
worth?" is to answer the question, "What is the church worth?"  Christ 
established the value of the church by the 
price which He was willing to pay for it.  It is a glorious church because of 
the price He paid for it.

The HEAD Of That Church: -- Many nations have been consid-
ered great simply because of the head of that government.  A
large corporation is often great because of the man who heads it.  What about 
the church?  Who is head of it?  The
Scriptures say that God "put all things in subjection under
His (Christ's) feet, and gave Him to be Head over all things to
the chruch, which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth
all in all" (Eph. 1:22,23).  Again, the Bible shows that Jesus is
the Head of the church: "For the husband is the head of the
wife, as Christ also is the Head of the church, being Himself
the Savior of the body" (Eph. 5:23).

     Some may say, "But we need a head of the church here on
earth to direct us, to intercede for us to God and interpret the
Bible for us."  If the church had an earthly head, this would
detract from its glory.  The Bible says, "Our citizenship is in
heaven" (Phil. 3:20), so that is where our "Head" belongs.  To
try to give the Headship of the church to someone else, to 
have an earthly head, is to take the preeminence from Christ:
"And He is the head of the body, the church, Who is the begin-
ning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might
have the preeminence" (Col. 1:18).  Christ allows for no other
head of His church.

     You will notice, too, that the church is here described as
"the body of Christ."  Many seem to think "which church"
makes no difference.  But the Bible says that there are "many
members, but one body" (1 Cor. 12:20).  And Jesus Christ is
the Head of that "one body."  A body without a head would be
dead, a body with more than one head would be a monstros-
ity.  But a body with a perfect head would be a glorious body.
And the church about which we read in the Bible is a glorious
church because Christ is its Head.

The BUILDER Of That Church: -- The prophets of old foretold
that the "house of God" would be built in Jerusalem: "And it
sahll come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of the
Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains
and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow
unto it.  And many peoples shall go and say, Come ye, and let
us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and 
He will teach us of His ways, and we will
walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and
the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Isa. 2:2,3).  Of what 
was the prophet speaking?  Let God answer: "The house of
God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and
ground of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15).  And a firm principle is 
stated in Psa. 127:1, "Except the Lord build the house, they
labor in vain that build it."

     Now, whose job was it to build the church?  Many seem to
think it makes no difference who built the church they are in.
But Jesus said, "I will build My church" (Matt. 16:18).  Only
the Lord Jesus Christ had a right to build it, and He did.  No
one has the right to "alter the blueprint" of the church:  "But
though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you
any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let
him be anathema" (Gal. 1:8).  In fact, no one else has any
authority with regard to that church, only Jesus Christ.  He
stated clearly, "All authority hath been given unto me" (Matt.
28:18).

     Had I built the church, I probably would have built it differ-
ent from what it is.  Had you built it, it would not be just what
it is.  But the job was not left to us.  God's own Son has done
the building job.  He drew the plans, He gave the apostles 
power to carry out those plans (Acts 1:8).  We have no right
to "disannul, or add thereto" (Gal. 3:15).  This is one "build-
ing program" that was done right.  No alterations were need-
ed after the construction was begun -- nor are any alterations
needed now!

The MEMBERS Of That Church: -- The church is composed
of those who are saved by the blood of Christ, bought with
His blood (Acts 20:28).  When the apostles,as Jesus had told
them and empowered them, preached the gospel for the first time after His 
death and resurrection, people asked: "What
shall we do?"  The Lord answered by the mouth of Peter,
"Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name
of Jesus Christ, unto the remission of your sins" (Acts 2:38).
We then read, "They then that received his word were baptiz-
ed: and there were added unto them in that day about three
thousand souls" (Acts 2:41).  Then we read in vs, 47m "The
Lord added to the church daily such as were being saved."
When people are "washed, sanctified, justified" (1 Cor. 6:11),
it is because they are "bought with a price" (vs. 20) -- the blood of Jesus 
Christ.  Conversely, when people are bought
with the blood of Christ, they are sanctified, washed and justi-
fied -- and the Lord Jesus Christ adds them to His "glorious
church."

     To the churches of Galatia, the apostle Paul wrote, "For ye
are all sons of God, through faith in Christ Jesus.  For as 
many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ"
(Gal. 3:26,27).  The "glorious church" of the Lord is compos-
ed of all those who are children of God.  Just as Jesus prom-
ised, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mk.
16:16), the passage above (Gal. 3) shows that it is through
faith that we are "baptized into Christ" where we then become
children of God.

     Just as one "purifies the soul by obedience to the truth"
(1 Pet. 1:22), members of His church continue to obey "as
children of obedience" (1 Pet. 1:14).  Those whom the Lord adds to His church 
have an obligation to walk in obedience
at all times.  Some will object that members of His body still
commit sin.  And this is true, for all of us sin (Rom. 3:23; 1 Jno. 1:8).  
But the church of Christ is made up of people who
recognize their sinful state and rely on the blood of Jesus to
cleanse them: "If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we
have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus His
Son cleanseth us from all sin.  If we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 Jno. 1:7,
8).

The DESTINY Of That Church: -- Glory is determined by the
future destiny or purpose or reward -- whether of people or
nations.  This is a "glorious nation" in which we live, because
of the part the U.S.A. has played in world affairs and the free-
dom offered its citizens.  The church of Jesus Christ is a glor-
ious church because of its destiny.  Notice our text says, 
"That He might present the church to Himself a glorious church" (Eph. 5:27).  
This has reference to a bride's present-
ation to a husband (Rev. 21:2).  The Bible says that we are 
"espoused to one husband...to Christ" (2 Cor. 11:2).  To be 
married to Christ, to live with Him forever in heaven, in the
presence of God, the Father -- this is the destiny of that "glor-
ious church."

     In Matt. 15, Jesus said of the unbelieving Jews, "But in vain do they 
worship Me, Teaching as their doctrines the pre-
cepts of men" (vs. 9).  Then four verses later: "Every plant
which My heavenly Father planted not, shall be rooted up."
Those churches built (or, planted) by the ideas and the efforts of men will 
be rooted up.  But the church which is bought with the blood of Jesus, built by 
Him and of which He
is the Head, has eternity with Him as its destiny.  It is "a glori-
ous chruch."  Dear reader, why not leave man-made churches
and be a part of HIS church?  ------ Clem Thurman in Gospel
Minutes, Vol. 56, No. 41, Oct. 12, 2007.   </HTML>
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