When the Apostle Paul talks about the church, he speaks of her as a purified body. Take these words from Ephesians 5:27: “…so that he [Jesus] might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” Although Paul is very aware of the fallen nature of the people of the church, he is able to talk so highly of the universal church because he knows the work that Christ has done to justify and sanctify her.
When I come to these passages in Scripture, many times I ask myself, “Do we think of the church this way? Do we have in mind that Christ will present us to himself in splendor? How can such a hypocritical, sinful bunch be so glorified as Paul’s letters describe?”
I believe 1 Peter 2:9 has that answer. It reads, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” We have been called, that we may be set apart to proclaim God’s praise. Our God seeks his own glory, and has graciously called us, through Christ, to partake with the heavenly host in glorifying the excellencies of his character. When we sing songs like “Glorious Day” and proclaim, “Death could not hold him, the grave could not keep him, from rising again” we are living out the divine plan which God has ordained for the church.
This morning as we worshipped together as the body of Christ, I couldn’t help but think that God was pleased with what he heard. There is something to say about personal devotional time, but to worship corporately as a church is to magnify the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 1:23). In this “already, not yet” age that we live, we Christians need to remember that we are justified before God. That means, in a court of law, God declares us righteous on the basis of Jesus’ blood. And the church stands in glorious testimony to the mercies of God in our lives. When Christ returns, he will not begrudgingly take his bride as his wife, but will rejoice as an earthly husband does over his bride.
“He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). God has promised to put the church on display for himself. Let’s believe that he will accomplish his purposes.
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