PREPARING THE CHURCH TO MEET HER LORD

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom." (Matthew 25:1 NIV)

The church as the bride of Christ

In my view, the most lustrous image of the church was painted by the Lord in Matthew 25. In this parable, the Lord revealed the church as a bride who is eagerly awaiting the appearing of her Lord. Thus, the parable paints a picture of the coming of the Lord and the rapture of the church. In these last days, we ought to be stressing the image of the church as the bride of Christ. 

The eminent Apostle Paul also came with a revelation depicting the church as a chaste virgin who has been espoused to Christ. He taught the early Christians to live their lives as a chaste virgin who is espoused to one husband. 

"I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him." (2 Cor 11:2 NIV)

Being saved means that you have died to the law and have been made free from its authority over you. You have been raised to life again and are free to be married to Christ.

"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God." (Rom 7:4 KJV)

The Lord's ultimate goal is to present the church to himself on the day of the marriage feast in heaven as a radiant bride, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish but holy and blameless. 

"And to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." (Eph 5:27 NIV)

A radiant bride contextually means a bride who is glowing with a sense of being loved and cared for, beaming with happiness. This implies that she is ready and eager to be married. 

The eminent Apostle John foresaw the glory of the Lamb's wife in his heavenly vision in the book of Revelation. When he saw her, she had made herself ready, having put on her beautiful white gown. 

" 'Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.' (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)" (Rev 19:7‭-‬8 NIV)

Your acts of righteousness and total separation from the world to the Lord's purposes, give evidence of your readiness and eagerness to be married to the Lord. 

The role of church leaders in preparing the church to meet her Lord

By this message, church leaders are being called upon to own the vision of building a church whose members have Christ richly formed in them and are prepared as a radiant bride for the second advent of Christ. 

Church leaders are models of reality to Christians. As models of reality, we must lead by example to show the Christians under our care that we ourselves are ready and eager to meet the Lord. 

We have seen that the Lord's ultimate goal is to present the church to himself as a radiant bride. What are our roles as stewards of this mystery of God?

1. Train and empower Christians under your care to love the Lord and obey his commands. 

2. Train and empower Christians under your care to love the Holy Spirit and to continually enjoy intimacy with him. 

3. Train and empower Christians under your care to be righteousness conscious but not sin conscious; heavenly minded but not earthly minded.  

4. Train and empower Christians under your care to serve one another in love by sharing their possessions. 

5. Train and empower Christians under your care to live a life wholly devoted to the purposes of God. 

6. Train and empower Christians under your care to witness to the Lord with energy, fire and heat, thus, eschewing lukewarmness in missions work. 

7. Teach, guide, inspire, encourage and motivate Christians toward acts of compassion, doing beautiful works as expressions of love. 

In sum, you must live your life as a radiant bride who is eagerly awaiting the glorious appearing of her Lord. 


#Verity Haven

Comments

  1. Sage WordApril 24, 2023 at 2:34 AM

    Sage Voice is the Voice of the risen and glorified Lord to the churches and to the world.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousApril 24, 2023 at 6:49 AM

      Thank you 💕

      Delete
    2. Sage WordApril 26, 2023 at 2:31 PM

      We appreciate your comment and look forward to having a lasting fellowship with you.

      Delete
  2. Leticia Fuah OkotahApril 25, 2023 at 1:08 PM

    Wow! Amazing realities

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sage WordApril 26, 2023 at 2:32 PM

      Thank you Leticia. We appreciate your comment and look forward to having a lasting fellowship with you.

      Delete

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