Weekly Pursuit – Week 2 of July
Verses:
Eph. 5:26-27 “That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word, that He might present the church to Himself glorious….”
Excerpts:
On the day of his wedding, a bridegroom cares much more for the beauty of his bride than for her ability. In like manner, in the church life our beauty will eventually be much more important to the Lord than our function. At the beginning of the church life, we may emphasize ability and function. But eventually, we will place more emphasis on beauty…Do not pay that much attention to becoming capable, qualified, and gifted in function. At first, this may count for something in the church life. But eventually, the Lord will show us that what He cares for is not our ability; He cares for the beauty of Himself expressed through our humanity. Christ does not intend to present a capable church to Himself. The church that will be presented to Him will be glorious and beautiful, a church without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. If our blemishes and imperfections are to be removed, we need to take in more and more of Christ. He should not simply energize us for our function but also beautify us that we may be His bride.
The church is being beautified by partaking of Christ, by digesting Christ, and by assimilating Christ! The more we experience the indwelling Christ in this way, the more He will replace our spots and wrinkles with His element, and the more His riches with the divine attributes will become our beauty. Then we will be prepared to be presented to Christ as His lovely bride. (Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 95)
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