Will you please turn to the letter to the Ephesians, Chapter 1, verses 22 and 23.
And He put all things in subjection under His feet,
and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.
Chapter 2, beginning with verse 11:
Wherefore remember, that once ye, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called Circumcision, in the flesh, made by hands;
that ye were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
But now in Christ Jesus ye that once were far off are made nigh in the blood of Christ.
For He is our peace, who made both one, and brake down the middle wall of partition,
having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; that He might create in Himself of the two one new man, so making peace;
and might reconcile them both in one body unto God through the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
and He came and preached good tidings of peace to you that were far off, and peace to them that were nigh.
For through Him we both have our access in one Spirit unto the Father.
So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,
being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the chief cornerstone;
in whom each several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord;
in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
Let us have a word of prayer.
Lord, as we gather together here in Thy presence, we do sense that we are standing on holy ground. Lord, we want to remove our shoes, stand in the place of Thy bondslaves, and listen to Thee—to what Thou hast to say to us.
Dear Lord, we need Thy speaking. We need Thy Spirit to enlighten us, bringing us into Thy truth, that Thou mayest be glorified. We commit this time humbly into Thy hands and ask Thee to bless it. In Thy precious name, amen.
As you already know, my burden and my responsibility are to share with you, dear brothers and sisters, on the church in the eternal purpose of God.
But I feel, first of all, I have to say: we do not preach the church. We preach Christ Jesus and Him crucified.
I always remember that people say, “When you preach the church, you get the cross. But if you preach the cross, you will get the church.” And I believe it.
So I want to make it very clear that I am not preaching the church. I preach Christ Jesus and Him crucified. But I do try to explain the church.
Why? Because the church is so precious to our Lord Jesus, and we are called to be His church. We need to know who we are, what we are, and how we should be prepared to satisfy the heart of our Lord.
I think it is for this reason that we sometimes have to describe the church, in order to know where we are and what we ought to be.
The apostle Paul was writing to the saints and faithful in Ephesus. In his heart he had a burden; he had a desire. He wanted to share with the saints in Ephesus what the Lord had revealed to him concerning the church.
The reason why he had such a burden to share with them about the church was because he realized that the church is something so dear to the Lord Jesus. If you look into the heart of the Lord Jesus, you see the church.
And if the Lord loves the church so much, how we, who are the church, should know how to answer to His heart. If we do not know what the church is, we will not be able to be what the Lord wants us to be. We will not be able to please Him, to make Him satisfied.
So Paul had such a burden for the saints that they might know what the church is in God’s eternal purpose and how they should behave in order to fulfil that purpose.
From the very beginning, he began to say:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
What is the church? The church is that which is blessed by God with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. I think you cannot say more than that: every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. God has already blessed us.
We were chosen even before the foundation of the world. It is not something that just happened in time. Even before time was, before the foundation of the world, God had already chosen us in Christ Jesus.
And He chose us not merely that we might be delivered from hell. He chose us that we might stand before Him holy and without blemish in love.
Now, that is divine election. I love divine election, because when God chose us, He chose us to be holy and blameless before Him in love.
He has already marked us out for sonship—not merely that we are saved as babes in Christ, but that we may grow up and be placed as sons, to share with our Lord Jesus everything that the Father has given to Him, and to share also in His responsibility.
What a choice divine election is! And it is all according to His glory in Christ Jesus.
Not only are we redeemed by the precious blood, but we are now placed in favour with our God. We are the favoured children of God.
Not only that, but He has even made known to us the mystery of His will: that it pleased Him to make His Son the Heir of all things, and He has called us to be joint-heirs with Christ.
We have an inheritance in Christ Jesus. All the fulness of the Godhead dwelleth in Him bodily, and we are complete in Him. He is our inheritance.
God has put everything that He has and everything that He is in His Son, and He gave His Son to us as our inheritance. At the same time, He is working in us by the greatness of His power, that we too may become an inheritance to Christ Jesus.
Now, brothers and sisters, Paul tried to share with the saints in Ephesus—and I believe he is trying to share with us today—what great things God has done to us according to His grace and according to His glory.
And yet, suddenly he stopped. He could not go on. Why? Because he realized that without revelation, all that we hear will be just words. There will be no reality.
So immediately you find the apostle Paul giving himself to prayer. However eloquent Paul may have been, he sensed that this was beyond him—not only beyond him, but beyond the saints in Ephesus—to grasp the real meaning of that mystery.
So he gave himself to prayer, and he prayed that God would give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of God.
Dear brothers and sisters, the only way we can enter into the full knowledge of God is by His revelation. No matter how clever you are, you may be able to understand mentally, but that relates only to your mind; it does not affect your life.
Unless there is revelation from above, we are not able to enter into the reality of the church in the eternal purpose of God. So, brothers and sisters, as we are fellowshipping together this morning, let us look to the Lord that He will reveal what the church is to us in a living and real way.
In a sense, the church is something that you are not able to define. Even though we may say that the mystery of the Christ is the church, and that the church is the corporate expression of Christ, yet it is something that we just cannot define.
You know, in the Bible there are very few definitions, if any. Why? Because spiritual things are so infinite that it is hard to confine them to a small area.
So here you find the apostle Paul: instead of trying to define what the church is in God’s eternal purpose, he tries to describe it. Even when he tries to describe it, he finds it difficult to do so with plain words.
Therefore, he describes it with parables, metaphors, and figures of speech. You remember how our Lord Jesus, when He was on earth, spoke to the people in parables.
Parables, on the one hand, are the simplest and easiest way to explain, if you have a heart. Yet they are the most difficult things to understand if you do not have a heart.
So Paul uses different parables, metaphors, and figures of speech to explain what the church is in God’s eternal purpose. But remember one thing: these are only outward things. The real thing is what these figures of speech point to.
At the very outset, he says, “What is the church?” He says, “The church is the body of Christ.”
Where did Paul receive this revelation? On the road to Damascus. You remember that he obtained documents from the chief priests to go to Gentile cities, seize those of the Way—those who believed in Jesus Christ—bring them to Jerusalem, and condemn them.
But while he was on his way to Damascus, almost reaching the city, at noontime, suddenly there was a light brighter than the sun. It shone upon him and upon those who followed him. The light had such power that they were smitten to the ground.
Then he heard a voice:
Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? It is hard for thee to kick against the goads.
Saul said, “Who art Thou, Lord?” He knew that this One was Lord because the light was so mighty and powerful that it smote him to the ground.
Saul was a very strong person. He was a leader; he gave commands to people. Yet he met his match—more than his match. He did not know who this One was, but he knew that He was the Lord. So he said, “Lord, who art Thou?”
And the Lord said:
I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
Here, brothers and sisters, oftentimes we think that we are free, that we are our own masters, and that we can do anything we want to do. And if you are strong, not only can you be your own master, but you can be master of other people.
We do not realize that when God created us, He created us with a definite purpose. We do not realize that He is the Master of our life, and that He has a purpose for our life.
We are like an ox attached to a yoke, while the farmer guides the plough. There is a purpose: to plough the field. The farmer uses the ox to plough the field.
But oftentimes the ox does not know the mind of the master. It does not even realize that it has a master. Something attracts it, and it turns to the left or to the right.
Then the master, the farmer, uses the goad, a sharp instrument, to touch the leg of the ox gently and remind it that it has a master. But the ox is stubborn; it kicks back, and when it kicks back, it hurts itself.
Brothers and sisters, God never wants to hurt us, because He has a use for us. But sometimes He has to touch us gently with that goad. Unfortunately, we kick back and hurt ourselves.
A number of times God had used that goad on Saul. When he went into houses, seized men and women, and brought them to court; when he forced people in the synagogues to blaspheme; and when he saw how these weak men and women stood firm for the Lord—his conscience must have been touched.
Saul was a gentleman. He was a righteous person. He had a moral sense. Without doubt, his conscience must have bothered him. It was a gentle touch.
Then, when Stephen was stoned, Saul saw the whole thing. He saw the face of Stephen like the face of an angel, and he heard Stephen say, “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing, welcoming me.”
Before Stephen died, he said, “Lord, forgive them. Do not lay this sin to their charge.” Saul was there, and his conscience must have been pricked. He must have known that he had done something wrong.
But in order to put down his conscience, the Bible says he began to persecute the believers fearfully, trying to silence his conscience.
God allowed him to go just that far and no further. God met him on the road to Damascus and said, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? I am your Master. I have a purpose for your life. You are under My yoke. You are to do My work. You need to realize that.”
Saul said, “Lord, what shall I do?” He surrendered himself to the Lord.
There on the road to Damascus, he met the Lord. Jesus of Nazareth is the Lord of heaven and earth. Jesus of Nazareth is the Master of all.
But more than that, when Saul asked, “Who art Thou? I do not know Thee,” the Lord said, “I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.”
Now remember, Saul was a Pharisee. The Pharisees liked to argue. Naturally, Saul could have said, “Something must be wrong, because I have never met You before. This is the first time I meet You. You are in heaven and I am on earth. I cannot touch You.”
He had every reason to say, “Lord, I have not persecuted You.” But he did not reason, because revelation was given to him at that very moment.
On the road to Damascus, he not only saw Jesus, the Lord, the Head of all things and the Master of all; at the same time, he saw the body of Christ.
Saul did not touch the Head, but he did touch many members of the body. He persecuted the believers in Jerusalem, in Judea, and even tried to persecute them in Gentile cities. Yet the Head in heaven complained and said, “Why dost thou persecute Me?”
What a revelation that must have been: not only seeing Christ, the Head of all things, Head unto the church, but also seeing the body of Christ. We are His body.
When the Word became flesh and tabernacled among men, full of grace and truth, in the fulness of time the Son of God came into this world and took upon Himself human flesh.
In that body, He taught, and He did many good works. With that body, He was crucified. He gave up that body to be broken, that we might be united to God.
Then we remember that after three days He rose from the dead, and for forty days He appeared to His disciples. Then He ascended into heaven. When He went up, the disciples were there, looking and seeing Him go up.
But on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came down upon the one hundred and twenty, in one Spirit they were baptized into one body.
In other words, our Lord Jesus, two thousand years ago, took upon Himself a physical body, a personal body, and in that body He accomplished the work of redemption.
But now in heaven, He has taken upon Himself another body: a mystical body, a corporate body. In that corporate body, He continues to do and to teach. That is the Book of Acts, and the Book of Acts has no end, because it continues to this day.
So, brothers and sisters, this is the mystery of the church: the church is the body of Christ.
It has many members. Look at our body. We all understand our body—and yet, we do not understand it. We know we have a body, and this body has many members. But even though there are many members in the body, it is one body.
It is one body under the head, one with the head, and that makes it complete.
Our body is only a type. The reality is the body of Christ. You look at your body and find it very real; you experience it every day, every hour, every moment.
Yet remember, this physical body of ours is temporary. One day it will pass on. By the grace of God, we will take up a spiritual body, and that is forever. So even this physical body is only a symbol, an indication pointing to something.
The reality is the body of Christ. The body of Christ is more real than your own physical body, because that is the real thing.
But how do we enter into this body? The church is a living organism; it is not a man-made organization.
If it were an organization or an institution, then you could join it and become part of that institution. But to be in the body, there is only one way: to be born into it. It is a matter of life—the same life.
How do we become members of the body of Christ? Not members of an organization. The only way you can become a member of the body of Christ is to be born into it: to receive the life of our Lord Jesus.
With that life, the same life, we belong to the same body. We are, by the grace of God, the body of Christ. That is the church. It is a living organism.
When you come to this matter of the church, the most basic understanding is that it is a matter of life—not the natural life, but the life of God, the life of Christ. Christ is our life. That is the foundation of the church.
Do you realize that you are in the body of Christ? We are not talking about whether you belong to a religious or Christian organization. Do you realize that you belong to the body of Christ? You are a member of the body of Christ. Do you have that consciousness?
Now, how do we become one body? When you receive the Lord Jesus, what happens to you? So many things happen to you, not merely one thing.
When you believe in the Lord Jesus as your personal Saviour, you are born again. You are born of the Spirit. He that is born of the Spirit is spirit. When you are born of the Holy Spirit, you receive a new human spirit.
Because we are born again, we receive a new life—the life of Christ. So we can cry out to God, “Our Father.” Immediately you find there is a bond there, because you belong to God.
I often say that before we are really born again, if we are brought up in a Christian family, as I was, we pray all the time. We know how to pray. But unfortunately, when we pray, it is merely a formality. There is no living relationship with God.
As one brother said, when you say, “Our Father who art in heaven,” it sounds like, “Our father-in-law who is in heaven.” It is not real.
But when you believe in the Lord Jesus and receive the life of the Son, immediately you cry out, “Father.” It is different. You know you belong.
But more than that, you are not only born to God; you are born into the family of God. You do not realize how big a family you have.
I came from a very big family—four generations living under one roof. But that is too small. We belong to a big family. We belong to one body.
How do you know? After you believe in the Lord Jesus, not only do you find there is a living relationship between you and God, but immediately you find a bond with fellow believers.
You may not have known them before, but whenever you meet a person and find out that he is also a believer, immediately you find there is a bond between you and that person. It is even stronger than natural bonds.
Where does it come from? Because in one Spirit we were baptized into one body. We belong to the same body, the body of Christ.
Thank God, brothers and sisters, not only are you born again, but you have become a member of the body of Christ.
What is the body of Christ? What is your body? The body is the fulness of the head. All the riches of the head dwell in that body.
Who can fathom the riches of the Head, which is our Lord Jesus? All the fulness of the Godhead dwelleth in Him bodily.
All that the Head is is found in the body. That is what the church is. The church is called the fulness of Christ—the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.
In the church, in the body of Christ, you find all the unsearchable riches of Christ. That is what the church is.
Not only that: your body is the expression, the manifestation, of the head. Through the body, the head is able to express itself in its fulness.
So that is what the church is. The church is the body of Christ, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all. We are to contain, as it were, the unsearchable riches of Christ, and we are to express, manifest, demonstrate, and magnify what Christ is. That is the body.
Now, do we have such body consciousness? Are we so individualistic that it is simply “the Lord and I”?
Sometimes you hear people say, “The Lord and I—I do not care about anybody else. The Lord and I.” Very, very spiritual! No.
It is the Lord and I, but also the Lord, I, and my brothers and sisters.
I cannot forget when our dear brother Watchman Nee went to England. He visited a dear brother, the writer of Safety, Certainty, and Enjoyment, George Cutting.
At that time, aside from the Bible, that little pamphlet had one of the largest circulations. George Cutting was in his nineties and was in bed. At times he was conscious, and at other times unconscious.
When our brother visited him, he sat by his bedside waiting for him to wake up. Then George Cutting woke up, turned to our brother, and said, “I cannot do without Him, and He cannot do without me.” Then he drifted into sleep again.
He meant, “I cannot do without the Lord.” But he had such a relationship with the Lord that he could also say, “He cannot do without me.” Is that not beautiful?
Our brother came back and said, “I would have liked to go a little further: I cannot do without Him, and He cannot do without me. Thank God, I cannot do without all my brothers and sisters, and thank God, they cannot do without me.”
How true that is. We need to be delivered from that individualistic concept. We will never lose our individuality, and yet we need to be delivered from individualism.
We depend upon the Lord, and we depend upon our brothers and sisters, because we are one body. It is very important, brothers and sisters, for us to have that body consciousness.
We know that we are members in the body, and being members in the body, we need to learn how to be functioning members.
Then the apostle Paul uses another figure of speech to describe what the church is. As a background, in Chapter 2, first of all, he reminds us of our past.
When you think back to your past history, before you met the Lord, who were you? What kind of person were you? What kind of life did you live?
Paul says:
And you did He make alive, when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins,
wherein ye once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience;
among whom we also all once lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
That is where we were. We were dead in trespasses and sins. We just followed the current of the world, because we were dead. Dead fish follow the current.
Unknowingly, we were under the authority of the power of darkness in the air. We thought we were doing what we wanted to do, according to what we liked, not knowing that there was someone manipulating us. We were children of wrath.
But God, in His great mercy, because of His great love wherewith He loved us, quickened us with Christ Jesus. He raised us up with Christ Jesus, and He seated us with Christ Jesus in the heavenlies.
We are saved by grace through faith, and not of ourselves; it is the gift of God. We are God’s workmanship, created for good works, to do His will.
That is individually speaking. Then Paul puts us together, speaking corporately. We were in the old man.
In that old man, we were all divided. When sin entered into the world, division immediately followed.
Adam and Eve were divided. Before that, they were together. But when sin entered into the world, see what Adam did. Adam said, “It is that woman who made me do it.” Immediately there was division.
In the old man, there is no oneness, no unity. In the flesh, no two people absolutely agree. The flesh divides; sin divides.
Of all the divisions in the world, the greatest is the division between the Gentiles and the Jews. There is not only the division of race and culture; there is also the distinction of religion.
The Jews were the chosen people of God. They had God’s promises, covenant, and Word. They looked down upon the nations: “You are Gentiles, outside the commonwealth of Israel, outside the covenant of God, without hope. You are far away; we are near.”
In the days of Paul, the Jews and Gentiles were so divided. There was no fellowship. The Jews looked down upon the Gentiles and said, “You are unclean.” The Gentiles also looked down upon the Jews and hated them.
Even in the temple, the Gentiles could come to the court of the Gentiles, but there were signs everywhere: “Thus far, no further, on penalty of death.”
Yet, brothers and sisters, the Lord did a wonderful work by His blood. In His flesh, He took away this wall of partition. He brought the Jews and Gentiles into one, making peace with God and with each other, that together they might approach God as one new man.
Formerly, we belonged to the old man, Adam. In Adam we die; in Adam we are divided. But now we are in Christ, the new man. We are one.
If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new. But all things are of God.
So, dear brothers and sisters, what is the church? The church is the one new man.
New—everything is new. By the grace of God, we have put off the old man and all the corrupted things of the old man. By the grace of God, we have put on the new man, recreated according to Christ.
Everything old has passed away. Only the new remains.
That is why you find in Colossians 3:
There cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman: but Christ is all, and in all.
What is the church? The church is the one new man. In the church, you do not have Jews. You have Jews outside the church, but in the church there is no Jew, because before you enter into the church, the cross has crossed out the Jew.
In the church there is no Gentile. The cross has crossed out the Gentile. In the church there is no Chinese. In the world, you have Chinese—lots of Chinese everywhere! But in the church, no Chinese.
If you find any Chinese in the church, the Chinese has followed the church. We should not see each other in the natural, old way.
When I first came to this country, I met with many brothers and sisters—many Caucasian Americans—and we served together. But oftentimes, when we were serving together, a brother would say, “Now, this is not our American way.”
Ah, American! And you are Chinese? So you know what I said: “In the church, there is no American way, no Chinese way, but God’s way.”
We should forget our natural distinctions, our cultural distinctions, our religious backgrounds, our racial distinctions, and our social distinctions.
It is hard. I remember in Shanghai, when we had the Lord’s Table, our dear brother Watchman Nee was helping us. There was a dear brother who loved Brother Nee very much. He said, “I like this brother so much that every day I work at his desk.”
But when he entered the meeting hall, he always looked to see where Brother Nee was sitting, and then he would sit far away from him. He said, “I am his servant; he is my master. I cannot sit by him.”
Brother Nee would always come and sit by him. No master, no servant—all are one in Christ Jesus. Wonderful! One new man. This is what the church is.
Therefore, do not bring the old into the church. Everything is new. Everything is of God.
Paul feels that he still has not fully described the church, so he uses three further metaphors. He says, “We are no longer strangers or foreigners; we are fellow-citizens with the saints.”
Brothers and sisters, we all know that we who are the Lord’s are pilgrims and strangers in this world. Even if you were born in America, after you are saved, you are a pilgrim and a stranger in an alien land.
The world is under the usurpation of the wicked one. We do not belong. We are strangers, pilgrims, and sojourners.
But thank God, He has given us something better. In Colossians 1, we are told that He has delivered us out of the authority of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.
When you believe in the Lord Jesus, there is a transfer. God has transferred you, translated you, out of the kingdom of darkness. You do not belong to this world or to the authority of darkness anymore. He has delivered you and placed you in the kingdom of the Son of His love.
Your citizenship is in heaven, and we are fellow-citizens. We come under the rule of heaven.
As pilgrims and strangers, we respect the laws of the land in which we sojourn, and yet we are under a higher rule—the rule of the heavenly King. We are fellow-citizens, and we need to encourage one another to keep the rule of heaven.
But not only that: there is a closer relationship. We are of the household of God. We belong to one family. The church is a family.
The church is not a court. In a court, you have to argue and reason things out and see who wins the argument. But in the church, being a family, it is not a court. It is a matter of love. That is what the church is.
Not only that, the apostle Paul says that you are not only the household of God, but you are being built to be the house of God.
We are living stones, but not merely living stones or precious stones exhibited in a museum. We are living stones, precious stones, to be built up together into a habitation of God—a place in which God will be pleased to dwell and feel comfortable.
The foundation is the twelve apostles, the twelve stones. In the New Jerusalem, the foundation stones are twelve precious stones representing the twelve apostles. They are all different, but they all speak of Christ, not of themselves.
Christ Himself is the cornerstone that joins the whole building together. He is also the topstone: “Grace, grace unto it.”
Brothers and sisters, this is what the church is. The church is not a big building on some corner of the street. The church is built with living stones such as we are.
Through the dealings and discipline of the Holy Spirit, all the trash, dirt, and impurities are being cleaned and cleared out. What is left is Christ—the precious stone—being built together.
Now, brothers and sisters, do you realize that you are being built together with your brothers and sisters? Or do you think it is much safer if you keep your brothers and sisters at a distance?
The longer you become a Christian, the cleverer you are. When you first believe in the Lord Jesus, you plunge yourself into the midst of your brothers and sisters. Oh, you love every one of them. Every one is precious to you.
Then comes rubbing, striking against each other, fire. Ah, you learn a lesson: keep a distance.
At ten o’clock, you arrive at ten o’clock sharp; five minutes late, there is grace. Sit for an hour, say goodbye—very safe. No beauty, no building work going on.
But that is not what the church is. The church is God gathering the called-out ones together under the authority of the name of our Lord Jesus.
What is gathering together? Gathering together means being together: close to one another, fellowshipping with one another, serving the Lord together.
While we are close, intimate, and near to one another, no doubt we will rub against each other. We all have corners. We are hurt—but do not forget, you hurt others too.
By this rubbing, our corners are smoothed, and we are able to be fitted together. Does that happen to you? If it does not happen to you, something is tremendously wrong. You are not living in the church.
The church is very real. I often hear people say, “In this world there is no peace. The only peaceful place is the church.” Try it!
It is in the church that you learn what peace really is. The peace of God guards your heart and mind.
Then the apostle Paul feels that this is still not enough. People still do not grasp what the church really is. So he goes a giant step further and comes to Ephesians 5.
He says, “What is the mystery of the Christ?” It is the mystery of the husband and wife.
Christ is the Husband. He is the Head of the wife and also the Saviour of the body. He loves the church and gave Himself for it.
He purifies the church by the washing of water with the Word, that the church may be purified and sanctified, becoming blameless and presented to Him as His bride, holy and without blemish.
The church, as the bride, as the wife, learns to submit to the Head in love in all things.
He says, “This mystery is great: but I speak in regard of Christ and of the church.” What is the church? The church is the bride.
God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helpmeet for him.” God loves His beloved Son so much that He says, “It is not good for Him to be alone. I want to give Him a helpmeet.”
But that helpmeet has to be His like—just like Him. Then she can truly meet Him.
That is the reason why, brothers and sisters, He came to save us. That is the reason why He works in our lives: to bring us to be His like.
Then, one day, He is coming for His bride.
What are we waiting for? You look at the world: there is no hope. The world is not getting better; it is getting worse. How bad it can be! It cannot be much worse than it is today.
Where is our blessed hope? Our blessed hope is the coming of the Bridegroom. One day the Bridegroom will come, and that is the day we are waiting for.
Brothers and sisters, being so, are we as chaste virgins? Paul said, “I espoused you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ.”
Do we keep our chastity? Do we live in expectation that we shall be joined to Him forever? Are we ready and prepared to meet the Bridegroom?
Why is it that our Lord has delayed? No bridegroom usually delays a wedding. The bridegroom is always already there; it is the bride who does not come.
As far as I know, there was only one person who did the opposite. I think it was a great-grandfather or grandfather of one of the Taylors; I forget which.
When he was a young man, he was a careless young believer. But on the morning of his marriage, he woke up and said, “I am going to be married. Wow, that is a big responsibility!”
So he went to the field to pray. He prayed and prayed and prayed, until he forgot the time. After he finished praying, suddenly he remembered that it was the day of his marriage.
The bride was waiting. Everybody was waiting. They wondered where the bridegroom was. So he hurriedly ran to the old church building and got married.
Then, at night, before they went to bed, he told his new bride, “Kneel down and pray.” The bride said, “What? What is it? Has something happened?”
Brothers and sisters, thank God, for generations that family served God. Now, that is the only Caucasian I know who did the opposite!
Why is it that our Lord has not come back yet? Because the bride is not ready.
Finally, Paul says, “Well, that is good enough.” When you think of the church, it is such a great thing, so much in the heart of God.
So finally, in Chapter 6, he says, “What is the church?” The church is like a warrior.
There is another dimension. The church has a mission. The church is to stand against the wiles of the enemy, the opposition of the enemy, and to stand in order to bring to pass the purpose of God. That is the mission of the church.
Do we know that we are involved in spiritual warfare? If we do not realize that there is warfare going on, we will not be able to explain anything.
In the unseen world, there is a fierce conflict going on concerning whether the purpose of God will be fulfilled. The enemy is trying his best to oppose, to hinder, to delay, and to push back.
It is the responsibility of the church to apply the victory of Christ over every situation and bring the purpose of God into being—to bring back the King and His kingdom.
Ah, that is the church. So may the Lord help us. Shall we pray?