That He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

 The Church:

 

            No spot or wrinkle – holy and blameless:

 

Ephesians 5:27

27     that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

     

            Does the Church have glory? Does it look spotless without any wrinkle or any such thing? How about holy and blameless? That means that God is still working on her, and us. He’s not finished with the Church or us. He hasn’t given up on her or us either. Together we will be a glorious Church, holy and blameless before Christ returns. What will it take for the Church to become this? How about more time? She’s had almost 2,000 years to get it right. How will more time alone make any difference? Sometimes it takes great pressure for us as individuals to make changes in our lives. Maybe it will take some great pressure for the Church to make the necessary changes to become what this verse foresees.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "I have chosen My Church to fulfill all that I have spoken about My people. I have chosen her to be great in the earth, and not to fail. I have chosen My people to fulfill all that is written for them. They are to take control of the things of the earth and to not be downtrodden. They are to walk in white with Me and not the sin-stained way of the world. They are more than conquerors over all the wiles of the devil. He will not tear down My Church for she is more powerful through Me than he could ever imagine. She will not fail, for I will not fail. She will prevail in the end. She must take her rightful place in the world. She is to command respect and to not be unfruitful. She is My glory, and I will not be undermined by anyone or anything. She is My glory and the glory of My Son. She will not walk in unrighteousness but in holiness … spotless and unblemished.”

 

            100. I am a member of the Church which Christ will present to Himself in all her glory. We will have no spot or wrinkle or any such thing. We will be holy and blameless.

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?

                                                                          Chapter 9

 

All Together

 

             God did not predestine us to be Lone Rangers. He destined us to become a part of a much bigger whole … to work together for the good of all. We have to become others minded, not us minded. When we do, then we will all come to maturity and His body will be built up into the beautiful temple that He desires.

 

Body:

 

            Members of Christ’s body:

 

1 Corinthians 6:15

15     Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be!

     

1 Corinthians 12:27

27     Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.

 

            We are members of Christ’s body. We can’t go it alone … we need other Christians to take up our slack. They also need us. We can’t look down on someone who doesn’t seem to be contributing anything to the body. We don’t know how they are being used by God; only He does. They also can’t look down on us. “But I’m not doing anything”, you may say. Maybe you are, but to you it seems like nothing. Or perhaps God is still training you for something in the future. Be open to however God directs you to become what the rest of the body needs.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You are part of My Son’s body. You are special to me. You are all needed to make His body complete. There is no one who is not needed. Everyone has his own special contribution to make. Everyone is important. My people need to take their rightful place in the world. I have a job for each one of you to do. You are to help make My body complete.”

 

            99. I am a member of Christ’s body. That means that I need the other members of His body and they need me to be complete. I am needed no matter what anyone else says or thinks.

“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

 Way you judge, you’ll be judged:

 

Matthew 7:12

12     “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

 

Mark 4:24

24     And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides.

     

 

 

Mark 4:25

25     “For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”

 

            We’re supposed to care for others the way we want them to care for us. It doesn’t say that when they treat us the way we want, then we are to treat them right. We’re to do it first; even if they never do. Once we have done what we’ve been instructed, then it’s God’s responsibility to take care of the rest. We’re also supposed to be careful what we listen to. When we pay attention to the bad things someone says about another without hearing their side of the story, we are in danger of being judged the same way. Don’t you know that if they’re talking about someone else to you, that they will talk about you to someone else? Or if they don’t, some other person will. We will also be judged on what we do with what God gives to us (it’s not just talking about money). If you try to hoard what He’s given, even if it’s just a little bit, that little bit will eventually be taken away from us.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "Do not look down on your brothers and sisters. You have no right to judge their actions. Only I have that right, and I have given that right to My Son. You do not know all the circumstances in their lives, so you cannot judge properly. I have not given you the right to judge them, and you should avoid it at all costs. I will bring about judgment at the proper time and in the proper manner. It is not for you to choose the time nor the manner of My judgment. Trust in Me. I will do what is necessary at the proper time. It is not for you to decide what the proper judgment is. You do not want them to judge you, do you? So, let them alone. I will take care of them at the proper time.”

 

            98. I will treat people the way Jesus wants me to; I will not listen to those things that are not pleasing unto Him; I will not judge others; and I will use whatever I have been given to the glory of God.

 

            We are destined to be held accountable. How would you stack up if God held court today? Would He say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant”, or would He say, “Oops”?

By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the Day of Judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.

 Confidence in the Day of Judgment:

 

1 John 4:17

17     By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the Day of Judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.

     

            We will have confidence on that Day. We don’t have to fear. People may judge us harshly from wrong motives, but He judges in love. This verse says that just as He is, so also are we in this world … not just in Heaven.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "Those of the world have something to fear on the Day of Judgment, but My children do not. I have nothing but blessings for My children. They will receive showers of blessings on the Day of Judgment, not curses. There is nothing to fear when you walk in My Word. You can stand before Me on that Day without cause to fear. I will bless you and keep you from that judgment when you walk in My Word.”

 

            97. Love is perfected with me and I will have confidence in the day of judgment. As He is, so also shall I be in this world.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

 Judgment:

 

            Must all appear before the judgment seat:

 

2 Corinthians 5:10

10     For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

 

            This replicates the statement that we will all be judged for what we’ve done. We shall appear before His judgment seat. If we are to be judged, how much more will those that do not know Him merit being judged? When we set our hearts to follow Him, we have nothing to fear on that Day.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "My children have nothing to fear from Me when they walk according to My Word. I will bring about their happiness in due season as they trust in Me to do what I say. I will not let anything fall to the ground without giving due justice to those seeking My face. You will have to answer for what you’ve said and done, but not out of vengeance on My part. It is My law. I will not change it for anyone. However, I will forgive and I will forget when you ask Me and trust Me to do it. There is no escaping the consequences of all you’ve said or done. However, when they are erased by the blood of My Son, then there is nothing to fear.”

 

            96. When I appear before the judgment seat of Christ, I will be recompensed for my deeds in the body all of which will be good in His sight.