Like myself, Dad was not a major proponent of preaching with acronyms. But, he left at least one that I present here: the glorious church. Dad loved the church of Christ because Dad loved the Christ of the church.
Dad took as his text for this sermon, Ephesians 5:26-27 – “so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 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.” Dad’s sermon revolved around the word “glorious” (NKJV). Let’s study the “glorious church…”
THE GLORIOUS CHURCH IS “G”ODLY:
Consider the words of Paul in Titus 2:11-12. God’s grace has appeared, instructing us how to live godly in the present age. That means we can live godly; God expects it.
THE GLORIOUS CHURCH IS “L”ABORING:
When Jesus, through John, commends the church of Christ in Ephesus in Revelation 2:2, Jesus says, “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance.” The NKJV says, “labor” instead of “toil.”
The church exists to do more than just assemble and worship. Worship is at the heart of what we do but it is not all that we do. We are to be a busy church, doing good works.
THE GLORIOUS CHURCH IS “O”VERCOMING:
If we stay faithful to Christ, we will overcome. We’ll overcome this sinful world. We’ll overcome the power of Satan in death. We will be victorious. Paul writes the church of Christ in Rome: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (12:21). We can’t let the world’s self-defeating decisions cause us to quit doing good. Overcome evil with good, Paul says.
THE GLORIOUS CHURCH IS “R”EADY:
Once we are baptized into Christ, we are ready. We are ready for what Satan has to throw at us and we are ready for death and the judgment. I am inspired by Paul’s words to the Christians in Caesarea in Acts 21:13 when they tried to get him not to go to Jerusalem for Passover.
Not only are we ready for death and the judgment, we are also, having been baptized into Christ, ready to do anything good for the cause of Christ: “Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed” (Titus 3:1).
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THE GLORIOUS CHURCH IS “I”NSTRUCTING:
We must teach others. That is the great commandment Jesus gives, our “marching orders” in Matthew 28:18-20.
The church is glorious because we instruct men on how to worship God and how to come to Jesus Christ. And if we don’t do it, no one else will!
THE GLORIOUS CHURCH IS “O”BSERVING:
That is, we are observing the commands, precepts, principles, statues, ordinances, rules, that Jesus Christ laid down. We respect His authority (Matthew 7:21). In that context, Jesus sets “doing the will of the Father” in contrast with: 1.) prophesying, 2.) casting out demons; 3.) doing miracles. That means that doing the will of the Father (obeying His commands, having His authority) is more important than: 1.) prophesying, 2.) casting out demons, and 3.) doing miracles.
THE GLORIOUS CHURCH IS “U”NITED:
It is a sin not to be united. If two brothers can’t get along, one or both of them will fail to be in heaven. It’s just that simple. Jesus died for unity and emphasized unity. The church of Christ was united in the very beginning: “And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common” (Acts 2:44). The word “together” is found 35 times in the book of Acts! Jesus’ church was united and together.
THE GLORIOUS CHURCH IS “S”EPARATE:
Separate, that is, from the world. Just like God had to keep the Israelites morally and spiritually separate from the pagan world around them so they would be prepared for the coming of Jesus Christ, so we must keep ourselves morally and spiritually separate from our pagan world so we will be prepared for the second coming of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 6:17-18).
The church of Christ was in the mind of God from the very beginning, a body brought together by the Holy Spirit, washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ. It is this body, the church of Christ that is going to heaven.
the late Wayne Holland
