Church - The Bride of Christ

The Bride of Christ - Forever Young

      Jesus told His disciples to “wait for the promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4-8).  The soul of the Church of the Gospel is God’s Holy Spirit.  She is clothed with His power, sustained by His vow of fidelity.

   “Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light."  Eph 5:14 (NKJV)

   “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”  Eph 5:25-27 (NKJV)

   “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready." And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!' " And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God."  Rev 19:7-9 (NKJV)

   “Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."  Rev 21:2-4 (NKJV)

1.      First, “The Church is alive… and the Church is young!”

   Unlike merely natural organisms, which grow to maturity, flourish, and then slowly decay and die, the Church continues to grow. The [One Spiritual] Church as a whole never grows old, never stops branching out, bearing fruit, and expanding. The Holy Spirit is the Soul/Bishop of the Church, and the Holy Spirit constantly surges forth from within the heart of the Church and gives rise to new saints, new fellowships, new outreach efforts, new faith communities, new religious faith and apostolic institutes… This is the history of the Church, and this is the present moment of the Church, and this will be the future of the Church.  The life of the Church is not bureaucratic, but organic. The ever-flowering newness of the Church flows from within, like new branches growing from the trunk of a tree or a new season of fruit ripening on its limbs.

2. The Holy Spirit Will Never Contradict Himself

   “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.”  1 Cor 12:3 (NKJV)

   “By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God....”  1 John 4:2-3 (NKJV

   a) The Holy Spirit will never contradict Himself.

   Private devotions, apparitions, new congregations and associations – if these are truly from the Holy Spirit, they will harmonize with the life and history of the Church.

   b) Times of being shaken and poured.   Titus 3:6

   “See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven."  Heb 12:25-26 (NKJV)

   New movements of the Holy Spirit within the Church may arrive as a new [renewed] experience of God’s grace more quickly than some in the Church can approve them. But an authentic new movement or devotion will always be recognized, before its official approval, through its obedience to the Church’s legitimate authority. It will always submit to that authority, throughout the entire process of investigation, because that authority is also an expression of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit’s guiding action within the body of the Church, and the Holy Spirit will never contradict Himself.

   c) Growth brings Change brings Renewal.

   “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.”  Hebrews 5:12 (NKJV)

THIS I BELIEVE

I believe in the sun even when

night or fog covers the earth.

I know that the sun is there!

My hope is kept alive by faith.

That is enough, and I am assured.

The Holy Spirit of God reaches far beyond

my field of vision, the things I can see.

He - The Spirit - gives life to the Church.

He is at work at the heart of the world.

When things seem to be hopeless,

HE is the hope!  Come Lord!