A Glorious Church

That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. - Ephesians 5:27

    When we see ourselves in our own eyes, and if we could see ourselves through the eyes of others, glorious would not be one of the adjectives with which we would be described. Isaiah said, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. Paul said, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Peter said, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. The child of God is very much aware of his sinful nature, yet he is aware, as well, of his new nature in the Lord Jesus Christ.

    The Lord Jesus Christ gave himself for his people that he might present them to his Father a glorious church, not having a spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. The church of the living God is a glorious church, because they were loved and chosen of God in Christ before the foundation of the world. In time, the Lamb of God, according to God’s eternal purpose of grace, actually (not symbolically or figuratively—[if it were such we would only be symbolically and figuratively saved]), wrought a perfect righteousness for them, was made sin for them and punished for it as their substitute, to the satisfaction of God’s divine justice.

    The church of the living God is a glorious church, because in time, God the Spirit, by the preaching of Christ, calls them to himself, imparting his divine nature and imputing the blessed perfect righteousness of Christ to their account. The elect of God, called by his grace, has the very life of Christ and is clothed with his righteousness. By faith he has given, we understand that in this flesh dwells no good thing, but in Christ we are accepted by the Father in the perfection of his glorious virtues.

    The person of Christ, the work of Christ, and the sheep of his pasture are inseparable, for he says, The glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one (Jn 17:22). Thank God for that blessed, vital, union that we have in Christ! Let the intellectuals and theologians quibble over words and terms if they choose. The truth of God is that every child of God is justified and righteous in the Lord Jesus Christ, and is therefore glorious in his sight.