A day is coming when the followers of Jesus Christ will be united with Him and one another in an eternal dwelling place of perfect joy and holy, complete pleasure. Toward that day all that Jesus is doing in building His Church is intentionally and consistently directed: He pours out His Spirit in order to prepare His Bride. He sends out His angels to assist in making her ready. He works all things in history and the cosmos in order to build, prepare, and endear His Church to Him.

Here is a call for holiness. Churches that have set their focus on the horizon of eternity, in anticipation of meeting their heavenly Bridegroom, will work hard at removing every spot, stain, or semblance of worldliness and sin with which they might be tainted.

This means regular and faithful attendance on the ministry of the Word on the part of every member. It means a conscious and diligent effort on everyone’s part to increase in the beauty of the Lord and to lay aside every vestige of fleshly living. It also means mutual accountability and encouragement in the pursuit of holiness, as individuals and congregations, looking toward the day of our being united with the Lord.

A call for good works

Here also is a call for good works, so that by our persistence in doing the works of the Lord we may be seen by all to be fitted for being united with Him.

The Lord sees His Church as the joy and beauty of the earth (Ps. 48.1, 2), reflecting His splendor and goodness to the watching world. But when churches spend the bulk of their budgets and energies on themselves alone, it’s hard to see how they can be of much good in their local communities.

Churches that reach out to the poor and needy, express concern over local moral and social issues, discover the needs of their neighbors and work diligently to address them, look for ways to bring beauty and joy to their neighbors, and, above all, are faithful in proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom to their communities – such churches show that they are preparing themselves for eternal blessedness with the One Who went before them in just such ways as these.

A call for worship

And here is a call for adoring worship. The church that looks forward to eternity with her Lord will grab at every foretaste of that bliss it can know. This is part of the purpose of worship, to train our hearts on the Lord and to cultivate our affections and priorities so that we please and find pleasure in Him as our all in all.

Worship that takes as its starting point the needs and interests of men cannot rise to the heights of adoring worship of her heavenly Groom. We need Christ-focused worship to accomplish this.

The Church is the temple, nation, servant of the Lord, and agent of the Kingdom of God – the light, salt, and leaven of the world. Believers bring to the world a foretaste of eternity, a glimpse of the resurrection life of Jesus, and they do so together, as communities of His people, always looking forward to the day of His appearing in glory to gather them lovingly and eternally to Himself.

The Lord is coming to receive His Church as His Bride. Beloved, we must make ready. We must show the world that a great wedding is in the offing, and we are the objects of our coming Savior’s devotion and love. And we must go into the highways and bi-ways of our lives, living for our coming King and Savior and calling others to come with us to the feast, to join us as His temple, nation, servants, and agents of change, inviting them into the intimacy of Jesus’ love and the power of His resurrection life.

Let us, and let our churches, prepare together in holiness, good works, and joyous worship, so that we may be found a suitable and ready Wife for our heavenly King.

Next steps

To what extent does the imminence of Jesus’ return factor in the life and ministry of your church? That is, in your church is there an abiding sense that you are the Bride of Christ, and that, at any moment, the Savior might come and take you for Himself to glory? And how do you as a church prepare for this? Talk with some fellow church members and a church leader or two about these questions.

Additional Resources

Download this week’s study, Christ’s Vision for the Church.

Sign up for ViewPoint Leaders Training and start your own ViewPoint discussion group.

The Church is the flash point for revival, but only if we prepare for it as we should. Order a copy of T. M.’s book, Preparing Your Church for Revival, from our online store.

And men, download our free brief paper, “Men of the Church: A Solemn Warning,” by clicking here.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.