The Bride Of CHRIST LOOKING HER BEST

Introduction

Chapter 1 The Glorious Bride of Christ

Chapter 2 Christ’s Prayer for His Bride

Chapter 3 The Bride Maintaining Her Beauty

Chapter 4 The Illness that Disfigures the Bride

Chapter 5 Essential Medicine for the Bride

Chapter 6 The Bride’s Correct Use of the Medicine

Chapter 7 The Bride’s Beauty on Display

Chapter 8 The Bride’s Glorious Marriage

INTRODUCTION

Can you imagine a bride on the day of her wedding refusing to look at a mirror? No, I can’t either. In all the weddings that I have been privileged to conduct, I never came across a bride who did not spend time before a mirror primping herself. It’s her big day and she wants to look her best.

In all those weddings I can also say that every bride was absolutely beautiful. Of course, some women are more physically attractive than others but when it comes to a bride walking down the aisle, all of them look stunningly gorgeous. Why is that? A big part of the reason is the wedding dress. That is not to discount all the preparation with her hair and makeup but it is especially the wedding dress that makes every bride beautiful.

The beauty of Christ’s Church, that great multitude from every nation, tribe, people and language described in Revelation 7, is that they all wore washed robes made glistening white in the blood of the Lamb. Indeed, what makes the Church of Christ beautiful is not our good works or efforts but rather what Jesus accomplished on the cross for us.

Yet, the Bride of Christ will always want to look her best. Revelation 19:7-8 refers to the Bride making herself ready. The Church, out of gratitude for Christ’s saving work, will always want to reflect her Savior by how she lives in this world through faith in him.

One crucially important way the Church reflects Christ is by demonstrating the unity and oneness that believers have in him. Can Christians create Church unity? Not a chance! Only Jesus builds his one true Church. Nevertheless, Jesus clearly commands his disciples to do everything we can to maintain unity. “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Eph. 4:3)

Hard as it is to imagine a bride refusing to look her best on her wedding day, so it is unfathomable for the Bride of Christ not to care how she looks. She will eagerly strip off the old garments and put on the new. She will “put off the old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, … and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph. 4:22,24) And because it is so important to her groom, Jesus, she will do her very best in maintaining unity.

This study book is about how the Church of Jesus can improve in keeping the unity. My prayerful hope is that this little book will help Christians to understand the importance of church unity and things we can do to promote it. All our many differences can be overwhelming, but I believe the Spirit of Christ can use the teachings in the following chapters, as well as the discussion questions to counter a spirit of division.

We must all ask ourselves, is it worth it to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace”? Is it worth doing everything we can as the Bride of Christ to look our best?

Chapter 1 The Glorious Bride of Christ

The famous painting of the Mona Lisa did not impress me. I was 19 years old and was privileged to enjoy three weeks of touring Europe, but appreciating fine art was not on my radar. It took me all of about half an hour to go through the Louvre in Paris. In that great art museum, I thought I should at least take a look at the Mona Lisa. I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about. Besides the mysterious smile, I failed to see the amazing features of Leonardo da Vinci’s work: his skillful use of fine shading, the delicate painted veil and how the curves of Mona Lisa’s hair and clothing are matched in the shapes of the landscape behind her.

Likewise, the Church doesn’t look all that impressive, in fact, there are so many flaws: worldliness, immorality, false teaching and countless divisions, just to name a few. Yet the Bible designates the Church of Christ with the most glorious title imaginable: the Bride of the Lamb! The Scriptures paint an exquisite portrait of “the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” (Rev. 21:2)

To this day it is unknown who it was that Leonardo painted in the Mona Lisa. There are many theories. But in God’s portrait of his Son’s bride there is no ambiguity. She is the Church, all the true believers in Christ throughout the ages. And she is presented as Glorious!

The Bride’s Beauty is Tied to Jesus

The believers in the Old Testament city of Jerusalem were beset by many sins and yet, Psalm 87 says, “The Lord loves the gates of Zion,… Glorious things are said of you, city of God.” Even more glorious is the Church of the New Testament. Whereas the Old Testament saints received the shadow of things to come, the New Testament believers have a much fuller revelation from God. Indeed, the Church of Christ today has an even greater freedom in resisting sin and obeying the Lord because of the mighty indwelling of the Holy Spirit and whereas the Old Testament Church consisted mainly of Jews, now the Church since the outpouring at Pentecost has gathered in people of many tribes and nations.

To be sure, the New Testament Church is also beset by many sins. One need only to look at the Church of Corinth to see divisions, sexual immorality, abuse of the Lord’s Supper, false teachings and lack of love. Yet, the Apostle Paul greets them with these breathtaking words:

“I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way – with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge – God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore, you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (I Cor. 1:4-9)

Why does the Bible present the Church as most glorious? Simply put, it is because the Church is joined to the presence of God. Why are glorious things spoken of Zion, city of God? Why does the glory of Jerusalem far exceed that of any other city? It is certainly not because of the inherent worth of the place itself. There are cities of much more grandeur. And it certainly is not because the residents were so outstanding. They very often could not be distinguished from the heathen peoples that surrounded them. Why are glorious things spoken of Zion? It is because “from Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.” (Ps. 50:2) It is because “the Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling.” (Ps.132:13) It is because of the Lord’s glory that his Church is glorious.

At the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem, the ark of the Lord’s covenant was brought in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place and the Bible tells us that “when the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple. (I Kgs. 8:10-11) Glorious things are spoken of Zion because the glory of God dwells there!

Therefore, to be numbered among those of Zion is a glorious privilege. “Indeed, of Zion it will be said, ‘This one and that one were born in her, and the Most High himself will establish her.’ The Lord will write in the register of the peoples: ‘This one was born in Zion.’” (Ps. 87:5-6) The Old Testament prophets foretold of how people of all nations would long to be numbered among those in Zion.

“In the last days the mountains of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’” (Isa. 2:2-3)

This picture of many nations streaming to Zion was made very real on Pentecost when people from “every nation under heaven”1 gathered at Jerusalem and about three thousand of them were moved by the Holy Spirit to repent of their sins, to believe in the message of Jesus and were baptized as members of Christ’s Church.

Even as the people of Zion were glorious because of the Lord’s glory, so too, the Church today is glorious because of the presence of Christ. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”(John 1:14) Only because of Christ’s close relationship with believers is the Church glorious.

This relationship that Christ has with his Church is mysteriously organic. Jesus expressed this organic relationship to Saul on the road to Damascus, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:4) Saul in persecuting the Church was in fact persecuting Christ. The Bible tells us repeatedly that Christ is the Head and that the Church is his body. Believers are called “to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is Christ.” (Eph. 4:15) Another metaphor is used in John 15 where Christ is the vine and members of his Church are the branches. This teaches the organic union of Christ and his Church. What does this mean? R. B. Kuiper said it so well:

“It means that the church has no life apart from Christ and receives from Christ whatever life it has. It means that the church was originated not only by Christ, but also from Him, and cannot continue to exist for even a moment apart from Him. It means that the church in all of its members lives and operates only through Christ. It means that one and the same Spirit, even the Holy Spirit of God, dwells both in Christ and in His church. It means that the life which Christ has imparted to the church and keeps imparting to it is His very own. What glory for the church!” 2

Yes, what glory indeed! Christ is the glorious Head. What glory to be his Body! Christ is the glorious Groom. What glory to be his Bride! We hear much about the importance of a believer’s personal relationship with the Lord. But how often do we think about the importance of Christ’s relationship to his Bride? Chuck Colson’s rebuke given some thirty years ago still applies: “In light of this awesome truth, it is scandalous that so many believers have such a low view of the Church. They see their Christian lives as a solitary exercise – Jesus and me – or they treat the church as a building or social center. They flit from congregation to congregation – or they don’t associate with any church at all. That the church is held in such low esteem reflects not only the depths of our biblical ignorance, but the alarming extent to which we have succumbed to the obsessive individualism of modern culture.” 3

We need to see the Church in the light of Christ. Because of the organic relationship, the Church reflects Christ’s attributes. It is the glory of Christ that makes the Bride so beautiful! Let’s consider just a few of the Bride’s attributes described in the Bible.

The Bride is Holy

The Bible teaches that the Bride of Jesus is holy. Paul says in Ephesians 1:4 that God chose people in Christ “before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” What does it mean that the Church is holy? First, it means that God has separated the Church from the world and set her aside for service. Even as he designated the priests, the tabernacle and the temple with all of its furnishings to be holy for his service, so he has chosen the Church to be sacred and holy. There was not an inherit sacredness in the temple materials or geographical location; God had simply declared them to be sacred. Did the priests possess in themselves a special morality? No, they were designated by God to be his holy instruments of service. This is no small honor for the Church of Christ. The Church has been set aside from the world and assigned to God’s service. What glory! But there is more.

Jesus so loved the Church that “he gave himself up for her to make her holy.” (Eph.5:23) The Lord has not only designated the Church to be holy but he made her holy. Jesus gave himself over to death on a cross to take away the unholiness of his people and to purify them with his righteousness. Furthermore, all members of his true Church have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. All within Christ’s Church are called saints, not because we live perfect lives but because by God’s grace we have received new hearts. We have been born again so that we no longer live for sin but we live for God. Despite her many flaws, the Church in essence is holy. It is not that the Bride outwardly wears a shiny necklace representing holiness. The Church is holy! 4

The Bride is Universal

The bigness of the Church is envisioned in Zechariah 2:4-5, “Run, tell that young man, Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of people and animals in it. And I myself will be a wall of fire around it, declares the Lord, and I will be its glory within.” This universality of the Church is affirmed for us in the book of Revelation. The great number of members is comprised of “…persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.” 5 In his commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism, Zacharias Ursinus put it succinctly: “In all times and from all peoples and all parts of the world, there are and will be to the very end some who believe in Christ and make up his Church.” 6

To catch the magnitude of the scope it is helpful to see the break down of “all times”.

Stone Age: Beginning to 5,000 BC.

Bronze Age: 5,000 BC to 1,200 BC.

Iron Age: 1,200 BC to 500 BC.

Classical Era: 500 BC to 500 AD.

Medieval Era: 500 AD to 1,500 AD.

Early Modern Era: 1,500 to 1,800 AD.

Modern Era: 1.800 AD to present. 7

Now think of all the types of people from all of those ages who lived in all the parts of the world during each of those ages. When you consider that the Church is made up from all people of all places and of all times, it is overwhelming! Is there any greater organization to which to belong? How glorious is the universal Church of Christ!

The Bride is Indestructible

What God said through the prophet Isaiah: “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace removed,” 8 Jesus affirmed: “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” 9 Though there have been many attempts to exterminate the Church, they failed.

No less than eleven Roman rulers from Nero to Galerius tried to destroy Christianity and failed. 10 There is a debate as to who killed more Christians, Joseph Stalin of Rusia or Mao Zedong of China. It is estimated that Stalin killed about 60 million people and Mao Zedong killed 80 million. These numbers included people of all sorts but Christians were especially targeted. There were more Christians in Russia than China so maybe Stalin killed the most Christians even though Mao Zedong slaughtered the most people. But both of these cruel dictators are lying in their graves whereas Christianity is very much alive in these countries! 11

To this day Christians are being attacked with about 365 million subjected to high levels of persecution and discrimination. 12 Yet, the strength of the Church is invincible because God himself is “a wall of fire around her.” The Church of Jesus Christ will never perish!

The Bride is the Pillar of Truth

The Church from the beginning has been blessed with truth. That is astounding when you stop to think about it! And by many in the world, it is considered the height of human conceit. Today, to say that there are people who have absolute truth is to receive much ridicule. But stating the Church to be blessed with truth, is actually a humble confession. Just look at the history.

Truth came down Mount Sinai in pieces. The story in Exodus 32 is a familiar one. God had delivered his people Israel from Egypt, he led them to Mount Sinai in the wilderness, he called Moses to meet with him at the top of the mountain, and there Moses received the very writing of God engraved on two tablets of stone. In his own hands were divine commandments of absolute truth, but when Moses came down from the mountain and saw the wickedness of the people, he threw the tablets, smashing them to bits.

God graciously provided new tablets of his law but what follows is a long history of Israel neglecting the Word of God and failing to live up to his truth. Indeed, they were not capable of obeying God’s truth. Romans 8:7 says, “The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.” God’s people possessed truth externally, but as long as it remained outside of their hearts, it would only serve to curse them rather than bless.

Then God made a most amazing promise:

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them.” Declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts, I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (Jer.31:31-33)

This promise of a new relational bond between God and his people became fulfilled through Jesus. By his atoning death at Golgotha and his outpoured Spirit at Pentecost, his Church is blessed with renewed hearts that now love the truth and seek to obey God’s law. Indeed, the Apostle Paul describes the Church as “the pillar and ground of the truth.” (I Timothy 3:15) As a pillar upholds a structure so the Bride upholds truth before the world. We can be sure that the truth will never crash down and become extinguished for the Spirit of truth will abide with and in the Church forever. 13

The Bride is Light to the World

If the Church on her own claimed to be the light of the world, she would deserve to be quickly dismissed as foolishly arrogant. But, in fact, the Lord so declared:

“You are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:14

And again,

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)” Ephesians 5:8-9

Since the glorious light of Christ dwells within the Church, believers radiate that light to others. That means many things but let’s narrow it down to three: the Church of Christ radiates God’s truth, love and beauty. 14

Truth: Flip on the light switch in a dark room and you can see the furniture for what it is. Likewise, the Church shines with the light of Christ showing the furniture of life and answering the big questions, namely, who is God and who are we?

Love: I like how Pierce Taylor Hibbs describes it – love goes low and gives much. Even as Christ bowed low as a servant for our sakes, disciples of Jesus in humility put others before themselves. Even as “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son”, so God’s people give of themselves to others.15

Beauty: In the heart of every person is a deep longing for lasting beauty. There are those special moments when one can’t help but be moved by a majestic scene but most often, people get caught up in a host of things and feel like they are missing out on what endures. The Lord of light shines in all of his image bearers but most brightly in those created in Christ Jesus.

Seeing the Bride’s Glory

Years ago, I saw only a partial picture of the real Alma. Alma was a sweet elderly lady of our church who lived in a small module home. Her car was old and she dressed in simple fashion but everyone loved Alma. She demonstrated the kindness of Christ Jesus. It wasn’t until Alma died that I found out that she was a millionaire who had devoted her money to caring for the poor and supporting many Christian agencies. I failed to see the full picture of Alma.

Do we fail to see the full picture of the Church? I believe we must confess as Christians that we do not see the Church as God sees her. God sees the Church to be glorious in its very nature. Certainly the Lord is aware of the Church’s many failings and weaknesses and yet his consistent message is for his people to become more of who we really are in Christ. The Church is glorious because the Lord himself dwells in her and has made her to be a new creation. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (II Cor. 5:17) Please note, it is not that someday the new will come. The new is here! The Church is essentially glorious now!

Do we count it a privilege to be numbered among those in Zion, to be numbered among those who belong to the Church? There is no greater organization in world history to which one can belong! The tendency is to focus on the many problems that face the Church. God’s people need to see the Bride for who she is and constantly strive to become more of who we really are!

Yes, in reflecting on the Bride’s attributes, Christians should readily rejoice and give thanks to the Lord for the glory of his Church. And we haven’t even studied the attribute which is the focus of this book! We now turn to the unity of the Church.

Discussion Questions:

1. How often do you think about the Universal Church of Christ? When you do think about the Christ’s Church what best describes your feelings? Discouraged? Indifferent? Joyful? Other? Why is that?

2. If an unbeliever basically demeans the Church of Christ and questions you as to how you can possibly hold the Church in high regard, what would you say?

3. Is there a correlation between how much Christians value the Church of Christ and how much effort they put into maintaining Church unity?

Chapter 2 Christ’s Prayer for His Bride

I had the privilege of working with Christians in the country of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. I had never been with a group of people so different from me. In terms of size and color, I looked like a white elephant. In terms of wealth and education, I might as well have been known as Bill Gates. In terms of government, health care, code of law, transportation, language and a host of other things, we were of completely different cultures. Yet, within a very short time, I felt as one with these people. If you are a Christian reading this, you know what I mean. Christians of all stripes and backgrounds experience a wonderful unity! It is called oneness in Christ.

The Bride is One Body

Many creeds and confessions teach the unity of the Church. The Nicene Creed, for example, states, “We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church”. The Apostles’ Creed says, “I believe a holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,”.

Why was the phrase, “the communion of the saints” added to the creed? John Calvin answered it this way in his Geneva Catechism, “That is put down to express more clearly the unity which exists among the members of the Church. It is at the same time intimated, that whatever benefits God bestows upon the Church, have a view to the common good of all; seeing they all have communion with each other.”16 Even more directly Calvin stated, the Church is “called catholic, or universal, because there could not be two or three churches without Christ being divided, which is impossible.” 17

Christians throughout the centuries have professed this truth: the Church is one. And this profession has much by way of biblical support:

“In Christ we who are many form one body” (Rom.12:5)

“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body,” (I Cor. 12:12-13)

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Eph.4:4-6)

unity: “Everyone who belongs to Jesus belongs to everyone who belongs to Jesus.” Steve Brown , Key Life (May-June, 1990)

The Church in Christ, the Body with whom he identifies (Acts 9:5) is what we confess – One Holy Catholic Church.

The oneness of the church was especially a hot issue during the Reformation. Luther and Calvin to confirm the Bible’s teaching of unity (Eph. 4:3-4) made a distinction between the visible and invisible church. The analogy of one human being with both a soul and body.

The true church at times appears hidden (I Kings 19:18) yet, she will never cease (Mt. 16:18) and we are always to cherish the Body of Christ. (Heb. 12:22-24) Yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

FOOTNOTES

1. Acts 2:5, NIV

2. R.B. Kuiper, The Glorious Body of Christ (Banner of Truth, 2015) 94

3. Charles Colson, The Body: Being Light in The Darkness, (Word Publishing 1992) 276

4. Kuiper, The Glorious Body of Christ, 58

5. Revelation 5:9, NIV

6. Fred H. Klooster, Our Only Comfort Volume Two, (Faith Alive 2001) 696

7. Bernard Grun, The Timetables of History, (Touchstone, 2005)

8. Isaiah 54:10, NIV

9. Matthew 16:18, NIV

10. “11 Roman Rulers Who Tried to Destroy Christianity (and Failed)”, National Catholic Register, Lent, 2024, https://www.ncregister.com

11. “Which Tyrant Killed the Most Christians?”, Back To Jerusalem, 2022, https://backtojerusalem.com

12. “Religious Persecution and the World Watch List 2024”, The House of Commons Library, 2024, https://commonslibrary.parliament,uk

13. John 14:16-17, NIV

14. Pierce Taylor Hibbs, The Christ-Light (Westminster, 2023) 15-20

15. Hibbs, The Christ Light, 119-127

16. John Calvin, The Geneva Catechism, Q&A 98

17. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1972) IV 1, 2