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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Removing the Things That Offend
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. (Ephesians 5:25-27 NIV)
The Church is to be without spot, wrinkle, blemish of any kind. When, where, and how will such cleansing take place? Are we entering now into the removing from the Kingdom of God of those things that offend, and then of those who practice lawlessness?
Before the Lord is finished with her the Church will be without stain, wrinkle, or any other blemish of any kind whatever.
Notice that such cleansing will be accomplished by "the washing with water through the word." The Church will not be blameless by imputation (ascribed righteousness) but by the cleansing that comes as we hear and obey the Word of God.
But when will the Church be thus purified?
At the closing of the present age, before the Lord returns.
The purifying of Christians began two thousand years ago. That was when the Judgment Seat of Christ was established.
For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" (I Peter 4:17,18 NIV)
God's phases of redemption always occur in their season. Now it is the season for the work of judgment and cleansing to be emphasized.
Up to the present hour the stress has been on the grace of forgiveness. Now it is time to pay attention to the Holy Spirit as He begins to bring to light the sin and rebellion that resides in us Christians.
The reason Peter said (above) that it is difficult for the righteous to be saved is that salvation progresses through the trials (sometimes fiery) that come upon us as we are judged. We have to wrestle with God that we may endure His dealings as He delivers us from the darkness that is in us. It is not always an easy procedure to undergo.
Part of our salvation is forgiveness. Part of our salvation is the removing of the stains and blemishes of our personality.
Let us think for a moment about the parable of the wheat and the tares.
Every person born into the world has tares (sin) in his or her personality, but no wheat. The tares were sown in mankind in the beginning by Satan, as we know from the account in Genesis.
When the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, was raised from the dead, it became possible for people to receive the Word of God as Seed. When the Seed is received a conception takes place in the personality. Christ is conceived in the person. The Bible calls this being "born again."
That which is conceived in us is Christ, who Himself is the Kingdom of God.
In this manner we become sons of the Kingdom.
To be continued.