The Glorious Church By Jack Nattress

This is the exposition with an analogy. Analogy, a type, a profound type of Christ and the bride or the church in glory. Now this is what every Christian is going to see. He's going to see the most wondrous things that I cannot see nor the hard-imagined present that all the redeemed people of the earth will one day with, I'll use the word show, with a tremendous presentation, something indescribably glorious. And now we like to see a wedding, a nice wedding, lovely. And actually it's a presentation of the bride to the husband. Well this is going to be done in glory and this is something that God gives
us and tells us about that we are going to see. All the redeemed that were ever on the earth are going to, in their beautiful robes, in their spotless condition, without blemish, are going to be given before the Almighty to Christ. How wonderful. And what a wonderful thing that he's looked forward to. That's why Paul, he could say with great confidence, for me to die is gain. It was, he actually in one sense, of course he had the churches of God on his mind and on his heart and he longed to live that he might prosper them.
So the relationship between Christ and his church is set forth under the figure. The husband and wife in this chapter, it's very important, the teaching, and we did hear very excellent teaching on it. But that's only a type, really, the type. But the reality of this portion of the scripture is Christ and his glorious bride. That is why you could look down through the ages and he saw the travail of his soul and was satisfied. The word satisfied is a little weak. He looked down through the ages and saw all this and he was happy. He was contented because he could see and he knew what was going to happen.
These countless thousands, these countless millions that no man can number one day would be given to him and they would be like him and with him forever. So Christian, that is your hope. That is what God puts before you. So press on through the mundane and difficulties and the tremendous trials and waves of affliction in this life because you'll count it one day all joy. You'll look back down through the path of time and say, what small things used to distress me? You will. Now, so there's some things we might understand and we might define this word church. It comes up especially in the teachings that we have in New Testament teaching and usage is applied to our subject, the word church. Now we hear lots of preaching on a church. What is a church? What is it? Well, a very simple definition just from my own mind, my own heart as I see it, a company of people that are called out from this present evil world by the power of the Holy Spirit and they come to Christ and he gathers them into a local assembly. Now I'm speaking of the local, visible, real church that we can see on earth. He gathers them around Christ and it's his church. He never gathers around his church around men. He gathers them around himself and he does this all over the world but of course that's a very, very tiny definition and I have another one here so we'll define it and more technical so I'll just read it very carefully that you might understand.
In the divine purpose from eternity and in its consummation, that is in its completion and glory, all the redeemed are conceived of as a unit, as one. It speaks of them as a unit and they set forth under the figure of the bride or the wife of the lamb. There are various scriptures to this, I will not quote them. They set forth under that figure,
the wife of the lamb and they're all set forth as a unit. Now that I might say here, it's
very hard to get away from this concept of individuality. Out in the world we are taught
and circumstances teach us to be individualists. We've all got this Dale Carnegie stuff in
us. We like to be individual and press forth our individuality but it's not so in the Church
of God. We press forth its unity, its glorious unity. Now I was just speaking, someone in
the church told me how they met a very fine woman and no doubt a Christian but she when
mentioned about coming to a church, oh she said, not for me, something like these words,
I don't like to be tagged with anything. Now it sounds so nice, it sounds so, you know,
so good but is it scriptural? It is not. It's developing that old ego again and being free,
free to go where I like. As a matter of fact some like to wander everywhere. Well, I guess
that's their own prerogative but it's not a scriptural one. Now we'll continue with this.
I finished off with the wife of the lamb. Now this divine conception was foreshadowed in Eve.
Now let's go back. In Eve the first woman derived from Adam, the first man and now is termed,
she was termed bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. As Adam was head or Lord over Eve,
so is Christ, head or Lord over the church and we're to answer to Christ in church matters.
He is Lord of the church. Now Eve was fashioned gloriously. I've no doubt in my mind that Eve
would be the probably the most beautiful and perfect woman ever seen upon the earth. I really
think so because God stood back as it were the Almighty and all that he did was good,
indicating perfection and of course she was taken from Adam and she was united to him in marriage
to be his companion. So when the so the church when completed and glorified will be presented
to Christ in the same way to be his companion forever in the eternal ages. What a beautiful
thought isn't it? In the eternal ages she will be the whole church as a unit will be presented
to him and that is why he came in a sense. Now under this imagery the church is the mystical,
what is termed the mystical bride and you will understand that the church in this mystical sense
has no real existence now. Now I say there's no real existence except in its preparation.
It doesn't exist now. It is not a church yet except in purpose, plan and what we would term
prospect. It's a church in prospect. It is called a church by anticipation looking forward. Someone
here might well there are as a couple going to look at they're looking in prospect of the house
they're not in it yet. Some might intend to build a house one day it's in prospect and this church
is in prospect and some of its members are already prepared now we have note of two Enoch
and Elijah who never died. They might be prepared I don't know but and some of those that were
resurrected from the dead when Christ died and rose again about 500 at least 500 rose from the
dead now they have gone to glory whether they are prepared or not we don't know but some of
prepared in spirit. Many saints that have died are prepared in spirit. It says the spirits of
the just made perfect whose bodies yet sleep. You see one day we take their bodies and glorify and
unite that perfect spirit and on earth some are prepared as far as regeneration justification and
adoption go. Now a person when they a true believer they what is termed regenerated they
made alive by the spirit adopted into God's family and and of course they are being sanctified by the
spirit but they're not yet glorified in body all the believers here and not yet glorified in body
I don't have to press that point because we can look at each other and see can't we? It is a fact
everything has happened that is necessary except is being glorified in the body and given a body
which is which is past mortality and a body like his own. Now and yet many have not been born
countless thousands we don't know how the long or how long it will be before the Lord comes many
have not been born so the church that is not complete. Now to be a church a true church is
we understand the meaning of church or assembly or ecclesia it's got to assemble and it's an
actual something that we see it's real it's a picture of the world to come and a church a
little fluctuating church like this should be as far as possible a place a happy place a confident
place a believing place that is in a sense of picture of the world to come saints living in
harmony with one another which they will be in perfect harmony in the world to come caring for
one another having one thought properly unified one true belief strong in doctrine strong in
their beliefs you see it's a reflection of the world to come and this is what Christ would desire
his churches to be all over the earth I'm not speaking of their names there are countless
thousands of churches in every land and that is the standard he puts before us and he puts before
this little company. Now what is called the presentation marriage is future we hear much
of the word universal Church now the word universal in the Greek is Catholicos Romans
have actually taken this word Catholic which doesn't belong to me it's a word which means
universal and if anybody can find this word in the Old or the New Testament well we might might
add that it's not in the Old or New Testament the word universal Catholicos it's not in it
it's a kind of a coined word and not found in the Bible at all and those who are fond of this phrase
universal Church when asked to divine it when we ask them to define it they go to pieces what is
it what is it and they will make many attempts to define it all the believers that are upon the
earth they will some will say well what about the believers that are not on the earth all the
believers that are in heaven and in earth well then what about those who are not yet born now
I believe anyone who tries to define this universal Church because it is in prospect
it is sure it will come but is not here yet it is no actual existence beyond the preparation
of the material for it the material for this great Church has been prepared by the power of
the Spirit all over the world and every time that you have an urge to pray every time that you are
of an urge for righteousness for unity for harmony and every spiritual thing it is part
of that preparation for the world to come it's being prepared now the whole of the modern Baptist
and brethren idea of a now existent universal invisible Church was borrowed from the Peter
Baptist confessions you see they had a counter the Rome then was in the power in the world if
you weren't a Roman at one stage off would come your head that would be a mercy they'd slowly take
something else or burn you you see there was one church and of course when the when the the
Protestants rose up in mighty power and in the Reformation and began to preach the doctrines of
grace what we call justification and the various great doctrines and of course this mighty Roman
Church began to crumble because they literally pointed and they said there it is the Antichrist
and they preached in the marketplaces and before kings and queens and of course a great spiritual
war occurred and Rome was crumbling but they of course then said and wrote in their confessions
about an invisible world church I think that was one point for the earth now we need to be
well indoctrinated in this point because the error is not harmless no error is harmless there's
repercussions and it's used to depreciate Christ Church on earth it actually depreciates it and
that's why we have this Liberty attitude libertine attitude that the Church of God doesn't matter
very much and I was one that used to think the same myself now the Lord says it is the pillar
and the ground of the truth now what's a pillar that holds up a powerful monumental thing that
holds up buildings the pillar and the ground of the truth God says now let it let us analyze some
of the points before us now it says Christ loved the church and gave himself for it that is he
loved the people who were given to him and in eternity a joy was said before him a future
reward Christ is the Son of Man he had a future reward no wonder his apostles couldn't move him
when they told him to go back from Jerusalem but he set his face like a flint he saw this glorious
reward now the second point he gave himself for it that is for his promised people and you who
believe Christ has given himself for you as an individual and he's given himself for us as a
church simple little points sometimes we miss in our hearts you as an individual you that have
entered into this door of salvation this wide open door and I often say we're living in a wonderful
age looking out we try and read the wretched newspapers and listen to the news the earth is
in confusion but it's the age of the dispensation of the mercy and the glory of God where Christ as
it were this call himself a door and flung the door of salvation wide open and calls upon men
to enter in most wonderful time the dispensation of the grace and loving kindness of God to all men
this is the age that we live in the dispensation as we heard this morning of the Spirit of God
when he has come to help many as it were to teach them and to call them and literally push many
because they don't want to come in my dad used to train horses and some of them there we'd put the
bit on them and that sort of thing and some of them two or three of us had a pool inch by inch
until we could get them to lead as it were and it seems that God even does that he pulls us inch
by inch through this door and when we get in we find instead of a dry old ecclesiastical knowledge
everything is lovely like the friendly and happy time that we had this evening beautiful time so
cast away your legal fears and come in with joy come in with rejoicing and that is what glorifies
God now I almost forgot which point I'd reached now it says he will cleanse it in order to make
it holy we've got that in verse 26 that he might sanctify and cleanse he set it apart and now you
Christians you've got to be set apart and don't you be ever found in those worldly places and get
those spiritual fleas and blemishes upon you you've given that away because there's something
better for you than these worldly places that I used to inhabit he's sanctified you set you
apart and cleansed you with the washing of the water of the word and every time you hear this
word faithfully preached and you speak it amongst each other and you read it he is cleansing you it
will have its effect when Peter when I remember when our Lord washed Peter's feet and and he said
don't wash my feet no he thought that was awful humiliating for the Lord and of course our Lord
had to tell him that if he didn't wash his feet that he wouldn't be clean he used it in different
words to that on and Peter this this man who always had a little too much to say like some
of us he said Lord wash me out all over but the Lord said that this word would cleanse him the
cleansing by the word so keep yourselves on the scripture read scripture examine scripture and
it will do its work that was intended to do in your heart and mind it'll do its work silently
but effectively now this cleansing is by the washing of water with the word a method of
cleansing was always established for God's people there must be a method of cleansing unclean souls
can attend a heaven or even the presence of God no soul can enter the door of glory without
cleansing never never never it can't be done the natural heart has to be cleansed from sin in Old
Testament times the cleansing was by the water purification which was the sprinkling on the
unclean the ashes of the red heifer they would take a red heifer once a year and the red heifer
was sacrificed and the ashes were mixed with pure water and the people as it were were sprinkled
with it it was a type of a certain thing and we find that in numbers and this sprinkling was done
with a with a plan called hyssop hyssop very common thing nice smelling plant that you could
gather anywhere and they just put it in little bundles and put it in this and sprinkle the
people that was the work of the high priest of course it signified you've got that in Psalm 51
I think it's verse 7 cleanse me with hyssop and wash me and I shall be whiter than snow and it
means this type we get it in Ezekiel 36 25 and the typical water the purification and finds its
and a type in the blood of Christ in the precious blood we had the ordinance this morning recollecting
that to us the blood of Christ cleansing us from all sin so the washing of water in the text means
simply the application of the blood of Christ by the Holy Spirit in regeneration now the
regeneration is simply the making of it live of the soul to God spiritually regeneration now
we get that it is called the washing of regeneration Titus 3 5 and in Revelation 7 14 I just forgot
my text revelation 7 14 and I said unto him sir thou knowest me said to me these are they
which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the
blood of the land now this cleansing is also by the word it is the gospel preached that leads to
regeneration the gospel wish we which we preach that Christ came from glory that he lived and
proved and had a stated in his manner in his life in his miracles that he was gone and he
proved to the people who he was and he went to the cross and died and was buried after three days
and rose again and now reigns in glory that's the gospel that a man has to believe to be saved the
saving gospel of Christ now a number of scriptures but our time is going and I'll just press on a
little now the Word of God is not only an instrument in the cleansing part of salvation
but in the work of sanctification now everyone who has ever saved he will go to the Word of God I
believe the Holy Spirit takes that person as it were gently by the hand and he leads them to the
scriptures and they read the scriptures in a lesser or a greater degree read the scriptures
and it includes all expressed in the prayer for the Thessalonians that the God of peace now we
look at that verse in Thessalonians that the God of peace sanctify you holy now it's 1 Thessalonians
5 23 and the very God of peace sanctify you holy and I pray God that your whole spirit and soul
and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ now this verse is telling
us that the work of salvation is for the body and it's for the soul and it's for the spirit
of man made alive it's complete so the Word of God operates on us in a complete sense and then
it includes the glorification of the body now that's a wonderful thing we see some of we older
people see our bodies failing but one day this body is going to be glorified we're going to be
given a body like his so when complete it is a glorious body in verse 27 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 so one day every believer here every believer that ever believed
is going to be perfect God says so so we have to look at that and we have to lay it on our hearts
it means complete holiness as God is holy and the presentation is the offering of the bride to the
groom of the marriage older she is adorned for her husband now I just like a stable look back
at Psalm 45 you can just help me a Bible's there for a little while now in verse 9 it says Kings
daughters were among thy honorable women upon thy right hand did stand the Queen in goal of
Ophir now the true church consists of real converts or real Saints the one and only bride of Christ
real converts and real Saints Saints by calling and Saints by obligation that concerns their duty
and Saints by profession they have a profession true it consists of true converts and the Lord
knows them that he is being one they are compared to Queen they compare to Queen that is both
powerful and beautiful the Queen it is written of Matilda the Empress an empress in in the
Netherlands at one time and she evidently was a very queenly woman and they said that she was
the daughter of a king and the mother of a king and the wife of a king she was a true Queen so
the church is the daughter of a king and we get that in verse 13 the king's daughter is all
glorious within her clothing is a wrought gold now this is the child of God whom God has worked
upon by his spirit the king's daughter all glorious within and verse 16 we said about the
mother of a king verse 16 tells us instead of thy father shall be thy children whom thou mayest make
princess in all the world now how wonderful that is we don't look back to earthly fathers we don't
look back to our genealogies instead of that you're looking forward looking forward to to those the
families and the children that one day will be converted and God says that they will be princess
the mother of princess every mother of Israel who has converted children here but speaking about
this sort of thing and of course the wife of a king upon thy right hand did stand the Queen
and let's speak of this half speaks of this heavenly situation now in 10 to 11 we have
forget also thine own people verses 10 to 11 harken O daughter and consider incline thine ear
forget also thine own people and thy father's house so shall the king greatly desire thy beauty
for he is thy Lord and worship thou him now if you see a bee leave a flower to light on another
you may conclude that she finds most honey dew in that flower she sticks to most and having God's
people left that world haven't we left the flowers of the world and we found here amongst God's
people more honey than ever we could find out in that world and it's speaking of something like
this and we find more in the Lord's garden than we found in the flowers of the world now isn't
that a fact God's children now find more now Christ has his garden into which he brings his
beloved and there she finds flowers that the world has never known also now when you're out
in the world and before conversion you might hear the church door you might look through a church
door you might hear people singing wonder what they speak about and then I as years ago I used
to hear missionaries talking at the table about the things of God what were they in the world
were they wasting their time talking about things like that you see I didn't understand
and didn't know they were so animated so happy to talk about the converts in other lands and the
little churches and amongst the tribal people and they were they had blessings that I didn't know in
those days and actually sweeter flowers of a higher nature and flowers of mercy and goodness
and blessing are now found in the Lord's house and in the Lord Christ expects you to part with
three alls all your sinful lusts all the ways of old Adam thy father's house that's what's
indicated here he expects you to part with that finish with it and ever since man's apostasy God
and man have different houses to live in ever since he fell now the second thing another all
you all your worldly advantages God expects you to part with them if any man come under me and
hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters yea and his
own life also he cannot be my disciple a man must be ready for the sake of Christ to depart
with all this is the condition of the Bible now another all that he must part with is all self
and here's where we have our problems also self will self righteousness self sufficiency self
confidence and self seeking God asks us to part with those things now in verse 11 we have a very
special promise if we look at verse 11 so shall the king greatly desire thy beauty for he is thy
Lord and worship thou him the Holy Spirit knows this monster self wants to stick fast in our heart
we want to be pure and without spot before God oh yes we do so we naturally try and purify
ourselves that we might have no need of grace many religions try that many false quacks try
that and we ourselves sometimes try it purifying ourselves without grace that we might have no need
of grace and might be found righteous according to our own merit it's not God's way but you'll
never become righteous by yourself in your own work now this is something that we've got to
impress upon ourselves something that we're discourse upon last night to some degree the
righteousness which is by faith and the outworking of that righteousness which is a work of God in us
the Holy Spirit says I'll give you the wholesome counsel if you will hear me you will become a
virgin all fair if you would be beautiful in the sight of God so that all thy works should please
God forget your own works and the Lord will adorn you with his works and his righteousness and his
holiness those that enter heaven are going to have his righteousness his works his holiness
his fortitude and all the gifts of the blessed Holy Spirit they're going to be his gifts now
the Holy Spirit used the most exalted language and it says speaking to God's people so shall the
king desire thy beauty that inner beauty the king shall desire thy beauty whenever God has given his
word he does not leave the word he is given our beauty does not consist in our own virtues nor
even in the gifts from God but in this our apprehending of Christ and believing in him
it is in this beauty alone that Christ looks upon and no other our apprehending of him so
put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ as the scriptures tell us now just a few pass on now as it says
she's adorned for her husband and then follows the marriage and let inspiration describe this
in Revelation 19 6 & 9 just turn to the last book in your Bible Revelation 19 6 & 9 now this
is inspiration describing that marriage and it says and I heard as it were the voice of a
great multitude and as the voice of many waters and is the voice of mighty thundering saying
hallelujah the Lord God omnipotent reigneth let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him for
the marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife has made herself ready and to her was granted that she
should be arrayed in fine linen clean and white for the fine linen is the righteousness of Saints
and he says unto me right blessed are they which have called and to the marriage supper of the Lamb
and he said unto me these are the true sayings of God now the event the event here that we've
described as the crowning glory of the future it follows the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ he
will come in glory he will bring with him the spirits of the just made perfect he will raise
and glorify their bodies he's undertaken by his word by his power to raise and glorify the bodies
of his Saints he will transfigure the living Saints those who are alive will be changed they
will be glorified it says in Thessalonians in the twinkling of an eye he will catch up all the
redeemed Saints that are alive he will catch them up in the air and thus separate the sheep from the
goats the lost from the saved and at his first coming he assumed the body of his humiliation he
came in humility and what greater humility could he come like a helpless babe but not so in his
second coming his second coming he will resume the resurrection resurrection body of his glory
and we have that vivid vivid picture I don't think we'll go to the scripture no but the time
is almost gone in Matthew 25 verses 5 and 12 we have while the bridegroom tarried there was a cry
that is the parable of the virgins and they all slumbered and slept and there was a mighty cry
went out behold the bridegroom coming forth and meeting and of course in this scripture some of
them were not very wise some of them were sleepy and tired some of them were near professors and
some of them had no life and they were left behind and at that time on this day is fulfilled the
scripture he shall see the travel of his soul and shall be satisfied now to the universe to the
whole universe it will appear the riches of the inheritance of the Saints we get that from
Ephesians so back to the church again as an institution it is an one new man made out of
Jew and Gentile that's the church is an institution when we speak of an institution we we might say in
this sense that I went to school in England of course I didn't go do a great universal school
I went to one particular school now brother at the back preacher he speaks he teaches at a school
although he's a schoolteacher speaking of the universal sense now it is one Commonwealth in
which both alike are citizens that is Jew and Gentile it's one temple one temple it is one body
it is one bride and as an institution is appointed to instruct angels the angels are instructed by
the Church of God and to be the depository of the divine glory in all generations the depository of
the truth God handles these churches brings these churches together and they are depository of the
truth through churches and as a particular church in which alone this institution finds expression
now the things that we've spoken about in glory and the institutional sense of the church it only
finds expression in the local bodies scattered throughout the world it finds expression only
there each particular church is a body fitly framed together and as a glory church it includes
all the redeemed and each one of the redeemed fully saved in body in soul and in spirit we'll
close our message here because I think we've had enough today to think about it