The Church Triumphant

Before we can fix what is broken, we must know two things:  We must know that what we are dealing with is broken, and we have to understand how it was to look and function.  

If we look at the Church--at least in the Western World--the scandals and headlines dealing with sexual and financial improprieties and the on-going controversies about so-called "gay" marriages, Biblical interpretation, and the Christian's role in society all point to a Church who has lost her fundamental identity and has become divided and fractured.

However, we cannot begin to fix the Church--to fix ourselves--unless we know who we, as the people of God, are supposed to be. Over the next series of blogs, I hope to explore who and what the Church is.

Let us begin with casting the vision of the Church Triumphant:

The Triumphant Church is often referred to as "The Bride".The Triumphant Church has made herself ready to stand in the presence of God.  She is dressed in the fine linen of righteous deeds.  She has allowed the Word of God to sanctify her, to cleanse her, and to transform her. Like God Himself, there is nothing in Her that dims the light of God shining through Her. She is holy and without blemish; the shame of sin no longer makes her hide from God.   She knows her Lord intimately and can distinguish His voice apart from all others.  She had overcome every adversity and has the right to sit beside the Lord Jesus on His throne next to the Father.

BUT--just exactly does all this mean?

The use of the term "The Bride" for the Triumphant Church is a figure of speech that represents the qualities that God wants from His people:  love, devotion, loyalty, and trustworthiness. God uses the term "The Bride" to reveal the attitudes and actions He expects from those upon whom He has poured out His love and grace. Ephesians 5:25-27 clearly and succinctly explains the Gospel through the metaphor of the bride and groom [with Jesus as the groom].

     "The personification of the Church as a wife helps us relate to what Jesus did for 'her' and what we are to do for him, as well as instructing Christian husbands and wives on how to relate to each other in a godly way." https://www.truthortradition.com/articles/who-is-the-bride-of-christ.  Accessed July 10, 2019

This bride is not a single person or a single group of people.  The Bride consists of every single person who, by faith, has accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

In my next post, I will continue to explore what it means to be part of "The Bride."