"To Him Be Glory in the Church"

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.  Amen."

Have you ever noticed that it is only the leadership of the Catholic Church who speaks affectionately and authoritatively of the Church?  Luther, Calvin, Wesley, none of them desired to separate from the Church.  Yes, they were forced out the "organization" by unrepentant leadership, but they knew that the Word of God Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, says of the Church that He "loved the Church and gave Himself for her." (Do you?)  Yet the farther out from the Reformation, the farther evangelicals have removed themselves from the centrality of the Church, "which is His Body....I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."  The Catholics have always affirmed this, yes, we can say at times to perversion, but that does not change the "God-Breathed" Word.

The Church has become for far too many people just an organization in which they can pursue their own self realization.  They use it as a platform to display their wares, to show to all just how wonderfully spiritual they are.  This is nothing but shameful, but certainly nothing new.  John said, "I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us."  No person who is out for self realization, out to build his own kingdom will receive the true Followers of Jesus Christ.  The Church is not our private laboratory.  The Church is the physical Presence of Christ in the earth, like it or not.  "You are the salt of the earth....You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden."  Jesus is telling His Church, "I have set you on display."

Our text tells us that the Glory of Christ Jesus is not in some fuzzy meeting.  His Glory is "in the Church."  Is His Glory in "your church?"  We can tell people all we want, "Don't look at me or our church; look to Jesus."  They won't do it.  They watch the Church, and this is how God intended, because it is, "to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generation, forever and ever.  Amen." 
 
Father, in Jesus' Name, forgive me of any embarrassment I have ever had of the Church.  Help me to love Your Church as I love You.  Amen.
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"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2