Address—A.M. Barry
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The 25th 1St I'll be season 5.
Husbands, love your wives.
Even as Christ also loved the church.
And gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word.
That he might present it to himself.
A glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be wholly and without blemish.
We have what Christ did in the past, we have what He is doing at the present, and we have what He will do in the future.
That says that Christ loved the church.
Oh, God has other companies that will be blessed. He'll have a Kingdom down here someday in this world. He has the Old Testament Saints.
That are a favorite people were our favorite people, but here we have a special and peculiar love.
What those that are spoken of as the church?
The body of Christ.
That are formed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, uniting them together, and by the Spirit.
Connecting them with a glorified Christ on high.
And what a wonderful thing, beloved friends, to think that you and I, who through grace, have accepted Christ as a personal Savior.
Armed members of that body, members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones, could not think of a nearer, more wonderful relationship.
Than to be a member of the body of Christ so dear to him, that when.
Saul was persecuting the Saints when the Lord spoke to him from the glory, he said.
Why persecute us? Thou me didn't say why you're persecuting my people.
Why are you persecuting me?
So to touch the fabulous believer and the blessed Lord is to touch the blessed Savior Himself.
And now, in order to have that church, his body, he gave himself, we know He gave His life, suffered on the cross, shed his precious blood.
And endured all the judgment of God, saw that he might have a people forgiven, a people that would know a Savior's love.
And not only did He endure all that judgment, but He gave himself that is all He is or ever will be. Throughout all eternity. He has given in behalf of the Church that He loves in such a deep and tender way.
So when he rose from the dead after having taken our sins, bore them in his own body on the tree.
He doesn't just lay aside his service, but here he went on high to serve us there and the Father's presence. And we know that he's there as our advocate, He's there as our high priest, He's there as our shepherd, He's there as the head of the body.
Serving his own, and someday he's coming as the bridegroom.
To take us home to the Father's house.
So.
That's the 1St.
Thought that's brought before us, He gave himself for it, and then that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. Now you notice he doesn't sanctify and cleanse the church in order to make it his own. He makes her his own first.
00:05:07
And then this present service continues on.
So when everyone, no matter how young.
That one may be who has personally accepted Christ as a savior.
Belongs to Christ, and you're one of those for whom he gave himself when he suffered and died on the cross.
Now we have his present service.
In connection with that which he loved and gave himself for. For it says that he that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. First he makes it his own, and then he carries on the service. And you notice that.
Word that he might sanctify and cleanses. The Lord doesn't save sinners just to let them go on idly in this world, Save them for from hell and let them seek out their own pleasure and their pastime. In this scene. He saves us, beloved, for a definite reason.
For a definite purpose, and we get it here, that he might sanctify.
And cleanse it by the washing of water, by the word.
Sanctify us to separate.
And beloved, the Lord wants a separated people. We reigned in Hosea about class there. That's very sad. The Spirit of God brings before us. Perhaps I'll turn to it if I can find it.
It says.
Well, it's.
In the eighth verse of the 7th chapter of what I was looking for.
It says there in that verse, Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people. Ephraim is a cake not turned. Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knows it not. Ye agree, Hears are here and there upon him, and he knoweth it not.
Well, there's a picture of God's people when they have mixed themselves.
With the people, Oh, they're those of the world on every side and beloved friends. We want and all know we have to do business with the unsaved, or we're told that if we refuse to do so, we'd have to get out of the world. But it's a very different thing to spend our time.
Take up with their social affairs and go on with their ways and.
Make.
Worldly contacts with those that are of this world.
Well, now we find here that he has mixed himself among the people, and it says Ephraim is a cake not turned. Now elsewhere we're told that the Lord's portion is his people. I believe that's the 30th of Deuteronomy, isn't it?
That is, what the Lord finds down here in this scene is a people that He has redeemed and in which He finds His pleasure.
So the Lord portion is his people, but here we find of Ephraim that he is the one who has mixed himself with the people is like a cake that's not turned.
Was the.
Housewife, what's the other dough on the frying pan to make a meal for her family and fails to turn it over. What kind of a cake would you have? All burnt on one side and all raw on the other side. A cake not turn. What a simple bravado, very plain picture we have.
Are those among God's people who are not sanctified in a practical way?
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Are separated from the course of this world.
That's the kind of a portion you're offering to the blessed Lord. You wouldn't want to invite a friend to your house and then have a cake, not turn and offer that to him for his meal. You'd be ashamed to do that, wouldn't you? But let's stop and think, beloved friends, that if in any way we're mixing up with the political or the social life.
Of those around us.
In this world.
Where as part, we're offering the Blessed Lord a cake not turned.
Will to get back to our subject again.
It says.
That He might sanctify and cleanse it. That is, He separates us. And I might say to the lovers that no sooner did you accept Christ as a personal savior, then you were a sanctified one. You couldn't be a child of God without being sanctified, separated from all that's in this world. Now you have a Savior.
You have a home in glory before you. You're not of this world, as the Lord tells his Father. They're not of this world, even as I am not of this world.
So he goes on to say just to sanctify and cleanse it. That is, he separates us and then he cleanse us for how much defilement we find on every side.
Or we have an old nature within us that is corrupt and can't be improved. Corrupt according to the deceitfulness, the desires, every vile and evil thing. That's why we're called upon to reckon ourselves dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto God through Jesus Christ.
And whenever we have allowed that old nature to have its way.
It has defiled our souls. It has broken our communion.
And what is it that restores our souls to communion when we have failed? It's the washing of water by the work. And you notice that this washing and cleansing is the work of the one who has given himself forest.
That is, He plies the Word so as to reach our consciences, lead us to a humble, and judge ourselves for our failure, so that He might restore our souls and bring us back into communion again.
And here we have the Word and how important it is, beloved, that we should be daily reading the Word. Well, that's what the Lord uses.
He uses it by the Spirit, applying the Word and power to our souls.
I remember one time I came very near making a bad mistake going in debt for a car when I was a young man, and that verse came before me. I just opened my Bible to Colossians 3. That set your minds on things above. Well, I said, well, that's not in agreement with that scripture to go in debt. So I said I won't do it.
And I was kept from making mistakes. Another time I remember I got in with some ungodly young men when I was.
Going to school, and the first Psalm came before me at night. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his Lord, if he meditate day and night. Well, I said, that's just what I've been doing today.
I've been walking in the council of the ungodly and so I separated from that.
Company that I had taken up with Ohio. How important it is beloved, to read the Word daily and not neglect the Word, and then the blessed Lord is there applying the Word by the Spirit.
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Of bringing us into His presence, leading us to see when we have Earth, when we've made a mistake, when we're taken up with the wrong course. And then we're cleanse. And we have we can have His mind.
We gathered. I mean be guided by himself.
Well, now the third thing here is.
Future, as we said, that he might present it to himself.
A glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be wholly and without blemish.
That's what is as before us.
And surely it is marvelous to think of the blessed Lord presenting those of this world for sinners. So fun, so far from God, without God, without hope in this world.
To present them and to himself without having.
Spot or wrinkle? You know, as you get, as we get old by wrinkles.
We get wrinkles in our face and we show aids. We show.
That weakness and.
Is creeping in old ages.
Is increasing.
But there's nothing of that will be seen and the redeemed in that day when we're with and like Christ in his glory.
What a marvelous thing without spot.
Not a stage? Well, now we're the last. Have many stains from.
Failures in this scene, but what a wonderful result his work will bring about.
And he presents us and told us that he presents us to himself.
Oh, what a marvelous, what a blessed day that is, beloved friends, when the Church in glory is presented and he presents her to himself.
In all the beauty, and all the glory and all the perfection of himself.
And nothing to remind His redeemed ones, His bride and glory, of all the sad fear and the many mistakes and sorrows they have brought upon their themselves in this scene. So you see, this is leading on to that glorious state.
One verse follows the other.
So we get first that he loved the church and gave himself for it with a definite purpose before his heart, and that was to voice and to sanctify, to wash and to cleanse it by the Word, and then lastly to present her to himself.
And that is the work that's going on, and that will be the result of the work that's going on now.
That he will be able to present himself or to himself, and he cleanses in view of the time when he will present her in all perfection and beauty that we see in the Blessed One, who has taken her up, the church up, and made him his own.
And I have noticed, beloved, when the Spirit of God in the Word is giving us.
The thoughts on that, that which leads up to that coming day of glory, the present work of the Spirit of God and his people down here, He cannot give us a standard that is short of that which is.
Absolutely perfect. And that, of course, is what we see in Christ.
I might just call attention to a few passages that show how.
He keeps that standard every ever before us in view of the work that is carried on in the hearts of his own down here.
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Now in the 20 in Jude.
Chapter I mean 21St verse.
He says.
But ye beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith.
Praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
And then in the 24th verse, now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, it's really stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory.
With exceeding joy. Well, we can't think of anything more perfect than what we have brought before us. Present you faultless before the Presence.
Of His glory.
With exceeding joy. Well, now He wants us in the good and enjoyment of that scene into which He will soon bring us in all the perfection and all the joy that will be ours when we're with Him and like Him in glory. But that's only one place in the.
First Epistle of Thessalonians.
The 23rd verse of chapter five, First Thessalonians, chapter 5.
And verse 23 and the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. And I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved, blameless on the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Oh, there's there's the standard for our walk down here.
One that's absolutely perfect.
And it takes in the whole man, body, soul and spirit. Preserve blameless, and for what time the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, you might say, and I could say too, that that standard too high for us. We surely never come up to such a level as that.
Has to be preserved, blameless for the so much we can be blamed for. We've made so many sad mistakes in our journey down here. But again I say the Spirit of God cannot give us a lower standard.
And that standard which belongs to our glory, in which we'll appear when we're with Christ. But to say.
That seems hopeless to us to any major come up to the standard. What is the next verse? Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it?
There's what gives us courage.
To realize how weak we are in ourselves.
How often we have failed, but here's one that is able.
And he will do it.
So that our failures, our mistakes, are made when we're not dependent. In other words, when we're dependent on ourselves, when we're not looking to Him. When, like Peter walking on the water, we get our eyes off of Christ and onto the waves and the wind.
Well, then, of course, we begin to sink.
Well, that's just another passage where you get.
The work of Christ down here looked at in the perfection in which we'll appear in the glory when we're with Him.
And there's another passage that.
You might turn to and.
And I believe it's in again in First Thessalonians.
The USS First Thessalonians again, chapter 3 and verse 12.
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And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another and toward all men, even as we do toward you, to establish to the end. He may establish your heart unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
With all his Saints.
So the standard there is as high as God can make it establish your hearts unbelievable in holiness before God, even our Father, but when at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and that's when he comes with all his sinks that glorified church.
Returns in company with.
Her bridegroom. And then we will be seen in all the beauty and all the perfection of Christ.
And beloved, it is an important thing not to lower the standard. The tendency among us is to continually lower the standard and to excuse ourselves for a lot of inconsistencies and failures.
But let's remember, God never lowers his standard. The Word of God never lowers its standard for what is right and pleasing to God. So let's remember that His standard indeed is Christ himself. We could not have a higher standard than Christ.
He's our, he's our pattern. He's our standard for all.