Glory & Privilege of the Church as the Bride #1

The point: Approach practical concerns of church life with the light of the glory of what the church is as Christ's bride.

Martin recounts getting a portrait with his wife before her chemotherapy, using the physical photograph as a 'picture' to illustrate that the marriage relationship is a picture, while Christ and the church are the 'substantial reality.'

But just the opposite is true. The substantial reality is Christ and the church, and the husband-wife relationship is but a picture of that reality. Now let me try to illustrate. Two years ago, before my wife underwent her first chemotherapy, knowing that she would lose her hair, we said it's time we get a portrait of us.

10:35 - 11:00 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains that Christ 'gave Himself up' as 'an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of a sweet smell,' drawing parallels to Old Testament burnt offerings. This…

He describes the 'gross' and 'stinking' smell of a burnt ram sacrifice in Exodus, contrasting it with God calling it a 'sweet savor' to explain how Christ's sacrifice, though gruesome, was pleasing to God because it appeased His wrath against sin.

You see the parallel language? Christ loved us, gave himself for us as sacrifice unto God, an odor of a sweet smell. Now put yourself back in the situation at Exodus. You're watching this priest do what God told him to do.

22:31 - 22:48 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And when he gives himself up to the death of the cross he is God's ram and God's lamb and there he is consumed in the fire of God's just anger. Against the sins of those for whom he dies.

He uses the common experience of smelling burnt roast at home to further emphasize the unpleasantness of burning flesh, making the contrast with God's 'sweet savor' even more striking.

Not roast it. Burns it. Have you smelled burnt roast? You guys come home thinking your wife's having a nice meal.

23:34 - 23:42 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second main point is introduced: the church is the recipient of Christ's purifying, perfecting, and nurturing grace. Martin focuses on the 'initial purifying words' of…

Martin quotes Calvin on Titus 3:5, explaining that baptism is an 'outward symbol' and 'pledge' of inward sanctification, clarifying the meaning of 'washing of water with the word.'

of heart from sin the two are connected again in Titus 3 5 Calvin no doubt gives the true meaning when he says quote having mentioned the inward and hidden sanctification Paul now adds the outward symbol by which it is visibly confirmed as if he had said that a pledge of that sanctification is held out to us by baptism end quote any thought automatically conveying the inward grace is excluded by the addition of the words by the word it is probably the word of the gospel that is referred to rather than the word of confession of faith as others assert such is the means by which the sanctificatio...

49:42 - 51:11 Read in full sermon

The point: Ask yourself and answer with judgment day honesty: 'Is my heart set upon that which Christ will make me?' and 'Do I have a passionate yearning to be what the bride is going to be?'

He uses the analogy of a bride standing at the door, not spattered with mud and ketchup, but 'all glorious without a spot,' to illustrate Christ's ultimate purpose to present His church as a perfectly holy and blemish-free bride.

see that in his death is their only hope of salvation and hopefully he will have enough people to comprise his bride you see if you have a specific definite atonement with no specific certain application of its benefits you have detached what God has joined Christ loved his church gave himself up for her in order that Christ will have the purpose for which he died and that's to have a bride that divorces to be married to Christ in the pursuit of the very end for which he set his love upon her to present her to himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing and he implan...

55:37 - 57:07 Read in full sermon