«　WEEK 6　DAY 4　»

　　Eph. 5:27 That He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish.

　　3:17 That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love.

　　Any bride would want to have a healthy, radiant complexion on her wedding day. If she is concerned about blemishes, she should begin long beforehand to prepare herself for her wedding by eating nutritious foods that will give her a healthy complexion. In the same principle, today we must prepare ourselves to be the bride by taking in the element of Christ’s riches as our nourishment. Christ is the food for the church. Therefore, as she prepares herself to be presented to Christ, the church must eat Christ…. By eating Him we become a beautiful and even glorious bride. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 799-800)

　　The time is coming when He will present the bride to Himself. Surely at the time of her presentation to Christ, the bride will not have any wrinkles or spots. In His bride Christ will behold nothing but beauty. This beauty will be the reflection of what He is. Do you know where the beauty of the bride comes from? It comes from the very Christ who is wrought into the church and who is then expressed through the church. Our beauty is not our behavior. Our only beauty is the reflection of Christ, the shining out of Christ from within us. What Christ appreciates in us is the expression of Himself in us.

　　First, Christ must come into us and then be assimilated by us. Then He will be able to shine out of us. This shining is the glory of the bride, the manifestation of divinity through humanity. Real beauty is the expression of the divine attributes through humanity. Nothing in the universe is as beautiful as this expression. Therefore, the beauty of the bride is Christ shining out of us….Through our humanity there is an expression of the divine color, the divine appearance, the divine flavor, the divine nature, and the divine character. Hallelujah for such a beauty!

　　On the day of his wedding, a bridegroom cares much more for the beauty of his bride than for her ability. In like manner, in the church life our beauty will eventually be much more important to the Lord than our function. At the beginning of the church life, we may emphasize ability and function. But eventually we shall place more emphasis on beauty…. Do not pay that much attention to becoming capable, qualified, and gifted in function. At first, this may count for something in the church life. But eventually the Lord will show us that what He cares for is not our ability; He cares for the beauty of Himself expressed through our humanity. Christ does not intend to present a capable church to Himself. The church that will be presented to Him will be glorious and beautiful, a church without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. If our blemishes and imperfections are to be removed, we need to take in more and more of Christ. He should not simply energize us for our function but also beautify us that we may be His bride.

　　In the church as the one new man there is strength and ability, but with the church as the bride there is beauty and glory. We should learn somewhat to depreciate our ability and strength, for as part of the bride, we shall be not male, but female. At the time of the wedding, what the church will need is beauty, not strength. Oh, the church is being beautified by partaking of Christ, by digesting Christ, and by assimilating Christ! The more we experience the indwelling Christ in this way, the more He will replace our spots and wrinkles with His element, and the more His riches with the divine attributes will become our beauty. Then we shall be prepared to be presented to Christ as His lovely bride. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 800-801)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msgs. 95, 97