Matured Faith, Prepared Bride

 

   

 

 

Eph 4:1,2, 11-13

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

     Here Paul teaches on two types of unity. The unity of the Spirit which we have and must maintain, and the unity of the faith which we must mature into and develop in order to experience. The text in between is critical. For only after being equipped, matured and perfected will the body of Christ be able to come into the unity of the faith. The unity of the faith is of a higher order than the unity of the Spirit. Though, all who have received Christ as Lord are born of and unified by that same Spirit, our souls are being sanctified and renewed by the washing of the Word. The unity of the faith will never be realized, until the body of Christ becomes one soul with Christ; having His mind, His will, His perspective toward others and His passions as the driving force within us. Jesus queried, in Luke 18:8 "When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"  I am certain He will find a glorious bride who has His faith and has made herself ready. However, I am not sure of how few there be, that find themselves considered the bride. I have great concern for those who trust in man’s institutions, who are not led by the Spirit, if they shall not be found as foolish virgins lacking oil or as foolish servants who’ve buried their talents. I believe only those who come into the unity of the faith, who have matured into the image of God’s dear Son will be His bride. And there may be grievous consequences for refusing to grow up.