233. Holy and without Blemish
Ephesians 5:27That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
God promises a Church (the Bride of Christ) that is glorious, without spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish. Think of it: billions of people are all as one with not one stain or even a wrinkle, holy and pure. This is truly astounding, and imagining such a thing is beyond our experience. We see flaws, spots, wrinkles, blemishes, stains, filthiness and mistakes all around us and especially within us. Imagine billions of people perfect and whole and mistake-free. It is hard to imagine one person like that, unless we look at and study the life of Jesus. I certainly cannot imagine myself looking like that.
But that is the promise; that is the anticipated outcome of human history; that is the assured resultof the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God’s original intention and eternal design for His Creation was to create a large group of perfect human beings living in a perfect paradise.They would share the love of God with each other all the time. They would have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the animals of the field, and the beasts of the forest. And God’s original purpose for all created things will come true. “If this were a perfect world….” It will be a perfect world. We have that to look forward to, and the closer we get to dying the hotter that excitement becomes.
The marriage bond is the most intimate relationship that humans experience on earth. The parent-child relationship is also filled with love, but that is a result of the marriage bond. The Lord uses that analogy to come close to describing our life with Christ. Think of it: we all together as one see Him face to face, bathed in liquid love, overcome with intimate emotions of love for God and others, and filled with a holiness that we have never seen before.
We get to “play God” when we forgive those who have trespassed against us, but we cannot play God by changing others and making them holy. This is what Christ has done for us: He does forgive us, yes, but even more, He is in the process of making us as holy as He has declared us to be. And when that process is complete…wow, here we are in the intimate presence of His holiness and love.