The Church God Builds

Some people talk about the church these days as though it were a relic from another time—something once useful, now outgrown. They say, “I can worship God in my own way,” or, “I don’t need organized religion to be spiritual.” But the Bible never describes the church as a hobby, a club, or a volunteer association. Scripture calls it the Bride of Christ, the lampstand that carries His light, the temple that houses His presence, and the building site where Christ Himself is still at work. The church is God’s idea, not man’s invention.

If that’s true—and it is—then we must ask ourselves a serious question: Am I treating Christ’s church the way Christ Himself treats it? Do I love her, pray for her, serve her, and believe in what God is doing through her? The story of that little church in Swan Quarter, North Carolina, still stirs my heart. In 1874 the congregation built a modest wooden building, but the land they truly wanted had been refused by its owner. Two years later a storm struck the town, the kind of storm that tears apart homes and lifts barns from their foundations. When the winds subsided, the church was gone—carried three hundred feet across the flooded streets. And there, resting unharmed, it had come to a stop on the exact plot of ground they had prayed for. The people called it The House of God Moved by the Hand of God. That story reminds us that the true church—wherever she may be—is still being moved, guided, and established by God Himself.

Every church faces seasons. Some are struggling, some are steady, and some are blazing with holy fire. Yet God’s plan has not changed. His Spirit still moves, His Son still reigns, and His Bride is still being prepared. Today I want us to look at the church through four of the great pictures Scripture gives us: as the Bride of Christ, as the Lightbearer to the world, as the Temple of God, and as the building under construction by the hands of Christ Himself. And when we’ve looked at those four, I want to bring us to a personal challenge—one that could define the rest of our Christian lives: No Reserves. No Retreats. No Regrets.

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Paul says in Ephesians 5, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” Those are the verbs of love—He loved, He gave, He sanctified, He cleansed, He will present. The cross was the dowry. The resurrection was the promise of the wedding day. Even now Jesus is preparing His Bride, shaping her character, removing the stains of selfishness and pride until she shines with the beauty of His own righteousness.

When I look at that image, I’m reminded that everything we do as believers begins with relationship, not responsibility. We are not first workers or volunteers; we are first beloved. We serve not to earn Christ’s affection but because we already have it. And when we understand that, obedience becomes joy. The church that knows she is loved becomes a church that loves well. Holiness stops feeling like a restriction and starts feeling like preparation. When a bride is getting ready for her wedding, she doesn’t resent the white dress; she cherishes it because it represents who she is becoming.

There’s a second truth there as well: the Bride’s patience. Every faithful believer knows what it is to wait—to wait for promises fulfilled, for prodigals to come home, for prayers to be answered, for Christ to return. A bride waits because she knows her Groom is faithful. She keeps her lamp trimmed; she guards her heart; she keeps her eyes on the day of His appearing. That’s how the church must wait today. If we spend our energy comparing ourselves with other churches or measuring our progress against the world’s applause, we lose sight of our first love. But when our eyes stay fixed on Jesus, hope steadies our steps, even when the journey is long.

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Then John’s vision in Revelation shows us another side of this mystery. He writes that he turned to see the voice that spoke with him and saw seven golden lampstands and, in the midst of them, One like the Son of Man. The lampstands, the text tells us, are the churches. The stars in His hand are the messengers, the pastors. Notice where Jesus stands—in the midst of His churches. He has not abandoned them; He walks among them. That alone should correct half our discouragement.