Experiencing God

In The Church:
The Bride of
Christ: Part 2
Pastor John Isaacs
Kingsway Community Church
February 27, 2011
 Metaphors Used To
Describe The Church
1. Body 5. Vine
2. Bride 6. Sheep Fold
3. Family 7. Army
4. Building
The Church is the

Bride of
Christ
2 Corinthians 11:1-2
1
 I hope you will put up with a
little more of my foolishness.
Please bear with me. 
2
 For I am jealous for you with the
jealousy of God himself. I
promised you as a pure
bride to one husband - Christ. 
The Jewish Marriage
Stage 1: The Engagement
Stage 2: The Betrothal
Stage 3: The Wedding
 The Church
We are now in the Betrothal Stage
awaiting the Wedding.
1. A pledge has been made.
2. Payment of the Bride Price.
3. Bridegroom has gone to
prepare a place for us.
4. Bride is getting herself ready
 In The Body …
1. Unity
2. Fellowship
3. Spiritual Gifts
As The Bride …

1 Devotion to
Jesus
2 Corinthians 11:3-4
 But I fear that somehow your pure and
3

undivided devotion to Christ will be

corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the
cunning ways of the serpent. 4 You happily
put up with whatever anyone tells you, even
if they preach a different Jesus than the one
we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than
the one you received, or a different kind of
gospel than the one you believed.
1 Corinthians 7:34-35
34
 … In the same way, a woman who is no
longer married or has never been married
can be devoted to the Lord and holy in
body and in spirit. But a married woman has
to think about her earthly responsibilities
and how to please her husband. 35 I am
saying this for your benefit, not to place
restrictions on you. I want you to do
whatever will help you serve the Lord best,
with as few distractions as possible.
Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters.
For you will hate one and love
the other; you will be devoted
to one and despise the
other. You cannot serve both
God and money.
Today we have substituted creedal
belief for personal belief, and that is
why so many are devoted to causes
and so few devoted to Jesus Christ.
People do not want to be devoted to
Jesus, but only to the cause they’ve
started. Jesus Christ is a source of
deep offence to the educated mind of
today that does not want Him in any
other way than as a Comrade.
Our Lord's first obedience was to the
will of His Father, not to the needs of
men; the saving of men was the
natural outcome of His obedience to
the Father. If I am devoted to the
cause of humanity only, I will soon be
exhausted and come to the place
where my love will falter; but if I love
Jesus Christ personally and
passionately, I can serve humanity
though men treat me as a door-mat.
The secret of a disciple's life is
devotion to Jesus Christ.
- Oswald Chambers
Devotion
• profound dedication
• feelings of ardent love
• earnest attachment to a person
Revelation 2:4-5
4
But I have this against you, that you
have abandoned the love you
had at first. 
5
Remember therefore from where you
have fallen; repent, and do the works
you did at first. If not, I will come to you
and remove your lampstand from its
place, unless you repent. 
As The Bride …

2 Blameless
Living
Ephesians 5:26-27
26
 to make her holy and clean, washed
by the cleansing of God’s word.
27
 He did this to present her to himself as
a glorious church without a spot
or wrinkle or any other blemish.
Instead, she will be holy and without
fault.
Psalm 101
1
 I will sing of your love and justice,
LORD. I will praise you with songs.
 2 I will be careful to live a blameless life
- when will you come to help me? I will
lead a life of integrity in my own home.
 3 I will refuse to look at anything vile
and vulgar. I hate all who deal
crookedly; I will have nothing to do with
them.
4
 I will reject perverse ideas and stay
away from every evil.
 5 I will not tolerate people who slander
their neighbors. I will not endure conceit
and pride. 
6
 I will search for faithful people to be
my companions. Only those who are
above reproach will be allowed to serve
me.
 7 I will not allow deceivers to serve in
my house, and liars will not stay in my
presence.
 8 My daily task will be to ferret out the
wicked and free the city of the LORD
from their grip.
Blameless Life
1. have integrity at home
2. not look at the vile or vulgar
3. not associate with the
crooked
4. avoid all evil and wickedness
5. not endure people full of
conceit and pride
1 Peter 1:13-15
 So think clearly and exercise self-
13

control. Look forward to the

gracious salvation that will come to
you when Jesus Christ is revealed to
the world. 14 So you must live as
God’s obedient children. Don’t slip
back into your old ways of living to
satisfy your own desires. You didn’t
know any better then. 15 But now
you must be holy in everything
you do, just as God who chose you
is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say,
“You must be holy because I am
holy.”
Blameless Life
6. holy living
7. set apart from the world
8. consecrated living
9. as obedient children
10. not living to satisfy own
desire
1 John 1:9
But if we confess our sins to
Him, He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all
wickedness.
As The Bride …

3 Good
Deeds
Revelation 19:8
She has been given the finest
of pure white linen to wear.
For the fine linen represents
the good deeds of God’s
holy people.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God
prepared beforehand, that
we should walk in them.
Titus 2:13-14
While we look forward with hope to
that wonderful day when the glory
of our great God and Savior, Jesus
Christ, will be revealed.  He gave His
life to free us from every kind of sin,
to cleanse us, and to make us His
very own people, totally committed
to doing good deeds.
Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your
good deeds shine out for
all to see, so that everyone
will praise your heavenly
Father.
Good Deeds
Doing whatever God has asked you
to do!
• Serving
• Giving
• Helping
• Caring
• Leading
Nevertheless, in a response of
gratitude we are called to obey. Jesus
said, “If you love me, keep my
commandments.” Martin Luther
taught that justification is by faith
alone. But he expanded the concept
by saying that justification is by faith
alone, but not by a faith that is alone.
A person who is truly trusting Christ
and resting on Christ for redemption
receives the benefits of Christ’s merit
by faith. But if that person has true
faith, that true faith will manifest
itself in a life of obedience. Simply
put, I get into heaven by Jesus’
righteousness, but my reward in
heaven will be distributed according
to my obedience or the lack of it.

- R. C. Sproul
 As The Bride …
1. Devoted to Jesus
leads to …
2. Blameless Living
leads to …
3. Good Deeds