There is a great
mystery in the body of Christ. It has been hidden in plain view
in the Scriptures for a very long time. If you study Ephesians
4:11-13, you will find several key points. The first is the
outlining of the five fundamental offices of Apostle, Prophet,
Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher. The second is the mandate to
equip, build up and enable believers for the work of ministry.
But why do these offices exist? And why bother to equip the
saints for ministry? The Answer is simple. The third and ultimate
key point is WHY we are doing all of this. Our goal, which MUST
BE ACHIEVED, is to bring the church into a moral and spiritual
condition of EQUALITY WITH CHRIST. To many believers, conditioned
by years of easy grace preaching, the thought of true holiness
and sactification, where sin is no longer even a possibility,
seems horrific and totally unreasonable. To other believers,
preconditioned by years of being taught from the pulpit that
they HAVE to sin each day and cannot help themselves, it appears
to be pure heresy. But the Biblical, Scriptural truth is there
for all to see. We are ALL called to become a perfect man, to
attain to the fullness of the measure of the stature of Christ.
Some individuals argue that this will occur in heaven, or during
the Rapture, when Christ somehow mystically cleans us as we
received our resurrection bodies. Again, nothing could be further
from the truth. In The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Jesus Himself
says that the Bride HAS MADE HERSELF READY. Consider this: Is
the portion of the Bride coming with Christ from Heaven pure
and holy, or is it compromised, and in sin? Furthermore, is
CHRIST HIMSELF, riding on a white horse, in any way defiled
or unclean? The answer should be obvious to you. If that is
true, THEN HOW CAN THE PART OF THE BRIDE COMING FROM THE EARTH
BE IMPURE, COMPROMISED, OR IN SIN? No, dear friends, a pure
and holy Groom demands a pure and holy Bride. A crucified Groom
requires a crucified Bride. And an anointed Groom desires an
anointed Bride. She, in order to be a suitable helpmeet for
the Second Person in the Godhead, must be LIKE HIM IN EVERY
RESPECT in order to be wedded to him. If you will study carefully
the picture we have used elsewhere in our site to illustrate
the Bride Church, you can see a beautiful bride, adorned and
dressed for her wedding day. But inside of her, clearly visible,
is the Crucified Christ. Only by being crucified with Him can
She obtain the purity and purpose required to be his wife, and
to be equally yoked. The Ephesians 4 Centre for Learning is
committed to producing leaders who can help to raise up this
new paradigm, a true Bride Church, clean, pure, anointed and
ready for His Return!