The Measure of Christ

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!