Part 3 - The Church of Christ or church of man

"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God" --Romans 7:4.

Marriage is set forth in the Bible as describing the relationship between Christ and the Church. Jesus is often spoken of as the husband of the Church: "Thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name" (Isaiah 54:5). "Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you" (Jeremiah 3:14).

The Church is spoken of as the bride, the Lamb's wife: "The Spirit and the Bride say, Come" (Revelation 22:17). That is, Christ and the Church say, "Come." The apostle Paul says, "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:2).

In most marriages, the wife gives up her earthly father's name and assumes that of her new husband; likewise, the Church  of Christ assumes the name of Christ and is baptized into His name. When we are a part of the Body of Christ, the Church has no right to have separate interest from the Lord Christ Jesus. Whatever concerns the Church concerns Christ and right now the Church is suffering loss.

The church of man is producing sorry saints and this is grieving the Holy Spirit and causing Christ to suffer loss. The masses of Christendom has forgotten their first love carrying on from Sunday to Sunday as if the He never suffered pain, contempt, and death for them. They are not worshipping God the majority of man's churches are worshipping man idolizing every word out of their mouth and putting the Word of God on the shelf.

Christ loves His Church and gave Himself for it; He purchased it with His own blood, and the thanks He is getting is a turned back. The people rather believe a lie than the truth. The relationship of the church of man to the church of Christ Jesus has fallen way off track. The Church is no longer governed by His will, faith is never spoken of, sin is never preached, Hell is a fable, and no one is storing up treasure in Heaven all the church of man wants today is more of the world.

The god of this world has become the moving cause of all their conduct. Church is not what Christ intended for it to be, the house of prayer; Satan has made it big business that satisfies the flesh of men. Christ is supposed to be the Lord of the Church but His Holy Spirit is not there. Christendom is pushing Him out. Every faithful believer is under the protection of Christ Jesus, but those innocent soul who are in bondage in the church of man cannot look to Christ to preserve them from injury because the prince of this world has it all sown up.

Jesus is pledged to protect His Church from every foe, but how can He when the church of man has its members bound to the Law. The powers of Hell have put down the Church Christ wants built, man has abandoned Him. It is not too late for His people to come out from among them. Our Lord will never forget His relationship to those who belong to Him, but it’s a different story for believers. Christ Church, His Bride is protected in spite of all earth and Hell conspiring against her.

Christ says, "Because I live, ye shall live also" (John 14:19). And "He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die" (John 11:25-26). No power in the Universe can destroy true believer.  Christ is Lord over all things, and He wants the sleeping church of man to awake and return to Him and make Him Lord. He does not restrain His Church from sin, it is our decision to make.

He is saddened by the misconduct of His people, turning their backs on His Grace embracing the Law leave no place for His Holy Spirit, only room for a counterfeit spirit. Our Lord  will hold them liable for their spiritual crimes, and the Law, which the church of man has placed them under, don't think for a minute God has not noticed her separate existence. Christ will not accept the misconduct of the church of man as He assume responsibility for His obedient Church.

He took the place of His people when they were convicted and sentenced to eternal damnation and He won't do it again. Our responsibility is to take care of our own sin once our slate has been clean. He has made an atonement to cover all our sin once for all, and He lives to make intercession for His people who are doing His Word. He holds Himself responsible before God for all the conduct of the Church that confess their sin and repent.

Only then can every believer be perfectly united to Him. It is true our Lord has assumed the responsibility for all the civil and capital crimes of rebellion against God, but not the Holy Spirit. Christendom will be condemned if they remain in their sleeping condition. The church of man is lost in a separation existence bound under Law. God has so given up the church of man to their own devices and the Church of Christ unto the New Covenant in His Blood, under Grace, whose Church is not operating under the Law.

The Law cannot keep its hold of them for condemnation if they will return to Him. There is therefore now, no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). The penalty of the law if forever remitted to those in Christ Jesus. We can't be in Christ and under Law. Doing any part of the Law makes one guilty of the whole and that crime of believer will be taken into account. Why because their back is turned on the Holy Spirit of Grace. Christ assumed the responsibility of bringing Christians out from under the power of sin, as well as from under the Law, but for those choosing to be place under it by the church of man willfully surrender their will to man spitting on the price He paid to give all His children a complete victory.

Only through the true Church are the children of God born to Christ Jesus, and His seed is multiplied through the travail of His Church; and true believers are Born-Again. Christ Jesus upholds His Church and affords her all the protection against the powers of Hell that come against her. The happiness of Christ is increased by love of His Church. "Who for the joy set before Him endured the Cross despising the shame" (Hebrews 12:2).

The joy set before Him is the love of His Church. What husband contribute happiness to his wife and not enjoy happiness himself. Jesus Christ enjoys the happiness of His Church because He loves her, and His love is infinitely greater than any love a mortal man has for his wife. Christ Jesus and His Church share each other's sorrows. Our Apostle Paul says, He was always bearing in his body the dying of the Lord Christ Jesus: "For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ" (2 Corinthians 1:5).

And he declared that one end of all his toils and self-denials was that he might "know the fellowship of his sufferings" (Philippians 3:10). Paul rejoiced in all his sufferings. The true Church keenly feels every reproach cast upon Christ, as He feels every injury inflicted on His Church by man. The principal reason for this Holy Union between Christ Jesus and His Church is that He may sanctify her: "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church: and he is the Savior of the body.

Therefore as the Church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of Water by the Word, that 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" (Ephesians 5:22-27).

What's sad is a vast multitude profess to be a part of the Bride of Christ but have the spirit of greed and love of money is all over them. No attempt to make them see and understand that they have an agenda that separate them from truth, and the true God falls on deaf. Everybody knows what an abominable thing it is for a wife not to be satisfied with the love of her husband and continually pursue other lovers. It is more abominable when the whole of Christendom is not satisfied with the love of Christ and runs away after other lovers.

What are members of the church of man thinking of? Why are they not satisfied with the love of Christ? Why must they choose to have the riches and honors of the world to make them happy? In the end not a worldly possession will leave earth with them. Only what's done for Christ will last. Innocent believers is a sorry wife who is choosing a lover who is the enemy of God. The church of man is playing the harlot. Satan is leading the church of man into committing spiritual whoredom!

God is not making this charge unjustly, He makes it with tender grief and pleads for her to return. Many "Christians," when they made a profession did not expect to be deceived. They came into God's house, pledged themselves to live entirely for Him. They did not know they were sitting under a hireling who could care less about their soul' eternal dwelling; they don't care about their own. These believers promised to forsake all sin, to live alone for Christ, to be satisfied with His love, and to have no other lovers—yet they are unexpectedly dishonoring Christ.

The church of man call themselves "Christians" and deliberately commit spiritual adultery the most abominable part of such a wife's wickedness is when she turns around and blames her conduct upon her faithful husband; I giving it to God! Christ has done all that He can do, short of absolute force, to keep His Church from sinning, the church of man charge her sin upon Him. They act as if He hasn't made adequate provisions for preserving His people against the wiles of the devil.

They are horrified at the very name Christian discipline, as if Christ is unable to keep His people from committing sin and falling into the snare of the devil. He has not married a Bride without making provision to protect her against Satan's seductions. The reputation of a husband and wife are one; whatever dishonors one, dishonors the other. The church of man has run arms wide opened into every appearance of evil. Man's church continually opens opportunities for the enemy of God to grieve the Holy Spirit.

It's not too late, Christ still offers to reconcile man. He strives to regain the affection of His Bride. Sometimes a husband loses his affection toward his wife, and she loses her love for him; but nothing can be found in the character and conduct of Christ Jesus to justify the treatment He is receiving from men after He has laid Himself out to capture the affections of a true Church. Christ is pursuing His wandering wife from the four corners of the world beseeching her with tears to return home, and she persists in doing her thing.

The church of man is asleep, could it be they don't know that their sins take hold of our Lord Christ Jesus and wound Him! Christendom is filled with professing Christians who never really meant to live without sin. Paul insists that believers should consider themselves dead to sin (See Romans 6:11). The reason many Christians do not receive preserving Grace is because they do not expect and trust Christ Jesus to preserve them in perfect love.

The church of man preserve himself, and instead of throwing himself upon Christ, his trust and faith is in the peoples resources. He claims weakness and he expects to sin, and of course he does. The church of man has no confidence in holiness and justification only in self righteousness. No one who trusts God for anything He has promised has ever failed to receive it according to his faith. If we trust God for what He has not promised is tempting God.

If Peter had not been called to come out on the water, it would have been tempting God for him to get out of the ship and he would have lost his life for his presumption and folly. But as soon as Christ told him to come, it was merely an act of sound faith something that man's church lack.  It was a promise on the part of Christ that Peter would be sustained; and he was sustained, as long as he had faith.