Beloved friends, we greet you in the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ, rejoicing in the privilege of continuing with you in the study of God's holy word and the blessed theme of the coming again of our Lord Jesus. We would emphasize very emphatically and sincerely. We believe earnestly in the coming of our Savior. We pray that every listener will be concerned about his or her soul. And if a believer about his and her life, in relation to the fact we shall meet the Lord at his coming again, we have touched upon some very precious truth that have had their bearing particularly upon each one of us as individuals that the Lord is coming for his own. Every individual believer will be received by him as they meet him above in the air when he shall come for those of his saints. But we would like also today to touch upon from a verse of Scripture or two in Ephesians chapter five relative to the corporate character of the church when the Lord must come for his bride. For we would indeed say that in addition to the individual's privilege and prospect that is ours, we should always also recognize we constitute a part of that corporate testimony, which in the Word of God is called the Body of Christ, the Church which shall be His bride. My beloved, we have mentioned so far in our studies our aspect of studying the coming of the Lord Jesus has emphasized the individual responsibility toward it, but we'd like to emphasize with joy the corporate character that is implied by the coming of the Lord Jesus when it means that he will receive also for himself his chosen blood-bought purchased bride. Here are the words of Scripture that we follow, reading from chapter five of the book of Ephesians, verse twenty-five, verse twenty-six, verse twenty-seven. 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. Here are three verses of Scripture that are very important. They particularly apply to the truth relative to the church in its corporate character. And you have the blessed, blessed presentation, as you have it in the context of this scripture, as husband and wife. Thus realizing the Lord Jesus Christ will be the coming bridegroom, and his church, redeemed and brought to himself, shall be his blessed bloodboard. redeemed an eternal bride. But think with me of the words that we have read. There is a past, there is a present, and there is a future interpretation to these verses. When we think of that which refers to the past, listen to the words of verse twenty-five, Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. when we think of that corporate testimony which is the church. And please let me remind you, it's the corporate testimony that is comprised of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, who have by the Spirit been placed into the one body which is the church. Christ is not the head, nor will he be the bridegroom of many churches. He is the head and he is the bridegroom of but one church. And I hope you belong to that one church, which is his body. But note the words. The church is the object of his affection. The church is not only the object of his affection. The church has been made the object of his redemption. Christ loved the church. Christ gave himself for it. And my beloved radio friend, you that are believers particularly, forget not that not alone did he love you personally, and redeemed you personally. But now he takes the aggregate company of all who have believed upon him, which who will comprise the bride. And he has made that corporate testimony, the object of his eternal love, as well as the object of his work of redemption. Oh, how precious to realize the love, together with the sacrifice, Christ as given and made for the church. But then there is a present ministration. Not only is there a past work that he has done for it. There is a present ministration which he carries on that he might sanctify, set it apart, and cleanse it, keep it clean with the washing of water by the word. What does it mean? Oh my beloved may I say. It is the ministry of the Word of God by the Holy Spirit, through which the Lord Jesus, the bridegroom, seeks to keep the church as it ought to be, cleanse it while in the present scene, set it apart for himself, with the washing of water by the Word. Let me give you an illustration of him. Many of you may remember in John thirteen how the Lord Jesus washed the disciples' feet, Did he not take a basin of water? He girded himself with a towel? He stooped and washed the disciples' feet, wiped them with a towel, to keep their feet clean? What did he imply? Oh, beloved, t'was the implication and the meaning, not a literal foot-washing, something far greater than that. While he is absent from the earth and in heaven above, through the word of God, which is typified by the basin of water. That blessed Savior above us, our great high priest, merciful and faithful, our great advocate, our great intercessor. He keeps the feet of his face. What a joy to know. Through the word of God, he keeps his people clean. My fellow believer, if you're not clean, you better get in the basin of water. And that is the word of God. Did not did not the psalmist write in psalm one nineteen wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto according to thy word did he not also add thy word have I laid up or hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee my beloved fellow believer there's only one ministry that can keep your feet and my feet in this present world of defilement clean for him It's the ministry of the Word of God by the Holy Spirit. I beg of you, my fellow believer, let the Lord wash your feet every day. Get into His precious Word that He may cleanse your way every day and keep your feet clean. You don't need a bath. If you've been to the fountain of cleansing, if you've come under the blood of Christ, you've had your bath and your sins are washed away. For the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. May I say very frankly, my beloved believer friend, you can get your feet dirty when you walk through this world. And I want to tell you it's a very dirty world. And as you rub shoulders with it, as you mingle with it, whether it's in business or society, you know as I know, there's a lot of moral filth around. And beloved, how necessary it is to get along with the Lord and get under his word and let him wash the filth. from your mind and from your heart that may have accumulated through the day in contact with its world. And so He sanctifies. He sets the church apart and seeks to cleanse it in its path through life by the washing of the water, by the Word. That's His present work. But are we come in relation to our theme, the coming of the Lord? Note the future prospect for the church. 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. My beloved, what can I say? The church is not only the object of Christ's affection and of His redemption, it is not only the object of His personal ministration, but some glorious day when He comes It will be the object of his glorification. It will be a glorious church. I commend to you the reading of chapter nineteen of the book of the Revelation, verses six through nine. For all, thank God, there you have the record where we find the time of the marriage of the Lamb will take place to the bride. But before that, the Lord descends from heaven to thus come. and gather them together. For the bride, the church, is to be a glorious church. And if you want to read of the beauty and the splendor, the majesty and the greatness of its glory, I commend to you to read what John the Apostle has written in chapter, chapter twenty-one of the book of the Revelation, beginning at verse nine and reading down through chapter twenty-two and verse five. and you have the glorious description of that church. Surely John was told by the angel, I will show thee the bride, the land's wife. My beloved radio friend, you that are saved, you and I belong to the bride, and there's coming a wedding to take place in heaven above. And the glory of that bride will be a glorious church. It will be whole. It will be complete. It will be without blemish. My beloved radio friend, may I say? What joy it is to realize when he will take that bride to himself and when he presents it to himself, there will be no wrinkles on it. Someday in our studies we shall touch upon the fact. that when we come to meet our Lord, one of the things he will do, he will examine every believer at what is called the judgment seat of Christ. And I'll tell you with that judgment seat of Christ, any wrinkles that we may have, any spots and blemish that we may have shown down here upon the earth, he'll clean it up, and he will receive the bride to himself a glorious church, not having spots. not having wrinkles, not being holy and being entirely without blemish. My beloved, let me say this. You can find a lot of faults with the church on the earth today. So can I. But when the Lord Jesus is finished with it, she will be holy and without blemish a glorious church. Are you not glad he's coming? Oh, that he may come for his bride. Surely the words of Revelation, verse seventeen, should be on our hearts. The Spirit and the bride say, Come. Let him that heareth say, Come. And whosoever will let him take the water of life freely. My beloved, do you belong to his church? I do. Forget any other church that you may name on the earth. Do you belong to his church? Are you redeemed by his precious blood? Father, in the precious name of the Lord Jesus, use thy word not only to comfort and encourage the saints, but to save the sinners that have listened to it. In Jesus' name for his glory, amen.