The Glorious Church
Text: Ephesians 5:27
Series: Restoration Sermons
Date:
Speaker: Ed Rangel
Location: Waupaca Church of Christ
Bible Version: NASB 1995
Sermon Type: Expository
Learning Objectives
By the close of this lesson the hearer should be able to:
- Say what makes the church glorious — its Head, its names, its work, and its destiny.
- Explain why denominational names and divisions dishonor Christ.
- Value the church the way Christ values it — enough to have died for it.
Thesis
The church is glorious because Christ is its glorious Head, it wears the glorious names God gave it, it carries out God's glorious work, and it moves toward a glorious destiny as the bride of the Lamb — and everything that divides or rebrands it dims that glory.
Burden
Paul says Christ gave Himself for the church to present it to Himself "in all her glory... holy and blameless" (Eph. 5:27). We do not usually think of the church as glorious; we think of it as the place we attend, an institution with problems, a name on a sign. But heaven looks at it as a bride being made ready. If we saw the church the way Christ sees it, we would stop treating it casually, stop dividing it carelessly, and stop dressing it in names He never gave it. This lesson asks us to see the glory.
Introduction
No body of people is entitled to be called the glorious church except the New Testament church — and even it only as it continues faithful to God. The outline traces the glory through four things: a glorious Head, glorious names, a glorious work, and a glorious destiny.
I. A Glorious Head — Christ (Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:22)
Christ said, "I will build My church" (Matt. 16:18); it is His, and "He is also head of the body, the church" (Col. 1:18), "head over all things to the church" (Eph. 1:22).
- Because the Head never changes, the body must stay what it was in New Testament times; head and body must be in harmony, and that harmony implies the unity of all the members.
- Christ has not surrendered His authority to any man. If He had, He would cease to be the Head. His authority alone is to be recognized in the church — no pope, no council, no founder, no creed stands beside Him.
A church with a human head, or with human authority laid alongside Christ's, has exchanged its glory for a counterfeit.
II. Glorious Names (Rom. 16:16; 1 Tim. 3:15)
The Head had the authority to name His body, and the names He gave are glorious: the church of God, the body of Christ, the kingdom, the house of God, the churches of Christ (1 Tim. 3:15; Eph. 1:23; 4:12; Rom. 16:16). Each name shows divine origin, divine relationship, and divine wisdom, and each adds glory to the Head as the Head adds glory to the body.
By contrast, denominational names are blots on the fair name of Christ. They honor human founders and human movements; they perpetuate the very divisions Paul condemned — "Is Christ divided?" (1 Cor. 1:12-13); and without distinctive party names there could be no distinctive party organizations. Modern denominationalism could not exist without the modern names that prop it up. To wear Christ's name only is not narrowness; it is glory restored to its rightful owner.
III. A Glorious Work (Eph. 3:10, 21; 1 Cor. 10:31)
The church's work is glorious because it carries God's own plan for redeeming man. "The manifold wisdom of God" is now "made known through the church" (Eph. 3:10); its mission is God-ordained and Spirit-guided. Everything its members do as they ought gives glory to God (1 Cor. 10:31) — glorifying Him in the body (1 Cor. 6:20) and in their speech (1 Pet. 4:11).
But this work demands united, sympathetic effort, because division is disastrous for it. The outline names five things that hinder the work even now — denominational names, creeds, authorities, ordinances, and tests of fellowship — every one of them a human addition that fractures the body and dilutes its witness. "To Him be the glory in the church" (Eph. 3:21); all our glory must be there, not in the parties of men.
IV. A Glorious Destiny (Rev. 21:9; 1 Cor. 15:24)
The church is moving toward a glorious end:
- it is finally taken as the bride of the Lamb (Rev. 21:9);
- to be presented as a pure virgin to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:27);
- at the end the kingdom is delivered up to God as Christ's reign reaches its goal (1 Cor. 15:24);
- and the redeemed are gathered with the spirits of the righteous made perfect (Heb. 12:22-23).
What men despise now, heaven will display forever. The church has a future no human institution can claim.
Application
Treat the church as Christ treats it. He gave Himself for it; we will not trifle with it, divide it over opinions, or rebrand it with names He never authorized. If the Head is glorious, submit to His authority alone. If the names are glorious, wear His and drop the labels of men. If the work is glorious, throw your whole effort into it and refuse the five dividers that hinder it. If the destiny is glorious, live now as part of a bride being made ready. The question is not whether the church is glorious — Christ has settled that — but whether we will honor the glory He has given it.
Conclusion
The church is glorious in its Head, its names, its work, and its destiny, and that glory all traces back to Christ, who loved it and gave Himself for it. Every human addition that divides or relabels it only hides the glory; faithfulness to the New Testament pattern lets it shine. "All other plants which the Father did not plant will be rooted up" (cf. Matt. 15:13) — but the body Christ built He will present to Himself in glory.
Invitation
Christ's glorious church is entered the way He appointed: by faith in Him, repentance, confession of His name, and baptism into Him for the remission of your sins — at which the Lord Himself adds you to it (Acts 2:38, 47). You do not "join" a church of men; you are added by the Lord to the body of Christ. Come into the glorious church today, on His terms, wearing His name. Come while we sing.
Word Study
| English Term | Greek Term | Basic Meaning | Usage in This Sermon | Sermon Significance | Key Texts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glorious / in all her glory | endoxos | held in honor, splendid | the church seen in the splendor Christ gives it, not in human estimation | the church seen in the splendor Christ gives it, not in human estimation | Eph. 5:27 |
| Church | ekklēsia | The called-out body; the names God assigned it all describe relationship to God and Christ, never to a human founder | Used in this sermon to establish the biblical meaning of the term | The called-out body; the names God assigned it all describe relationship to God and Christ, never to a human founder | — |
Scripture Interlock Table
| Theme | Boles' Outline | Supporting Scripture |
|---|---|---|
| Christ the unchanging Head | I | Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:22; Matt. 16:18 |
| God-given names of the church | II | 1 Tim. 3:15; Eph. 1:23; Rom. 16:16 |
| Division dishonors Christ | II | 1 Cor. 1:12-13 |
| God's wisdom shown through the church | III | Eph. 3:10, 21 |
| All glory in the church, not parties | III | 1 Cor. 10:31; 6:20 |
| Bride of the Lamb; kingdom delivered up | IV | Rev. 21:9; 2 Cor. 11:2; 1 Cor. 15:24 |
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Converted from H. Leo Boles, Outline 21. Doctrinal audit: core-framework (one church = body of Christ; Christ's sole authority and headship; God-given names vs. denominational names; congregational unity; present kingdom delivered up at the end). No correction. Style audit: heavy OCR cleanup ("GLORI O US"→Glorious; "HARMO 1Y"→harmony; "O ILY"→only; references normalized). Matt. 15:13 applied to human institutions as Boles does, phrased as "what the Father did not plant."
