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Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s Word on Bibleline, everywhere, every time. Here God’s truth on Bibleline. Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida. Clearly declaring the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the radio and the internet. Your regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made by clicking on the donations link on the BibleLineMinistries.org homepage.

We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s concluding message of this teaching will be a blessing to you and your family. Now our head, Christ is in heaven. The body is on the earth. And without the head, the body can do nothing. We do what we do because we’re listening to our spiritual head. We are a spiritual body made up of spiritual individuals, people who have by faith accepted Christ as their Savior.

So you’re part of the body of Christ. And you may not be in the same church. And it’s talking about people from Pentecost to the rapture. And anyone who has trusted Christ as their Savior regards to who they may be, how messed up they may be, how faithful they may be, nothing makes any difference. If you trust the Lord, you’re part of the body of Christ. When the rapture takes place, here I come, ready or not. There’s some people who teach a partial rapture.

Like he’s coming for a leg and an arm, and the rest of it, he’ll get later. It’s not a rupture, it’s a rapture. All of us are going, ready or not. We’re going to be with the Lord. Now look there in chapter three, look in chapter three of the book of Ephesians. And you’ll notice up there in verse 15, of whom the words whole family in heaven and earth is named. So part of our family is in heaven. heart of our family is on the earth.

And because we are the children of God, some have already gone to be with the Lord and some of us are still here, but we’re still part of the same family. And then he makes this statement down here in verse 21, under whom be glory in the and you ought to underline that word church, because this whole family is still talking about the church. It’s still one body. And if you look down there in verse 4 of chapter 4, there is one body, one body.

And you and I are in this one body that God calls the church. Now, take your Bible and turn to the book of Colossians in chapter 1. Just a few scriptures to you right. Colossians in chapter 1. And notice up there in verse 18. Colossians chapter 1 and verse 18. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in all things he might have, they preeminence. So we are For in Him He is in us.

He is the head of the body. Now there’s several things that I want you to see here. It’s not just that we’ve been saved. We’re talking about how we’re going to be presented to the Son, because that day will happen. So I want you to notice, he talked about this word present. in verse 22, in the body of His flesh, through death to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in His sight. But it’s talking about we are going to be presented.

Now look there in verse 28, whom we preach, warning every man, teaching every man in all wisdom that we may, and you ought to get to present, every man perfect or mature in Christ Jesus. So everyone that is in Christ It’s not just a matter of being in Christ, but it’s how you’re going to be presented before the Lord. God wants you and I to mature in the Lord, to grow strong in the Lord, strong in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Not just to be, well, I got my little pinches inside the pearly gates and that’s all that matters. No, there’s so much more. And that’s why we warn God’s children. We teach God’s children. We try to encourage and rebuke and strengthen and help, Because every child of God, she wants the best for every other child of God. True? So there’s things that God wants us to be able to do. Now, take your Bible and go all the way back to 2 Corinthians in chapter 11, 2 Corinthians and chapter 11.

Because we are talking about the church, the body of Christ, and how were to be presented? You know that if you do anything for the Lord of any value, you didn’t do that by yourself. God used you. God uses people. But without Him, you can do nothing. But you and the Lord, you make a majority. You’d be surprised what God can do for you, if you simply let Him. So here in 2 Corinthians in chapter 11, See there in verse one, he says, would the God, you could bear with me a little in my folly?

And indeed bear with me, for I am jealous over you with Godly jealousy. Now he’s talking to the believers here in the church in Corinth. He says, for I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you. There’s that word again, present you as a chase virgin. Now if they If a person is a chase virgin, it means that they’re a bride to Christ. Where they are, they have to be a bride because they’re a chase virgin.

You see, there is a way in which we’re to be presented to Christ. See, we try to do everything we can, as a pastor. You want everybody not only to know the Lord, you want God’s people to walk with the Lord. to be holy and godly in your Christian life. So we know that we’re going to be presented to the Lord. And Paul says that very same thing here as a chase virgin to Christ. It means as a bride, gonna be presented.

He’s talking to the church. He’s talking to the body of Christ. But let me show you something else. Take your Bible and look in Ephesians in chapter five, the book of Ephesians and chapter 5. In Ephesians chapter 5, I want you to notice, he’s talking about walking in the Spirit, being filled by the Spirit. It means to be controlled by the Spirit. That’s in verse 18 of chapter 5. Then he’s talking about something that relates to a husband and a wife.

He’s really using this as a teaching and explaining the relationship between Christ and the church. You see there in verse 23, for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church. Now what would be the correlation there. If in verse 23 the husband is the head of the wife, Christ is the head of the church and the church must be the wife. Now get something else. And he says here in verse 24, therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, why would this church be subject unto Christ?

Unless it is the wife who is subject to her husband. You see, there’s teaching that God gives us in His word to help us to understand something. It’s not going to be exactly like, you know, Jesus is the Son of God. Therefore, there has to be a wife up there someplace and they had a kid. No, there’s a whole another story behind that, but you’re supposed to try to understand it best you can. But notice what else he says in verse 25.

husbands, love your wives. How? Even as Christ also loved the church. You see, the church is the bride. We’re gonna get married someday. And he says, and gave himself forth. That’s how valuable she is to him and the price that he paid for her. And get this in verse 26. That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. Now get this. That he might, and lo and behold, there’s that word again, Yoda Andalina.

That he might present it to who? Himself. What? A glorious church. So is he talking about the church? And it’s about being presented to Christ? Yes. And he says, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing that it shouldn’t be holy and without blemish. And then he relates that to a man who loves his own body. And then he says here in verse 31, for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall be joined unto his wife.

They too shall be one flesh, not get verse 32. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Who do you think is going to be the wife of Christ, the church? Right now we’re considered as the bride. That means that down the road there is going to be a wedding. There’s going to be a wedding. I think it’s going to be a big wedding. I tell people next time I get married, I’m going to be the bride.

Now looking verse 33, nevertheless, let every one of you in particular, so love his wife, even as himself and the wife see that she reverents her husband. So there is a illustration about the husband and the wife. Yes. But also there’s a mystery taught here about Christ and his church and the husband and wife relationship. so that we would see that. Look down in 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians in chapter 10. And notice now, here in verse 32, give none offense needed to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God.

There’s only three groups of how God breaks down the people in the world, Jews, Gentile, church of God. church has made up of believe in Jews and Gentiles. Now if when Christ talks about the bride in the book of Revelation, if the bride can it refer to just the Jews, that wouldn’t be the church or the bride, could it refer to just the Gentiles, that can’t be the bride. Then the only one left is the church. And therefore, I do believe that the church will be the bride of Christ.

Now, take your Bible and turn to the book of Revelation chapter 21. Revelation and chapter 21. The Bible tells us there in in verse 2, and I John saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Now, the Holy City is made up and it describes it in chapter 21, And it gives a whole thing about how big it is, why it is, how it is, the foundational stones made of silver, I mean gold and all that.

But that’s the buildings. That’s the solid gold. That might be where the bride will live, but the holy city itself can’t be the bride. It looks like the bride has something that has been prepared as a bride coming down from God out of heaven because it’s coming down, I believe, to the earth and may hover above the earth and I really don’t care where God puts it. I’m really not that concerned about where I’m going to live. I wouldn’t even mind it if I had to squish some mud between my toes, but it looks like I might walk on gold dust, I don’t know.

is really going to be remembered. We’re going to have a new nature. Right now I’m talking about my old one and my old physical body and, you know, I wouldn’t mind sitting around a nice little river and fish. But I don’t know if I’m going to do that forever. So God is going to change things. He says, I have not seen ear has not heard, neither has entered the heart of men the things which God has prepared for them that love him.

But God hath revealed there’s something God hath revealed them unto us by spirit. Yeah, the Spirit sure to thaw all things you the deep things of God. For what man know the things of God he can do. except the Spirit of God which is within him. But what if you and I could have the Spirit of God living within us, then we might know the things that are freely given to us by God. But the natural man, the lost man, cannot discern these spiritual things because they are spiritually discerned.

So now look there in verse three. And I heard a great voice out of heaven, say and behold, the tabernacle of God is with what? You’re done the line that word, men. and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himself shall be with them. So we’re talking about people in this holy city. The people I believe are the only be the ones that are the bride. So in verse nine, and there came under me, one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plays.

Talk with me, say, and come hither. I will show thee the bride, the land’s wife. So is the city, now one thing, let me tell you this, in the book of Ephesians in chapter two, where the Lord talks about we are like built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, and that we are like living stones up on this foundation. And so on this foundation, you and I are like little stones, and we are built into a habitation of God.

It actually says that. As though there’s a possibility, whatever we are, and however we’re built, as though the Lord Himself will live inside of this holy city, and He will be the light of the city, and it won’t be in need of the Son or the moon. There’s something God hasn’t made clear in my mind yet. There’s so much I want to know. I have an inquiring mind. But I don’t know if God has given us all the details, or I just haven’t found them yet, but I’m still reading and searching because I’m always looking for little clues that gives me an enlightenment of what I can understand.

But notice what he says here. He says, I’m going to show you the bride, the lamb’s wife. He carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain. and showed me that great city, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. So there is this holy city. But evidently it’s not just to be a holy city. Somebody is supposed to live in it and it’s the people. And I believe that the bride is talking about a honeymoon.

I don’t know. I haven’t figured out all of it. I think that the marriage supple of the lamb takes place at the end of the tribulation period, but there might be something that I don’t get exactly right, but I do believe this. There’s going to be a wedding and I’m going to be in it. Take your Bible and look there in Revelation chapter 19. Look in verse 7, verse 7, Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him for the marriage of the lamb is come.

And his wife had made herself ready. You see, when we leave here, we’re going to the judgment seat of Christ. That’s where God is going to reward us for all the things that we’ve done. And many believe that this is talking about we will be dressed in the righteous acts of the saints. Now, we’re based upon what you’ve done depends upon what you get to wear. your life for the Lord is going to be revealed by the glory that you have.

As it says, those that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the firmament. And then it talks about all the stars of heaven, yet they’re all different in glory. Yet all of us, as God’s children, may shine differently. I don’t know. Different glory is about us. I don’t have a way of figuring it out, but I know there’s going to be something, as he says here in the last part of verse 8. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white.

For the fine linen is the righteousness of the saint. See, it’s not the righteousness of Christ. The righteousness of Christ is what God gave us as His children. This is the righteousness of saints. What we have done and we have made ourselves ready. We’ve been to the Judgement City of Christ and God has given to us whether the crowns or the rewards or whatever we’re going to have. And then our wedding robe. We’re going to a wedding. And verse 9, He said unto me, right blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.

He said unto me, these are true sayings of God. There’s going to be a wedding. And we’re going to be married to the Lord’s. And then in verse 11 down through, it’s talking about coming back to the earth and power and great glory. Now I don’t know when the holy city is going to come down. It appears it’s after the millennium. But I don’t care if he brings it down early. I really don’t know and I don’t care. I don’t know if somebody else has more enlightenment on this than what I know.

I try to look at it from every angle and I’ll have to admit some things I cannot prove. I know it’s going to happen, but I don’t know when. Like I believe the rapture is going to happen. I just don’t know when. But I believe that when Christ comes back, He’s coming back for you and me. And we are His church. We are the body of Christ. Take your Bible now and turn to the book of Revelation in chapter 22.

Revelation chapter 22. Remember this is written by John the Apostle on the Alapatmas, one of the last books written. And in the Old Testament you have many things about in the book of Isaiah and other scriptures in the Old Testament that shows that that there is Jehovah, there is Jehovah. And it talks about capital LORD, Jehovah in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, we have Jesus, we call Joshua. Yeshua and Jehovah in the book of Revelation is the same one.

And it puts it all together. In all these little streams, it comes down out of the mountains. the time you get to the book of Revelation, it’s like one gigantic flowing river. Everything’s going to be rushing and fulfilled in just a moment of time. Now here he makes a statement in the book of Revelation. As he finalizes it, he reminds who the letter is written to. Who’s this book written to? So he says in verse 16, I Jesus have sent mine angels to testify again these things in the churches.

I am the root and the offspring of David. And the bright and the morning star, you know who I am. Verse 17, and the spirit. And here’s this word, and the bride. Say, come. So this is at a time that is going on now because this is still to us and we haven’t left yet. This is for us to read. And if you’ll read the first chapter in verse two or three, he talks about the blessed of the day that reads the prophecy of this book.

That doesn’t mean the first chapter. It means the whole book because this is our future. This is how it’s going to end up. And so he says, in the spirit and the bride, say come. See, right now in this world, when we go into all the world and we preach the gospel, the Holy Spirit uses the message that God has given to us. So we tell people, come to Christ, the church says come to Christ. We’re trying to get as many people as possible to come to Christ and ye that are without money, no charge.

It’s free. See, rule what he says there and let him that here at say come, let him that is a thirst come, whosoever will let him take of the water of life freely. So this is going to happen and you and I, as the church are supposed to be doing like he says in verse 21, he says, surely I come quickly. You see up there in verse 20 where he says, and behold I come quickly. One of these days he is going to come.

And when he comes, he’s coming for his church because his church is his bride and we’re going to be presented. There’s going to be a wedding. To me, don’t that make good sense? Look up here. This hand represents you and me. The wallet represents all the things we’ve ever done wrong. This is you and me. This is sin. We all have sin upon us. The Bible says God loves us. Now he hates our sin, but he loves us. And the Lord says for us to pay for this sin is eternal separation from God in a place called hell.

But God says he doesn’t want us to go to hell. He wants us to go to heaven. To go to heaven would have to be. perfect as righteous as God and none of us are perfect, none of us are righteous. So how can a man get to heaven when he’s loaded with sin? Well the Bible says you cannot save yourself, you’re trapped, you need somebody to redeem you from the curse of the law and of sin and death. This in represent Jesus Christ, he’s the Lord God in the flesh, came into the world because Because he loves us, hates our sin because it separates us from the Lord.

So the Bible says that Jesus Christ who had no sin didn’t have to die, he took all of our sins, paid for them on the cross, came back from the dead, and said, if you and I, if we would believe he did it for us, he would put this payment to our account, we get to go to heaven on what Christ did for us. You see, everybody who trusts the Lord from Pentecost to the Rapture is part of the body of Christ.

And we go to heaven all because He paid the price. He paid the way. It’s a gift to you and I. And so when we trust Christ as our Savior, He places us in Christ. And therefore we are the body of Christ. And one day He’s coming to get His body, but there’s part of the family, part of the body that’s already gone to be with the Lord. And part of the body is still here. One day we’re going to have a big family reunion and we’ll all be together.

Let’s pray, shall we? With a head bow nice and close and no one looking around. If you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, I pray that you will. But whether you’re here in the auditorium or watching by internet, I want you to know more than anything else in the world that God loves you. He loves you so much. He wants you to be part of everything that I was talking about tonight. But you can’t buy it. You’ll never earn it.

It’s a gift. It’s totally free. He will give you eternal life, make you His child, forgive you of all your sins, past, present, and future. If you’ll simply believed that when he died, he died for you. So if you really believe he died for your sins, you won’t try to earn your way to heaven. Everybody who is trying to earn their way to heaven is because they don’t really believe Christ’s paid for all of their sins. And I pray that you will believe it.

And if you will trust Christ as your Savior, I’d like to know it. I’d like to have prayer for you. So it heads by nice clothes and no one looking around. Is there anyone else who I’ll say yes, preach to that made sense to me and tonight, I will trust Christ as my Savior in the life you to pray for me. And we’ll just let be in it very quickly, put her back down. Is there anyone at all? Anyone at all.

Our Father, we thank you so much for this time together. We’re thankful that we have the free gift of eternal life. We’re thankful for all that you’ve done for us. And we pray, Lord, that you would use this message to be a blessing, not only to those that are here, but those that are watching. and we just pray that Father, for Your will to be done in our lives. Use us for Your honor andillions of Christ, and we pray.

Amen. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida, with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you are blessed by today’s message. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach Bibleline and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by Dye-Ling Tool 3, 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bibleline programs, just go to our home page at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Radio Broadcast link.

If you are in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 10-30. And at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening, live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friends, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound and we will be changed.

Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and everyday. Believe in that the Lord is coming soon and just keep looking up.