Quote: Prevalent But Not Seen

~ Hidden Until Complete ~ 

How about you?  Have you seen it? 

The following is an excerpt from a book.

My wife is fond of saying, with a twinkle in her eye, “Isn’t it funny how you always find something in the last place you look for it!” For sure, when an item is found, the search is halted.

The pearl remains hidden until complete. Man does not see the pearl until it is finished growing, because once it is removed from the oyster it stops growing. By definition it is complete at that point. Notice also that the pearl must be removed from the place of its formation in order to become a lovely ornament.

The world does not recognize the Church of Jesus Christ or the kingdom of heaven today. The Church is all around, yet the natural man does not recognize the Church for what it is. In Ephesians 3:9 we find the Church has been a mystery since the beginning of the world: “This mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.” In Colossians 1:26 Paul speaks of the Church as “the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.” The mystery of the Church is now made known to His saints, but the world does not see it. The world at large is spiritually blind, blinded by Satan, and has not seen Christ’s Church.

It is true that there is both a visible and an invisible church. While the Church universal is unseen, local church buildings are seen and to some extent local churches are visible to the world at large (the local churches are not buildings but the individual believers that make up the local church gathering). However, the clear teaching of Scripture is that the Church universal is unseen by the world at large.

Earth has never seen the one precious pearl. The nations have no real concept of it. Natural unregenerate man does not see the Church. But Christ has seen the Church from eternity. Our Lord and Savior waits patiently for the accomplishment. As is true of the pearl, the Church is hidden from man until complete.

There is coming a day when the one precious pearl will be on display as adornment for Christ. Jesus Christ will return to earth and then His bride, the Church, will be with Him forever in eternity future. The Church will be removed from earth, the place of its formation, and will be for the adornment of our Savior in heaven.

~ from “ONE PRECIOUS PEARL: God’s Design for His Church, pgs 111-112  (ISBN: 9780741462329)

Learn more about this important book at Amazon, the Publisher, or the Author’s website.

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .