The Greatest Continuing Prophecy in the Bible Concerning Christ: Building the Church vs. Preparing the Bride

 

The Greatest Continuing Prophecy in the Bible Concerning Christ: Building the Church vs. Preparing the Bride

Matt. 16:18: "I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it"

1 Cor. 3:9-17: "You are God's cultivated land, God's building"

2 Cor. 11:2: "I have betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ"

Rev. 21:2: "And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" 

Aspect	Building the Church	Preparing the Bride
Meaning	Christ imparts His life to believers, making them His Body, and builds them together as God's dwelling place	The church is cleansed, sanctified, and reaches maturity, ready to be united with Christ as His counterpart
Distinctions	Emphasizes the collective building process, focusing on believers being fitted together as a spiritual building	Emphasizes life maturity and purity, focusing on the church as a whole reaching the stage of being ready to marry Christ
Examples	1. The Holy Spirit's descent at Pentecost, establishing the early church 2. Paul establishing local churches in various places 3. Believers coordinating together, each functioning properly	1. The church being freed from spots and wrinkles 2. The saints living out righteousness (the bright, clean fine linen) 3. Believers growing in life to reach the measure of the stature of Christ's fullness
Applications	1. Believers need to be built up, not acting independently 2. Practice coordination with others, being joined together 3. Know and practice the Body life	1. Pursue life maturity and transformation 2. Receive the washing of the water in the Word 3. Pursue sanctification, be separated from the world's defilement
Interrelationship	Building the church and preparing the bride are two aspects of the same reality: - Building the church emphasizes the process and structure - Preparing the bride emphasizes the goal and result - Building the church is for preparing the bride - Both require believers' growth and transformation in life - The completion of both will bring back the Lord Jesus
Relevant Scripture Passages	Eph. 4:13-16: "Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ... all the Body... builds itself up in love" Eph. 2:20-22: "Being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone; in whom all the building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit"	Rev. 19:7-9: "For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints" Eph. 5:25-27: "Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her that He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word, that He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish"

 

Conclusion:

l   From the Bible, we can see that building the church and preparing the bride are the greatest continuing prophecies in the Bible concerning Christ. Although these prophecies began to be fulfilled at Pentecost, nearly twenty centuries have passed, and these prophecies have still not been completely fulfilled. The prophecy spoken by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 16:18, "I will build My church," and the prophecy continued by Paul in Ephesians 4:13-16 concerning the building up of the Body, both point to a reality that has not yet been fully realized.

l   Similarly, the prophecies in Revelation 19:7-9 and Ephesians 5:25-27 concerning the bride being made ready have not yet been completely fulfilled. The completion of these two aspects—building the church and preparing the bride—will bring about the Lord Jesus' return. As the quoted material states, the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning the building of the church and the preparation of Christ's bride will bring Him back.

l   "Now is the time for the Lord to fulfill His prophecy," which reminds us of our urgent responsibility as believers to grow in life, be built together, and be sanctified and cleansed to complete this great prophecy.

 

*Please refer to the April 2025 International Elders and Responsible Brothers Training General Topic: Oneness and the Vital Aspects of Acts Chapter 1 The Continuation of Acts - The Continuation of the Christian Community