Scripture reading: Ephesians 5:26-27
There are three steps which the soul man takes from death to complete life in God.
1) The blood step
2) The Holy Ghost
3) The Christ or the manchild
1) The blood step is taken when the believer accepts Jesus as his Saviour, and submits himself to the spirit of the death of the cross, thus giving up his carnal life and submitting to a spiritual life. He then is passed from death to life; from a dead soul to a living soul. The blood, therefore, being the life of God, quickens us to life. We died being children of the dead Adam. In Jesus Christ, we come alive through submitting to a spiritual blood transfusion given by Dr. Holy Ghost. All living things feed. Therefore, the soul, being alive, cries for food and is fed by receiving the Holy Ghost to dwell within his spirit and energize his soul.
2) The Holy Ghost is God within. His duty is to form the nature of the Father within us, so that we will no longer be under tutors and governors, but by nature, we will do the will of the Father, and our natures will give us much joy when we do His will.
3) The Holy Ghost will form the nature of God within us by planting the seed of the Christ child within us, and when the fullness of time is come, we shall bring forth Christ.
Ephesians 5:26-27, “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.”
Such terms in the word of God as “present it to himself” are not meaningless. In this instance, what God is saying is that the Spirit of God in the ministry is preparing the church to present it to Jesus as a bride without spot or blemish. Christ presents the church to Christ. There is no basis for the ministry or anyone else to call himself or themselves Christ. This simply means that the preparation of the church cannot be done by man, but by the Christ in man. The manchild ministry is not the ministry of Christ, because the manchild must necessarily grow up to the stature of a man before he can take a bride. When he does in the millennium, it will be the world at large which he, a many membered company, will take, to form Christ in them even as Christ had been formed in him. At this time, this company will include the man Christ Jesus who is the head of the body.
(Excerpt from The Pattern, 2nd Edition, 1995, pg. 125-126)
Thought for today: The preparation of the church cannot be done by man, but by the Christ in man.
Sonlight Devotional 
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