The Coming of Christ for His Church (John 14)
This sermon centers on the profound promise of Jesus Christ's return, offering comfort and perspective to believers. It explores the reasons and manner of His coming, inviting listeners to reflect on their preparedness for this eternal event.
Jesus promised He would return for His church, His bride, to complete our redemption and unite us with Him eternally. Believers are called to live watching, ready, and steadfastly working until His glorious return.
Overview
This sermon begins by referencing John 14, where Jesus, before His crucifixion, assured His disciples not to be troubled, promising He would go to prepare a place for them and then return to receive them. This promise was later reaffirmed at His ascension, as angels in Acts 1 declared He would come back "in like manner" as He departed.
The preacher outlines two main reasons for Christ's return. First, it is to complete the process of redemption, which began with our spirit and soul but will culminate in the transformation of our physical bodies, fashioning them like His glorified body, thus redeeming the "total you." Second, and primarily, Jesus is coming back so that believers may live with Him eternally, bringing about a consummation of perfect oneness and unhindered harmony.
The sermon then describes how Christ's return will unfold, likening it to a bridegroom coming for his bride, the church. Drawing from 1 Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians, it explains that there will be a shout, the voice of the Archangel, and the trumpet of God. This will initiate the resurrection of deceased believers, whose bodies will be glorified, followed by living believers being caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, ensuring they "shall ever be with the Lord."
Finally, the sermon emphasizes the believer's call to preparation. This involves three things: to be watching and discerning the times; to be ready by receiving Jesus as Savior and keeping one's heart clean; and to be steadfast, diligently investing one's life in others, ensuring many are made ready for this actual, divine, and irrevocable event. The sermon concludes by posing a direct question about one's readiness and eternal plan.
Key points
- Jesus promised His disciples in John 14 that He would return to receive them unto Himself after preparing a place.
- Angels in Acts 1 reaffirmed Christ's ascension by promising He would return in the same way He left.
- One reason for Christ's return is to complete the process of redemption, including the glorification of believers' physical bodies (Ephesians 1).
- The primary reason Jesus is coming back is for believers to live with Him eternally in perfect oneness and harmony (John 14).
- Christ's return will be like a bridegroom coming for his bride, the church, signaled by a shout and a trumpet (1 Thessalonians 4, 1 Corinthians 15).
- When Christ returns, deceased believers will be resurrected with glorified bodies, and living believers will be caught up to meet Him in the air.
- Believers are called to be watching, ready, and steadfastly working to prepare themselves and others for His coming.
In Charles Stanley's words
“The primary reason Jesus Christ is coming back for us is that you and I may live with him eternally in a place that has been prepared for you and me.”
“We're to be doing three things as the Lord Jesus Christ makes preparation for coming to receive us. We're to be watching and discerning the times. We are to be ready in our heart, keeping our heart clean before him, and we are to be diligently investing our lives in the lives of other people.”
Outline
- I. Jesus' Promise of Return (John 14)
- A. Consolation for troubled hearts
- B. "I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself"
- C. "I am the way, the truth, and the life"
- II. Reaffirmation of His Return (Acts 1)
- A. Angels declare He will return "in like manner" as He ascended
- III. Reasons for Christ's Return
- A. To complete the process of redemption (Ephesians 1:13-14)
- 1. Redemption of spirit and soul is present.
- 2. Redemption of the body is future (new glorified body).
- 3. Completion of the "total you."
- B. To receive us unto Himself for eternal oneness (John 14)
- 1. Consummation of unity and harmony with Christ.
- 2. This world is not our home; our citizenship is in heaven.
- IV. How He Will Come for His Church (1 Thessalonians 4, 1 Corinthians 15)
- A. As a bridegroom for his bride (the church)
- B. Events of His coming
- 1. A shout, the voice of the Archangel, the trumpet of God.
- 2. Resurrection of dead believers (bodies united with soul and spirit).
- 3. Living believers caught up "together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air."
- 4. "So shall we ever be with the Lord."
- V. Our Preparation for His Coming
- A. Watch: Be diligent and discern the times (Matthew 24)
- B. Be Ready: Receive Jesus Christ as Savior and yield completely to Him.
- C. Be Steadfast: Diligently invest lives in others for the work of the Lord (1 Corinthians 15).
- VI. The Eternal Choice
- A. Rejecting Jesus means no plan for His return.
- B. We are everlasting beings, destined for heaven or hell.
- C. A wise person prepares for eternity by accepting God's plan.
Scripture references
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.
2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
Insights
Our deepest peace comes from knowing where our eternal home truly lies.
Redemption encompasses not only our spirit but also the future glorification of our physical body.
Jesus' desire is for perfect oneness and unhindered harmony with those who believe.
Questions & answers
What is the main message of this sermon?
The sermon's main message is that Jesus Christ promised to return for His church, which He considers His bride. This return will complete believers' redemption and unite them with Him eternally.
Why is Jesus coming back, according to the sermon?
Jesus is coming back for two primary reasons: to complete the total redemption of believers, including glorifying their physical bodies, and to receive them unto Himself for eternal life in perfect unity and harmony.
How did Jesus prepare His disciples for His departure and return?
Before His crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples in John 14 not to let their hearts be troubled, assuring them He was going to prepare a place and would come again to receive them to Himself.
What are believers supposed to do in preparation for Christ's return?
Believers are called to three actions: to watch and discern the times, to be ready by receiving Jesus and keeping their hearts clean, and to be steadfast in diligently investing their lives in others.
What happens to believers, both living and deceased, when Christ returns?
According to the sermon, when Christ returns, deceased believers will have their bodies resurrected and glorified. Then, living believers will also be transformed and caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
What is meant by "the completion of redemption" in this sermon?
The sermon explains that while our spirit and soul are saved at the moment of belief, the completion of redemption refers to a future event where our physical bodies will also be transformed and glorified, fashioned like Jesus' own body, making our redemption total.
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