What does it mean that the church should be without spot or wrinkle (Ephesians 5:27)?

There are two things, by which beauty is marred; spots and wrinkles. The former indicate defilement; the latter are the result of passion or of care and age. Both are the effects of sin; the former in a direct, and the latter in an indirect way. If there was no sin in the world, there would be no spots nor wrinkles. People, may they be naturally clean or not, dislike wrinkles; but only a clean person shuns spots; one of unclean habits does not mind them.

His grand object is to present it to Himself a glorious church, no longer militant as today, but triumphant and worthy of such a Lord and Saviour, not having spot (no trace of earthly contamination), nor wrinkle (no vestige of decrepitude), nor any such thing (not the faintest mark of the long wilderness journey), nor a single stain that would reflect on His unremitting attention; but that it should be holy and without blemish, in perfect moral suitability to Himself; thus will the church appear on the coming Presentation-day, when He shall “see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied”. What a day for us and for Him. What an answer to all His agony!

The Church's presentation to Himself (v.27) is seen accomplished in Revelation 19:7-9. Then she will be glorious, invested with glory (displayed excellence), without spot (no imperfection in the slightest) and without wrinkle -- no sign of aging or breakdown in health, nothing undesirable -- but holy in character and without blemish in manifestation. Wonderful culmination of His counsels concerning His Bride for whom He paid so dearly!

It will have no spot, i.e. no defect of any sort. No wrinkle, i.e. no sign of age or decadence, "nor any such thing," i.e. no other defect of any imaginable nature. Could language be stronger or more sweeping? How impossible to make it agree with the idea that only select individuals of the many composing the church are to be rapt by the Lord into His presence when He comes. In that case He would indeed present to Himself mutilated fragments rather than a church without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.

But this being the complete account of what Christ does, there is the cleansing, as well as the sanctifying, the Church. All defilement requires to be removed; and in both cases it is the washing of water by the word which God uses. But there is a third and future fruit of His love — "that he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing." There we have clearly the complete blessing of the Church, when there will be no question of cleansing it any more; when all the love of Christ will have its perfect effect, and when the Church will be glorious according to His own likeness, "That he might present the church to himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." Thus we have the full, divine account of the love of Christ. But mark, it is not introduced merely in a doctrinal form, but in a most practical way, for the purpose of illustrating the place of the christian husband towards his wife. The husband can only act properly towards his wife when the relationship is regarded on higher ground than a natural one. A Christian must act upon heavenly principles, in order to act well in a natural relationship. You might have a husband attached to his wife, and a wife ever so much attached to him; but if this is their whole ground in married life, it will never have the power, blessing, and honour of God. Though it is all quite right, yet more than this is needed; and the something more that is needed is just the constant reminding of our souls how Christ feels and carries Himself toward the Church. There is always blessing and power in believing the word of God. If not using the word, we shall not have His strength in the natural relationship of this life; yet we ought to have it. If we have it not thus, are we not so far doing without that which would give power, and which God would own and honour?

(V. 27). In the future, in His love, He will present the church to Himself “not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” The present sanctification of verse 26 is connected with the presentation in glory of verse 27: that is, the condition in which we shall be presented to Christ in glory, “holy and blameless”, is the measure of our sanctification even now. While here we shall not attain to the standard of glory, but there is no other standard. Moreover, the condition in glory is not only the standard of our sanctification, but, as perfectly set forth in Christ, it is the power of our sanctification.

165 There is also a thought here which is full of the deepest interest; and that is, that we cannot separate the cleansing from the glory. The cleansing is according to the glory, and, when the body is changed, the state of holiness is according to the glory revealed; see 1 Thessalonians 3:13, where we should have said "unblameable in holiness" in our walk; but we read, in the presence "of God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." We cannot really get on without looking at Christ in glory. It is said 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." That is the cleansing. Practical cleansing is by the power of the revelation of the glory of Christ. But let us always remember that this cleansing is not in order that we may belong to Him, but that it is "Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might cleanse it."

Turning back to Ephesians 5, we see here that those very two things said of our Lord in His pathway through this world are now said to be true eventually of the Assembly. As we know, His coming is in view here, when He will present the Assembly to Himself not having spot; that is the first one. To think that all He was in this world will yet be seen in the Assembly as the fruit of His work in ministry. The danger with us is that we are so susceptible to these defilements and may not be conscious of it. It was said of Ephraim "gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not," Hos. 7:9. Decay had set in and he was unaware of it. Samson did not know his strength had gone. How preserving it is, beloved, to be sensible of defilement, for then we shall take steps to have it removed. But if we are at times conscious of this, thank God there is a time coming when we are going to be free from it for ever. So at the rapture we shall all be without spot for ever. Secondly, we shall be without wrinkle, without any marks of decay. Thirdly, we shall be holy in nature completely. Fourthly, without blemish, the second word which we read of in 1 Peter. How wonderful that He is working with us now to make us like Himself, a vessel fit to share with Him in the administration in the world to come. These four marks mean, we shall be stainless, ageless, sinless and blameless in the day that is coming when He presents us collectively to Himself. Nothing less than His Own standard will do for His complement and His sanctifying work going on now will produce this eventually.

This is the future prospect. This is the ideal before our blessed Lord as the Lover and Sanctifier of the church. He has this in mind, and to this end He is nourishing and cherishing His church, and waiting throughout the years and centuries as they go by, until God's time shall come, and He shall present the church to Himself in glory. "Not," it says, "having spot", no defect of any kind within, no heart of disloyalty, no reserved affection of any kind; spotless within; also without "wrinkle" or outward deformity of any kind; nothing will be either in or upon the church but what is compatible with the glory of Christ. So that when Christ in His absolute perfection of love looks upon His bride, He sees everything that gratifies His eye.

"Not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing." What a glorious picture this is, beloved friends, of the ultimate result of the divine fashioning which is going on silently in this world! We can only, by faith, take in words like these, and let them sink into our minds without analysis. Yet they do give us a very different idea of the reality of things from what we often entertain when we come together, a score or more of persons, we will say, to break bread. All of us are very weak, all failing, all apt to make mistakes, not one of us is anything to be proud of; and we think, "What a poor lot we are!" And it is true; but when we read verses like these we see that a work of the Lord is in progress upon us. We realize from them that all over the world there is not only the work of the gospel, which calls sinful men and women into the church, but also the active work of the Lord Jesus Christ in sanctifying, cleansing, nourishing, cherishing the church, caring for all those that are His, and keeping them from getting further and further away from Him.