Let’s face it, 2020 was a difficult year for the church. It seemed to be a year when issues of conscience and preference took precedence in fierce dialogue between Christians – especially on social media. Shutdown mandates, masks, vaccinations, social justice debates, election campaigns and result allegations lit up social media and divided many congregations in a crescendo of opinion among believers about the place of public theology. As I reminisce about 2020, I would simply sum it up as a year that exposed that we all need a healthy biblical balance of grace and truth. And yet…I still say with great confidence that the church is beautiful and God will succeed in the display of his glory in his people.
The Prophet Isaiah wrote for a people who were exiled in Babylon and not at all feeling like a picture of God’s glory. In the midst of their darkness, God gave them this promise: “For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. 2 The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give. 3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. 5 For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” (Isaiah 62:1-4). This is quite a substantial promise, and the church can learn a lot from it.
1. God will not be silent about his glory.
When we think that God does not seem to be declaring his glory through his people, we can be assured that in the course of God’s eternal plan, his glory will be profoundly displayed. This has already happened in its brightest display in the cross, but in Isaiah 62 God says he will display his glory before the nations through his people. We must be reminded that to the Lord, a day is as of a thousand years and vice versa. When we think that God’s glory may be muffled in a seemingly darker period in the church, we can know that God’s beauty is displayed in his way and in his time. Our faithful God has said that his declaration of glory will ultimately come through his people.
2. God’s glory is not found in our own name.
In exile, Judah was told that their glory would shine through them by a new name. It was not their glory but glory in a name of God’s choosing and doing. While their name was associated with covenant breaking and unfaithfulness, God would give a new name associated with his glory in faithfulness and redemption. The elect of God finds our glory in Christ alone. We may have had a bad year, but Christ never loses his eminence. Our new name is in Jesus.
3. The Kings of the world will see God’s glory in his people.
There are ultimately two ways that the people of God will display God’s glory to the nations. The first is through the proclamation of the gospel and the second through final judgment as the church shares final victory in Christ. Since Christ ascended, there has never been a time in this world when the gospel has not been preached. It has been preached in bondage and freedom. It has been preached under the persecution of a Roman church papacy. It has been preached in the open and underground. Whatever the time and circumstance, there has not been a time in the last 2000 years when the name of Jesus has not been preached with gospel precision. In every instance it has displayed the beauty of God’s church reflecting God’s glory. One day that beauty will be on full display before the entire world in all of the King’s children.
4. Christ delights in his bride.
No matter the circumstance, God delights in his children when he sees them through the lens of Christ who ransomed us. God rejoices over us because we are the bride of Christ. The beauty is his, not ours.
It is true that more than once I was a little disappointed with how the church was presenting itself through the 2020 trial. Even so, there were people who heard the gospel during this time and Jesus remained infinitely glorious. In the imperfection of this Genesis 3 world the church doesn't always shine as brightly as it should, but the truth is that God will not be silent about his glory and in his good timing the church will be perfected in Christ before kings, rulers, powers and principalities. Years like 2020 come and go, but Christ is building his church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. The church is beautiful because Jesus is beautiful.