God is sovereign and eternal, and he created for us a world in which we arrive and begin a pilgrimage, a journey, that ultimately leads us back to our Lord in eternity. Today this world has been darkened by confusion, and our journeys can be interrupted or even cut short. Yet in this finite, earthly world, God has provided a place of refuge that is spiritual in essence and eternal in existenceand this amazing place of hope and joy is his church.
In The Church God Designed, author Edward L. Maxwell outlines the arrangements God has made for our glorious return back to our place of origin. Although we think of the church as a physical place, the design of the church was based on a divine plan that was established in eternity past by a spiritual and eternal beingand this design is far beyond human reasoning, involves knowledge that is far beyond human intellect, and requires power far beyond human ability. Therefore, the only church that is true in the divine eyes of God is the very one he planned, designed, and built.
We are but the living stones of the spiritual house God has provided for us, and it is only the church God has designed that can guide us back to him. God has provided the means for our redemption and the process to obtain it, and it is impossible for us to manufacture that which God gives his only Son the authority to do.
