|
A Bride Prepared
Bride of Christ
Are we conquering ourselves, and going on to perfection? Are we
keeping ourselves unspotted? Christ, who is perfect, will have a
perfect Bride. She will have made herself ready – but she could
not have made herself ready without Christ’s help.
John the Baptist
understood that the Messiah would take a Bride. He knew from the
Scriptures that Christ would enter into an eternal marriage covenant
with a righteous Wife. "For thy Maker is thy Husband; the
Lord of hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel."
(Isaiah 54:5) Some people thought that John
the Baptist was the Messiah; so, calling to mind Isaiah’s words, John
the Baptist had to explain to them that he was only the “best man” at
the wedding, and that he would stand up and be witness to the covenant
vows – and that Jesus Christ would be the Husband of the Bride.
“He that has the Bride is the Bridegroom:
but the friend of the Bridegroom, which stands and hears Him, rejoices
greatly because of the Bridegroom's proclamation.”
(John 3:29)
There is a prophetic picture in Ezekiel 16, where Jesus washed, dressed,
and blessed the nation of Israel so that she would be prepared to be His
wife. He cleansed her; He groomed and dressed her in royal garments –
He prepared her. That picture will be completed when Jesus takes the
Church – spiritual Israel – to be His Bride (Galatians 6:16). Look at
the detailed attention Jesus gave to His fiancée:
“When I passed by you, and looked upon you, behold, your time was the time of love;
and I spread my garment over you,[a symbolic proposal of marriage] and covered your
nakedness: yea, I swore unto you, and entered into a covenant with you, saith the
Lord God, and you became mine. Then I washed you with water; yes, I
thoroughly washed away your blood from you, and I anointed you with
oil. I clothed you also with needlepoint work, and placed fur-lined
slippers on your feet, and I dressed you about with fine linen, and I
covered you with silk. I embellished you also with ornaments, and I put
bracelets upon your hands, and a necklace on your neck. And I put
jewelry on you, and earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown upon
your head. Thus were you adorned with gold and silver; and your
garments were of fine linen, and silk, and embroidered work; you ate of
fine cakes, and honey, and oil: and you were exceeding beautiful, and
you did prosper into a kingdom. And your renowned reputation went forth
among the heathen for your beauty: for it was perfect through my
grandeur, which I had put upon you, says the Lord God.”
(Ezekiel 16:8-14)
Think of Christ doing the same for us – only in the most splendid way –
making us lovely and beautiful, spiritually! The Bride of Christ
will be adorned in fine linen, clean and white – meaning that she
will be a perfect, spiritual Bride – with the righteousness of Christ
upon her. Jesus has done His part in completely washing His Bride. We
must be washed. “Jesus Christ… loved us, and washed us from
our sins in His own blood.” (Revelation 1:5)
Our Part in the Preparation
The most important question for us to consider is what must the future
wife of Christ be doing to prepare herself and make herself ready for
the marriage of the Lamb? The Bride of Christ will be adorned, not so
much in the elegant physical garments of a dazzling wedding gown, but in
the brilliant spiritual attributes of Godly love, obedience, holiness,
perfection, righteousness, and brotherly love (1 John 3:14). The Bride
will not be of superficial character, but will have developed Godly
moral fiber – making her suitably prepared for her wedding to Christ.
“The marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself
ready.” (Revelation 19:7
We all seek, and expect to be the Bride of Christ… so let us ask
ourselves this question: Have we done our part to be the perfect
Bride Jesus is seeking? Notice what Jesus has to say concerning His
Bride: “It shall be in that day, says the Lord, that you shalt call
Me Ishi [my husband]…“I will betroth you unto Me forever.
Yes, I will betroth you unto Me in righteousness, and in judgment, and
in loving kindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto Me
in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord.” (Hosea 2:16, 19-20)
The marriage of Jesus Christ to His Bride will inaugurate the eternal
covenant planned from the foundation of the world. “To her was
granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for
the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” (Revelation
19:8)
Chapter 9: Jesus Warns the Church |
