One day, the Father will decide enough is enough and He will nod to the Son sitting on His right and the Son will stand up and eternity will begin. Jesus is coming back to get His bride, the church. It should always be remembered that Christ promised to prepare a mansion for His bride (John 14:1-3).
To the faithful, Christ has promised to say: “Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34). Don’t forget! “Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number” (Jeremiah 2:32).
Family, let’s not forget whose clothes we are wearing!
ISRAEL WAS MARRIED TO GOD:
Israel was spiritually married to God as we see in Jeremiah 3:14.
But Israel could not stay faithful to God; they were absorbed into their religious culture and it led them to disobey God’s commandments. That’s when God said they had committed spiritual adultery against Him. He was concerned, so He announced in Jeremiah 2:13…
The Jews who had become Christians were now married to Christ and they were dead to the Law of Moses (Romans 7:1-4). As Paul teaches in Ephesians 2, both Jew and Gentiles are members of the one body, the church of Christ, spiritually married to their Groom.
DRESSING FOR OUR WEDDING:
Just as nearly every bride and groom dress appropriately for their wedding day, so Christians also must put on the appropriate clothes for the consummation of our marriage to Jesus Christ.
It begins with putting Christ Himself on in baptism: Galatians 3:26-27.
But it also includes the teachings that Christ has given to us through His apostles and prophets: Titus 2:10; 2 John 9. So we can’t alter or defile the teachings of Christ because that teaching is what makes us fit for the coming of Jesus Christ. If someone changes that doctrine Christ has given, then they have forfeited their right to His presence: 2 John 10-11.
Nothing can replace healthy, balanced teaching from the Word of God. So Paul told Timothy: “Preach the word” (2 Tim. 4:2). Paul warned Timothy that there would be some – even in the first generation of the church of Christ – who would turn their ears away from sound doctrine and because of “itching ears,” they would turn from the truth (2 Tim. 4:2-4).
People do the same today.
THE CHURCH, THE BRIDE:
We are, then, spiritually married to Christ. In Ephesians 5:22-33, Paul talks about the relationship between the bride and the groom.
We must love, honor, and obey Christ who is the head of the church (Ephesians 5:24).
Be married to Christ and submit to Him as the One Who gave His life for you.
Paul Holland
