The Bride of Christ

The primary objective of this age is the bride of Christ and the coming of the Lord and she must get herself ready .
That is what the list of ministers to the church as in Ephesians primary job is ;to perfect the Bride .
My mention of the 12 tribes of Israel was in realation to THAT fact . Israels future and fullfilment of all those promises of God throughout the Old Testament comes after the Bride has gone.
Though we are already beginning to see Israel no longer 'wagging ' when the world barks .
Yet she has yet to face "Jacobs trouble" and what looks like another slaughter .But God will keep a remnent as promised.
This post is about the Bride of Christ . and while there will be some Jews in the bride ,primarily she will be made up mostly of gentiles.
in Christ
gerald

This is not the point Gerald. YOU said......"I have not mentioned Israel".

All I did was to show YOU that YOU did exactly that in your very 1st post.
 
I was taught that the 10 virgins related to the saved and the unsaved. When I was a babe in Christ .
and while the message in a limited sense can be used to the lost. I came to understand that it was primarily for the church and primarily for me as a christian.
So yes I have grown in knowledge that is that knowledge that has two legs . the other on being understanding.

in Christ
gerald

And that is exactly what I said. We do not have to know the things of the Bible to be saved or even the things of God. We only need to understand that we are sinners and the only cure for sin is the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Everyone one of us then grow in knowledge as we study the Word of God after we have been saved. In fact the Bible says that we can not grasp the things of God unless we are saved.
 
I understand the need that you have to want to be that. I have the same need. However, COULD it be that the 11 actually completed their calling from Jesus????

Notice that Jesus gave this command only to the eleven disciples in Mark 16:14. Confirm that with Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 1:1-8. Nowhere in the Bible are New Testament believers taught that they must go into all the world and preach the gospel to every person.

Second, the eleven disciples were specially empowered by the Holy Spirit with miraculous signs and abilities so that they might accomplish Jesus' command Mark 16:17-20; Acts 2:1-4; Acts 3:1-7.

Third, the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished the mission during their lifetimes in the first century A.D. Notice what Mark 16:20 plainly states:
"And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following." Amen.

The Apostle Paul confirms the fulfillment of the Great Commission in Colossians 1:23:
"… the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven."



I am not saying they did, only that it be considered.
If not how do we explain the verses given?

You will have to clarify what 'verse given'
But as Jesus said "as the Father sent me so send I you"
Then would your reasoning be the reason why the church has done nothing much since the reformation? When it turned the world upside down.
When God blessed Adam and Eve He said go out into all the world and replenish it.
When God blessed Abraham he said go out to a land that I will show you.
When God blessed Noah after the flood he so go out into all the world.
When God blessed the church then Jesus said go out into all the world......etc.
If Paul finished the great commission in his day why need there since of missionaries? Why indeed of Wesley(?) was who said "the whole world is my parish"
Of Booth and many others who all went out preaching the gospel .
The great dearth of the church for the last 70(?) years is that it has NOT gone out and preached the gospel but rather if at all has preached ist church its ministry and its message . Vying with one another for the scraps the devil throws at it .
I am worried .
Because when the church stayed in Jerusalem God sent persecution to the church and THAT scattered them to the four corners "preaching the gospel"
When God said to Noah go out into all the world.They did not they found a pleasant valley etc and said "let us build us a tower (steeple?) and a name for ourselves ................" and they were all of one accord to do it .
But God said "let us go down and see this thing....."
and he scattered them to the four corners so that the word of God be fulfilled.
It is now more than likely that persecution will come where it has not come for 400 years or more and the fires that once burned will burn again . More than likely ,first under the cover of Islam but later openly .
How else can you explain why the the UK is naked before her enemies and another people take the fruit of the land?
We sow but another gathers we toil and another reap the benefit.
It is as the time of Gidion and for the same reasons.
We hide while we thresh the corn and do not consider our ways or God .
We compromise with the world as to the Word of God and agree more with the world than with God .
When Gidion thought about God .He had heard of God and of God who was in the past who did great things in the past .
The church has heard of God. But does not know God .
"Ye fathers ye know Him who is from the beginning "
What is a father ? if not he who begats children?
and who is he who is from the beginning?
If not the Creator who "in the beginning created the heaven and the earth"?
The wordl does not believe it nor does half+ the church .
If the church does not believe God who inpsired men to write those words "in the beginning " How can the church know Him who is form the beginning?
For clearly it is more than "ye little children ye know the father and your sins are forgiven" and it is more than "ye young men the Word of God dwells in your richly and abides and ye have overcome the wicked one"
I say again then that the church does not know God but simply have heard of Him.
Isiah a true prophet of God who spoke the Word of God was only able to confess when he saw the Lord high and lifted up " as a man of unclean lips among a generation of unclean lips .
Samuel had heard of God but knew not the Word of the Lord despite ministering in the temple for years .
Job also had heard of God who on what he had simply heard had so changed his life God could boast as it were of him in heaven "see my servant Job......." Yet when God began to reveal himself in through and by creation he too had to confess "I have heard of thee, now mine eyes seeth thee"
Jacob had heard of God ,Saul of Tarsus had heard of God . the list is long,
When Isiah had his lips purged with a live coal form heaven a voice said who will go for us ?
He replied send me .
How will the hear unless it si preached ? and how will it be preached unless one is sent? and who will go ?

In Christ
gerald
 
And that is exactly what I said. We do not have to know the things of the Bible to be saved or even the things of God. We only need to understand that we are sinners and the only cure for sin is the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Everyone one of us then grow in knowledge as we study the Word of God after we have been saved. In fact the Bible says that we can not grasp the things of God unless we are saved.

A man cannot be saved without a knowledge of his own sin and then a knowledge of God or Jesus .
To even know that it takes the shed blood of Christ means at some point the word was sown in our hearts .
It is ALWAYS by the Word FIRST .
In the beginning was the Word.
The kingdom of God is like unto a sower who sowed.....
I would agree you do not need a lot of theology . You do need the gospel preached .For it pleases God by the preaching of the Gospel to save them that believe "
Without the preaching of the law no conviction of sin. without the preaching of the gospel no remedy .
How then can you know you are a sinner before God? Unless it si preached .For you are as a dead man who sees and hears nothing till the gospel is preached.

in Christ
gerald
 
This is not the point Gerald. YOU said......"I have not mentioned Israel".

All I did was to show YOU that YOU did exactly that in your very 1st post.

Then I suggest you read more carefully my reply and to what I was replying to.
Namely that I had not brought up Israel and HER future and that the primary purpose of this (and my post)age or the church age is the Bride of Christ . My reply was to another who brought up Israel and her future . In THAT regard I had not mentioned Israel and only mentioned the 12 tribes of Israel in relation to only one of them having no inheritance as the Lord was their inheritance as a type or foreshadowing of the Bride of Christ beign a body out of a body.


in Christ
gerald
 
You will have to clarify what 'verse given'
But as Jesus said "as the Father sent me so send I you"
Then would your reasoning be the reason why the church has done nothing much since the reformation? When it turned the world upside down.
When God blessed Adam and Eve He said go out into all the world and replenish it.
When God blessed Abraham he said go out to a land that I will show you.
When God blessed Noah after the flood he so go out into all the world.
When God blessed the church then Jesus said go out into all the world......etc.
If Paul finished the great commission in his day why need there since of missionaries? Why indeed of Wesley(?) was who said "the whole world is my parish"
Of Booth and many others who all went out preaching the gospel .
The great dearth of the church for the last 70(?) years is that it has NOT gone out and preached the gospel but rather if at all has preached ist church its ministry and its message . Vying with one another for the scraps the devil throws at it .
I am worried .
Because when the church stayed in Jerusalem God sent persecution to the church and THAT scattered them to the four corners "preaching the gospel"
When God said to Noah go out into all the world.They did not they found a pleasant valley etc and said "let us build us a tower (steeple?) and a name for ourselves ................" and they were all of one accord to do it .
But God said "let us go down and see this thing....."
and he scattered them to the four corners so that the word of God be fulfilled.
It is now more than likely that persecution will come where it has not come for 400 years or more and the fires that once burned will burn again . More than likely ,first under the cover of Islam but later openly .
How else can you explain why the the UK is naked before her enemies and another people take the fruit of the land?
We sow but another gathers we toil and another reap the benefit.
It is as the time of Gidion and for the same reasons.
We hide while we thresh the corn and do not consider our ways or God .
We compromise with the world as to the Word of God and agree more with the world than with God .
When Gidion thought about God .He had heard of God and of God who was in the past who did great things in the past .
The church has heard of God. But does not know God .
"Ye fathers ye know Him who is from the beginning "
What is a father ? if not he who begats children?
and who is he who is from the beginning?
If not the Creator who "in the beginning created the heaven and the earth"?
The wordl does not believe it nor does half+ the church .
If the church does not believe God who inpsired men to write those words "in the beginning " How can the church know Him who is form the beginning?
For clearly it is more than "ye little children ye know the father and your sins are forgiven" and it is more than "ye young men the Word of God dwells in your richly and abides and ye have overcome the wicked one"
I say again then that the church does not know God but simply have heard of Him.
Isiah a true prophet of God who spoke the Word of God was only able to confess when he saw the Lord high and lifted up " as a man of unclean lips among a generation of unclean lips .
Samuel had heard of God but knew not the Word of the Lord despite ministering in the temple for years .
Job also had heard of God who on what he had simply heard had so changed his life God could boast as it were of him in heaven "see my servant Job......." Yet when God began to reveal himself in through and by creation he too had to confess "I have heard of thee, now mine eyes seeth thee"
Jacob had heard of God ,Saul of Tarsus had heard of God . the list is long,
When Isiah had his lips purged with a live coal form heaven a voice said who will go for us ?
He replied send me .
How will the hear unless it si preached ? and how will it be preached unless one is sent? and who will go ?

In Christ
gerald

I am sorry my friend but I can not follow your thinking. You are all over the place jumping from one to another.
You seem to be trying to speak in metaphors and it is impossible to understand for me. Others may be able to and I hope that they can.

Good bye and be well!
 
Hi there,

The term, 'The Bride of Christ', is not to be found in Scripture: 'The Bride, the Lamb's wife', is to be found in Rev. 21:9; and the whole chapter following, up to chapter 22:5, describes it. It is the New Jerusalem which comes down out of Heaven, to the earth.

In Christ Jesus
Chris
 
I've read the whole of the original post and I've tried to follow the line of discussion, but I have to admit that I've got a bit lost. For my part, I'm completely satisfied that the "body" and the "bride" are both the assembly, composed of all believers in the Lord Jesus. The assembly has great importance in the counsels of God, and so He speaks of it in different ways, to convey different impressions about it. The assembly as the body of Christ and the assembly as the bride of Christ are two different thoughts, but both are speaking about the same entity.

This is a large subject, not one I would claim to be hugely familiar with. There are some important distinctions to be made though, and I believe the difference between "the kingdom of God" and the "kingdom of the heavens" is something that we need to get hold of, especially in connection with the parable of the ten virgins.

The Lord Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God as referring to the time that He was here (and the future time when He will come again and establish His rightful dominion over the earth).

"... Jesus came into Galilee preaching the glad tidings of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has drawn nigh; repent and believe in the glad tidings." (Mark 1:14).

"And into whatsoever city ye may enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you, and heal the sick in it, and say to them, The kingdom of God is come nigh to you. But into whatsoever city ye may have entered and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, Even the dust of your city, which cleaves to us on the feet, do we shake off against you; but know this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh." (Luke 10:8).

The kingdom of God was come nigh, it was there, and it was evidenced by the healing of the sick. God, in the Person of the Lord Jesus, was in the kingdom and His power was in evidence in it. Though, as we see from Luke 9 and 10, He wouldn't come where He wasn't wanted, I don't think the kingdom would be composed of insubject people. More than that, I can't say: I fully admit that I have a great deal to learn about this. I found the following extract from J.N.D.'s ministry helpful (and I include the next question as to the Church as an interesting aside):

"Question: What is the difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven?
JND: When the King was here, the kingdom of God could be said to be present, but, for that very reason, the kingdom of heaven was not come; the kingdom of heaven could not come until He went away. When the kingdom of God shall be set up in power, it will still be the kingdom of heaven. When He comes again, it will be the kingdom of God according to Mark and Luke, and will be the kingdom of heaven according to Matthew. The moral force of it is the great point of difference.
Question: How is it different from the church?
JND: The church is God's assembly, and, viewed in its heavenly place of association with Christ, it is the body of the Head. The kingdom is the sphere of government. The church is very distinct as God's house, the Spirit of God makes it His habitation; but it is the body of Christ, united to Him, the Head, in heaven; a wholly different thing. Government is the great thought in the kingdom; but grace is the thought in the church; that which God calls, that which He elects."

(Collected Writings of J.N.D. - Volume 42 - page 14).

In the kingdom of the heavens, we have a different idea. It doesn't communicate the same idea as the kingdom of God, with Jesus on earth among men and all things held in His power. The kingdom of the heavens speaks of conditions on earth in Christ's absence, while the King is in heaven. What are these conditions? We see them in the parables related in Matthew's gospel. The kingdom of the heavens "has become like a man sowing good seed in his field" (Matthew 13:24) "like a grain of mustard seed" (Matthew 13:31), "like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until it had been all leavened." (Matthew 13:33), "like a seine which has been cast into the sea, and which has gathered together of every kind" (Matthew 13:47), "like a king who made a wedding feast for his son" (Matthew 22:2), and it will "be made like to ten virgins that having taken their torches, went forth to meet the bridegroom" (Matthew 25:1). Every one of these parables has a common feature, and that is the introduction or the development of what is evil. We see the enemy sowing tares among the wheat, the grain of mustard seed becoming a tree in which the birds come and roost, the leaven contaminating the whole of the meal, the seine (or, 'net') being cast into the sea and gathering together every kind (some worthless), the persons invited to wedding feast who wouldn't come, and then the foolish virgins. All this has come in or will come in during the "waiting time", the time of the Lord's absence. Each parable describes a different feature of evil, persons, actions and systems which are in Christendom (and by Christendom, I mean the mass of the profession of Christianity, which includes believers and unbelievers - unconverted professors of religion).

The tares (or 'darnel') are false brethren. They look very much like the real thing, just as tares are very close in appearance to wheat, and they are "the sons of the evil one" (Matthew 13:38). They come in "surreptitiously" as we see in Galatians 2:4. These are not believers.

The mustard tree is false greatness. Christendom has grown up to be a "tree", large and influential in public life, but in doing so, it has attracted unclean things, "the birds of heaven come and roost in its branches". It's become a haven, down the centuries, for the power-hungry and the ambitious to build themselves a nest of clerical privilege.

The leaven is evil, introduced in small, subtle ways, but spreading its contamination throughout. A sober word.

The worthless fish are empty professors, with no savour for God in them. These are not real believers, who are "gathered... into vessels", saved from destruction.

The persons originally invited to the wedding feast are (I believe) the Gentiles and the Jews. The former "made light of it, and went, one to his own land, and another to his commerce" - they disdained God and went after their own things, and were given up to the worship of idols. We perhaps see this in the family line of Cain. The latter "laying hold of his bondmen, ill-treated and slew them." There were those of the back-sliding Jews, "those who slew the prophets" (Matthew 23:31) and eventually slew the Messiah Himself. I think we get a touch of Roman truth here: neither Gentile nor Jew answered to the glory of God, so He "shut up together all in unbelief, in order that he might shew mercy to all." (Romans 11:32). His love "went out into the highways" to all men, and brought them in "both evil and good", regardless of their sin history. But, one comes without the wedding garment. Someone who has not trusted in the Saviour. He trusted in works, or righteousnesses. He comes dressed in his own clothes, the filthy rags of his own righteousness, and before the Great White Throne "he was speechless". Again, this is not a believer, and never could a believer be expelled into "the outer darkness" as this man was.

Then we come to the foolish virgins. Again, we have outward profession, they have torches, just as the prudent did, and they were virgins, like the prudent - they were indistinguishable from the prudent. But, "all grew heavy and slept". This would perhaps equate to the Dark Ages, that period in history when the light of the testimony shone out only in a few places, and much of the precious truths of Christianity were obscured by superstition and ignorance. Then, there's the midnight cry. Some might say that that was the Reformation, others might put it at a later date. I wouldn't like to speculate, but I think we can say that the midnight cry has already come. God, in His grace, has revived so much precious truth, of "the faith once delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3) and brought it to light! The oil in this parable would speak of the Holy Spirit, and this awakening is a drawing attention to the service and Person of "the friend of the Bridegroom" (John 3:29), the one who is preparing the bride, the assembly, for the Bridegroom's arrival. The virgins arose and trimmed their torches. Much has had to be dealt with and judged by the faithful believer during the recovery of the truth. Much that is not of God, which would dim the light of the testimony, has had to be "trimmed". No doubt there is still trimming to be done of my lamp. Then, the lack of the oil becomes apparent, and the empty, foolish virgins are exposed. "Give us of your oil, for our torches are going out", the plead with the prudent. The emptiness of their profession is exposed - they've scorned and grieved the Holy Spirit. Although they've got by on rituals, histrionics, charitable deeds, good works, all the outward profession of Christian character, they lack the life which fuels the light. They now see others who have the Spirit, and they want what they have to prop up their profession. The prudent, however, won't share their oil. They won't contaminate themselves by association with unreal professors of empty religion. The Lord would say to these, "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and am grown rich, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art the wretched and the miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked; I counsel thee to buy of me gold purified by fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white garments, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not be made manifest; and eye-salve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see." (Revelation 3:18). But, for these foolish virgins, it's too late. They go away to buy for themselves, and the ones who were ready, those who had trusted in Christ and depended on the Holy Spirit, they go in to the feast. The Lord says to them, "I do not know you." They had nothing of Him, they hadn't trusted in Him.

So, we see here, in the prudent virgins, the Church and in the foolish virgins, the profession. Both are lumped together in Christendom, they grow together till the harvest. We mustn't confuse the thought of the Church with the kingdom, or Christendom with the Church.

P.S. I apologise for the length of this post, but I think Gerald has set the tone in his OP. ;)
 
I've read the whole of the original post and I've tried to follow the line of discussion, but I have to admit that I've got a bit lost. For my part, I'm completely satisfied that the "body" and the "bride" are both the assembly, composed of all believers in the Lord Jesus. The assembly has great importance in the counsels of God, and so He speaks of it in different ways, to convey different impressions about it. The assembly as the body of Christ and the assembly as the bride of Christ are two different thoughts, but both are speaking about the same entity.

This is a large subject, not one I would claim to be hugely familiar with. There are some important distinctions to be made though, and I believe the difference between "the kingdom of God" and the "kingdom of the heavens" is something that we need to get hold of, especially in connection with the parable of the ten virgins.

The Lord Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God as referring to the time that He was here (and the future time when He will come again and establish His rightful dominion over the earth).

"... Jesus came into Galilee preaching the glad tidings of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has drawn nigh; repent and believe in the glad tidings." (Mark 1:14).

"And into whatsoever city ye may enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you, and heal the sick in it, and say to them, The kingdom of God is come nigh to you. But into whatsoever city ye may have entered and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, Even the dust of your city, which cleaves to us on the feet, do we shake off against you; but know this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh." (Luke 10:8).

The kingdom of God was come nigh, it was there, and it was evidenced by the healing of the sick. God, in the Person of the Lord Jesus, was in the kingdom and His power was in evidence in it. Though, as we see from Luke 9 and 10, He wouldn't come where He wasn't wanted, I don't think the kingdom would be composed of insubject people. More than that, I can't say: I fully admit that I have a great deal to learn about this. I found the following extract from J.N.D.'s ministry helpful (and I include the next question as to the Church as an interesting aside):

"Question: What is the difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven?
JND: When the King was here, the kingdom of God could be said to be present, but, for that very reason, the kingdom of heaven was not come; the kingdom of heaven could not come until He went away. When the kingdom of God shall be set up in power, it will still be the kingdom of heaven. When He comes again, it will be the kingdom of God according to Mark and Luke, and will be the kingdom of heaven according to Matthew. The moral force of it is the great point of difference.
Question: How is it different from the church?
JND: The church is God's assembly, and, viewed in its heavenly place of association with Christ, it is the body of the Head. The kingdom is the sphere of government. The church is very distinct as God's house, the Spirit of God makes it His habitation; but it is the body of Christ, united to Him, the Head, in heaven; a wholly different thing. Government is the great thought in the kingdom; but grace is the thought in the church; that which God calls, that which He elects."

(Collected Writings of J.N.D. - Volume 42 - page 14).

In the kingdom of the heavens, we have a different idea. It doesn't communicate the same idea as the kingdom of God, with Jesus on earth among men and all things held in His power. The kingdom of the heavens speaks of conditions on earth in Christ's absence, while the King is in heaven. What are these conditions? We see them in the parables related in Matthew's gospel. The kingdom of the heavens "has become like a man sowing good seed in his field" (Matthew 13:24) "like a grain of mustard seed" (Matthew 13:31), "like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until it had been all leavened." (Matthew 13:33), "like a seine which has been cast into the sea, and which has gathered together of every kind" (Matthew 13:47), "like a king who made a wedding feast for his son" (Matthew 22:2), and it will "be made like to ten virgins that having taken their torches, went forth to meet the bridegroom" (Matthew 25:1). Every one of these parables has a common feature, and that is the introduction or the development of what is evil. We see the enemy sowing tares among the wheat, the grain of mustard seed becoming a tree in which the birds come and roost, the leaven contaminating the whole of the meal, the seine (or, 'net') being cast into the sea and gathering together every kind (some worthless), the persons invited to wedding feast who wouldn't come, and then the foolish virgins. All this has come in or will come in during the "waiting time", the time of the Lord's absence. Each parable describes a different feature of evil, persons, actions and systems which are in Christendom (and by Christendom, I mean the mass of the profession of Christianity, which includes believers and unbelievers - unconverted professors of religion).

The tares (or 'darnel') are false brethren. They look very much like the real thing, just as tares are very close in appearance to wheat, and they are "the sons of the evil one" (Matthew 13:38). They come in "surreptitiously" as we see in Galatians 2:4. These are not believers.

The mustard tree is false greatness. Christendom has grown up to be a "tree", large and influential in public life, but in doing so, it has attracted unclean things, "the birds of heaven come and roost in its branches". It's become a haven, down the centuries, for the power-hungry and the ambitious to build themselves a nest of clerical privilege.

The leaven is evil, introduced in small, subtle ways, but spreading its contamination throughout. A sober word.

The worthless fish are empty professors, with no savour for God in them. These are not real believers, who are "gathered... into vessels", saved from destruction.

The persons originally invited to the wedding feast are (I believe) the Gentiles and the Jews. The former "made light of it, and went, one to his own land, and another to his commerce" - they disdained God and went after their own things, and were given up to the worship of idols. We perhaps see this in the family line of Cain. The latter "laying hold of his bondmen, ill-treated and slew them." There were those of the back-sliding Jews, "those who slew the prophets" (Matthew 23:31) and eventually slew the Messiah Himself. I think we get a touch of Roman truth here: neither Gentile nor Jew answered to the glory of God, so He "shut up together all in unbelief, in order that he might shew mercy to all." (Romans 11:32). His love "went out into the highways" to all men, and brought them in "both evil and good", regardless of their sin history. But, one comes without the wedding garment. Someone who has not trusted in the Saviour. He trusted in works, or righteousnesses. He comes dressed in his own clothes, the filthy rags of his own righteousness, and before the Great White Throne "he was speechless". Again, this is not a believer, and never could a believer be expelled into "the outer darkness" as this man was.

Then we come to the foolish virgins. Again, we have outward profession, they have torches, just as the prudent did, and they were virgins, like the prudent - they were indistinguishable from the prudent. But, "all grew heavy and slept". This would perhaps equate to the Dark Ages, that period in history when the light of the testimony shone out only in a few places, and much of the precious truths of Christianity were obscured by superstition and ignorance. Then, there's the midnight cry. Some might say that that was the Reformation, others might put it at a later date. I wouldn't like to speculate, but I think we can say that the midnight cry has already come. God, in His grace, has revived so much precious truth, of "the faith once delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3) and brought it to light! The oil in this parable would speak of the Holy Spirit, and this awakening is a drawing attention to the service and Person of "the friend of the Bridegroom" (John 3:29), the one who is preparing the bride, the assembly, for the Bridegroom's arrival. The virgins arose and trimmed their torches. Much has had to be dealt with and judged by the faithful believer during the recovery of the truth. Much that is not of God, which would dim the light of the testimony, has had to be "trimmed". No doubt there is still trimming to be done of my lamp. Then, the lack of the oil becomes apparent, and the empty, foolish virgins are exposed. "Give us of your oil, for our torches are going out", the plead with the prudent. The emptiness of their profession is exposed - they've scorned and grieved the Holy Spirit. Although they've got by on rituals, histrionics, charitable deeds, good works, all the outward profession of Christian character, they lack the life which fuels the light. They now see others who have the Spirit, and they want what they have to prop up their profession. The prudent, however, won't share their oil. They won't contaminate themselves by association with unreal professors of empty religion. The Lord would say to these, "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and am grown rich, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art the wretched and the miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked; I counsel thee to buy of me gold purified by fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white garments, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not be made manifest; and eye-salve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see." (Revelation 3:18). But, for these foolish virgins, it's too late. They go away to buy for themselves, and the ones who were ready, those who had trusted in Christ and depended on the Holy Spirit, they go in to the feast. The Lord says to them, "I do not know you." They had nothing of Him, they hadn't trusted in Him.

So, we see here, in the prudent virgins, the Church and in the foolish virgins, the profession. Both are lumped together in Christendom, they grow together till the harvest. We mustn't confuse the thought of the Church with the kingdom, or Christendom with the Church.

P.S. I apologise for the length of this post, but I think Gerald has set the tone in his OP. ;)

No need to apologise. Not every thought or message can be explained in a sound bite.
There are a number of things that I would wish to elucidate .
The mustard seed. The Lord uses it in relation to faith and small that it is ,If you ahve faith as small as a mustard seed ..... it will or can do much. I do not believe then you cna use either the seed or the tree that follows it as a "false greatness" For it is the nature of a mustard seed to produce the greatest of all herbs .It is not then false . Our faith is expected to grow and with it accomplish great things . The birds in the trees however are another matter ,They are mentioned a number of times and they are emersaries of the devil who live in the branches of the tree. as much as in the church not all are who or what they say they are . But also christians can inadvertantly become mouthpieces of the devil even as Peter did at one point and snatch the Word of God out of someones heart by careless words or actions .
I had hoped to simply lay out not oen point but a number of scriptures and principles of scripture to show who,what and the nature of the Bride of Christ will be .
I am fully persuaded of the fact that the church body will not make up the Bride .Though she will come out form the midst of it .Even as Eve came out fo the body of the first Adam.
For there are a number of scriptures some of which I have already mentioned that show there is a body out of a body or a double selection.
The great striving and misunderstandings about what is callwed the rapture but htink more accurately should be called the "translation " of the Bride when the <Lord comes FOR his Bride . and she meets him in the air . Is due to the false idea that as soon as you are BORN again you are automatically in the Bride of Christ. Not. You are in the BODY of the church .
Beign BORNagain qualifies us to run the race . It does not win us the prize. The world is not qualified at all .
The kingdom of God is the kingdom promised to the Jews which as late as the last supper the disciples were still asking when it would be established .For it was so promised by the prophets .
The kingdom of heaven is the heavenly kingdom .from which the Bride will reign with Christ seated with Him in heavenly places .
The government "will be on his SHOULDERS " That part closest to the head.
If you consider that in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. That is the visible and invisible.
and as there is a throne in heaven therei ks also going to be a throne on earth .Do we not pray that thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven?
Ill say again.
Jesus is called the second and last Adam. He is called the second because he is likened unto the first but after the first there are no others save the Lord.he is called the last because likened unto the first there is none after Him.
When I say likened unto the first in fact its the other way round. For it si written that the first Adam was the "foreshadow of Him who was to come "
The shadow being the outline the last beign the substance.
If then the first Adam was given a help meet for him a wife or bride .So too the last Adam.
and where did she come from? From his rib the midst of his body.
So too then the Bride of Christ from the midst of His body .
The first Adam was created from the dust of the earth . and Eve created form the body of the man.
The last Adam was begotten of the father . and the bride begotten through the son.
Abraham who is a type for the father .sought a bride for the Son of promise . He sent his high servant who is a type of the Holy Spirit to go not into the world but from "among his BRETHEREN"
The 11 tribes of Israel all had an inheritance . One tribe out of the body of tribes had no inheritance for God Himself was their inheritance.
A body out of a body a double selection.
Out of all the disciples the Lord chose three ;Peter ,James and John who "went a little further " and saw and did things the others did not.,A body out of a body .
So we are not talking about the whole body of the church . But a body taken from that body .
We are NOT talking about our salvation and our redemption or our reconciliation to God . We are not talking about being BORNagain.
We are talking about the Bride of Chrust which is our high calling .

In Christ
gerald


 
The ten virgins :

As I pointed out in my original post .The church has taken a message for the people of God and changed it to not apply to them.

A virgin is of God and not of man .
The world and the unsaved do not expect or look for the groom or expect to be in the Bride .
The unsaved do not have any light or their lamps lit .
The world is awake at midnight being children of darkness , It is the church that us asleep . When it should be awake,.
The world and the unsaved will not hear the cry the bridegroom commeth . Which like the "porter" of the sheepfold we must assume is the Holy Spirit who makes the cry and wakes them ALL up.

The 5 foolish are barred from the" MARRIAGE " not the kingdom.
People have simply jumped to that conclusion .
For the words to the wicked are "I NEVER knew you" and they are barred from the kingdom .
The 5 foolish are barred as it says from the "marriage" with the words "I know ye not " that is unrecognisable as a bride.
 
Can I take this opportunity, @geralduk, to say how much I've enjoyed and profited from your teaching. However, dear brother, I cannot agree with this.

If then the first Adam was given a help meet for him a wife or bride .So too the last Adam.
and where did she come from? From his rib the midst of his body.
So too then the Bride of Christ from the midst of His body

Eve was formed from Adam's rib, yes. He could say of her, "This time it is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" (Genesis 2:23). Does this not describe His body, as much as His bride? She was formed from his rib because she was to be at his side, his companion, his help-mate. It isn't an exclusive thought.

Paul writes to the Corinthians, "For I am jealous as to you with a jealousy which is of God; for I have espoused you unto one man, to present you a chaste virgin to Christ." (2 Corinthians 11:2). He then compares them to Eve, the help-mate and companion. He is speaking to the saints generally, not to any particular ones who would form the bride in an exclusive way. And if these Corinthians, who needed so much correction from the apostle, could be spoken of as a "chaste virgin", then surely the feeblest saint is part of that entity.

The rapture is Christ's taking of the bride to be with Himself. Do we get an exclusive thought as to the rapture? "For the Lord himself, with an assembling shout, with archangel's voice and with trump of God, shall descend from heaven; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we, the living who remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we shall be always with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Do we not see the bride here, His perpetual companion? Living and dead, caught up together to be "always with the Lord"?

The idea that any blood-bought saint, any one who was foreknown of God before time, one for whom Christ suffered, died, and shed His precious blood... the idea that any such one should not take up that position of nearness to Him that the bride speaks of - well, it simply can't be entertained. The bride is for the satisfaction of the heart of Christ, and it was that great heart of love that compelled Him to go to the cross and into death. The Hebrew bondman says, distinctly, "I love my master, my wife, and my children, I will not go free" (Exodus 21:5). The Father, the bride and the brethren are all seen here in this type. It's for them that He goes that way. Is He going to give any of them up, have any portion of the bride, one single member of that blood-bought company, held back from Him? Surely not.
 
The ten virgins :

As I pointed out in my original post .The church has taken a message for the people of God and changed it to not apply to them.

A virgin is of God and not of man .
The world and the unsaved do not expect or look for the groom or expect to be in the Bride .
The unsaved do not have any light or their lamps lit .
The world is awake at midnight being children of darkness , It is the church that us asleep . When it should be awake,.
The world and the unsaved will not hear the cry the bridegroom commeth . Which like the "porter" of the sheepfold we must assume is the Holy Spirit who makes the cry and wakes them ALL up.

The 5 foolish are barred from the" MARRIAGE " not the kingdom.
People have simply jumped to that conclusion .
For the words to the wicked are "I NEVER knew you" and they are barred from the kingdom .
The 5 foolish are barred as it says from the "marriage" with the words "I know ye not " that is unrecognisable as a bride.

I believe we see in the virgins those who have taken the ground of Christian profession, they take the ground of holding themselves for Christ. Yet, as Mr Coates has said about the foolish ones, "They are in the place of privilege and responsibility as professing to own Christ as Lord and assenting to the truths of the Christian faith, but they have no vital and saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ." It is an outward thing. They are in the kingdom already, so the wedding feast is not the kingdom. The tares are in the kingdom, the birds of heaven are in the kingdom, as are the foolish virgins. They take their place outwardly as watchers, but they have no substance. When the crisis comes, the midnight cry, that shows the reality of each. The foolish virgins were not "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4), so they were unsuitable. "I do not know you". Yes, they all appeared the same, as did the tares and the wheat, so did the prudent and the foolish. But just as the tares were worthless, so are the foolish, lightless virgins.
 
@geralduk, @Grant Melville, @Major and all other contributors.

Hello there,

I must differ with you, it seems.
Each title given, is given for a purpose, to differentiate, to separate, to give clarity of thought and understanding. 'The wife', 'The Bride', 'The Body'. The Holy Spirit intends that we look at each one separately, and not combine them, for that destroys their purpose.

'The wife' - Ezekiel 16, Jeremiah 2:2; - the nation of Israel is depicted as an unfaithful wife (Jer.3:20), to whom the Lord Himself remains faithful (Ezek.16:60; Jer.31:31,32; Isa. 54:4-6; 62:4,5. ) ; and whom He will restore (Hosea 3:3-5). The old covenant being the marriage contract.

'The bride' - In the day of Israel's blessing one Jewel brighter than the rest will be seen - the remnant of faithful ones who endured throughout the days of Israel's apostasy. See the parable of the One Pearl (Matt.13:46, separate from the 'treasure' of Matt.13:44, which is the nation of Israel) These are God's 'hidden ones' (Psa. 83:3,4).

Right down the ages since the time of Abraham there has been a faithful remnant, spoken of as, 'holy brethren, partakers of the Heavenly Calling', 'who died in faith, not having received the promise' (Isaiah 1:9; Isaiah 11:11,16, Ezek. 9:4-6; 14:22; Joel 2:32; Micah 2:12; Romans 9:27 and 11:5).

The overcomers of the Apocalypse, the 144,000 sealed of the tribes of Israel; and the various companies mentioned in Revelation (12:17; 14:1-5; 15:1-3 and 20:4), all seem to comprise 'the pearl of great price'. These have been through the refining process of trial, like the oyster in the production of a pearl.

In Revelation 21:2, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband, is inhabited by the partakers of the heavenly calling, who like Abraham, desired a better country, that is an heavenly, and for them God has prepared a city (Heb. 11 & 12). An elect remnant: including believing Gentiles during the Acts period; these, along with those previously mentioned comprise - the Bride.

* Many of the Lord's people are accustomed to the doctrine that the 'Bride' and the 'Body' are the same, and it is taken for granted as truth. However, the child of God must be willing to try all things, and bring it to the Word of God for verification.

The Bride and the Body are not one company, each are defined by what is written concerning them, and should be allowed to remain distinct, for truth to be clearly defined.

In Christ Jesus
Chris
 
Last edited:
Can I take this opportunity, @geralduk, to say how much I've enjoyed and profited from your teaching. However, dear brother, I cannot agree with this.



Eve was formed from Adam's rib, yes. He could say of her, "This time it is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" (Genesis 2:23). Does this not describe His body, as much as His bride? She was formed from his rib because she was to be at his side, his companion, his help-mate. It isn't an exclusive thought.

Paul writes to the Corinthians, "For I am jealous as to you with a jealousy which is of God; for I have espoused you unto one man, to present you a chaste virgin to Christ." (2 Corinthians 11:2). He then compares them to Eve, the help-mate and companion. He is speaking to the saints generally, not to any particular ones who would form the bride in an exclusive way. And if these Corinthians, who needed so much correction from the apostle, could be spoken of as a "chaste virgin", then surely the feeblest saint is part of that entity.

The rapture is Christ's taking of the bride to be with Himself. Do we get an exclusive thought as to the rapture? "For the Lord himself, with an assembling shout, with archangel's voice and with trump of God, shall descend from heaven; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we, the living who remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we shall be always with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Do we not see the bride here, His perpetual companion? Living and dead, caught up together to be "always with the Lord"?

The idea that any blood-bought saint, any one who was foreknown of God before time, one for whom Christ suffered, died, and shed His precious blood... the idea that any such one should not take up that position of nearness to Him that the bride speaks of - well, it simply can't be entertained. The bride is for the satisfaction of the heart of Christ, and it was that great heart of love that compelled Him to go to the cross and into death. The Hebrew bondman says, distinctly, "I love my master, my wife, and my children, I will not go free" (Exodus 21:5). The Father, the bride and the brethren are all seen here in this type. It's for them that He goes that way. Is He going to give any of them up, have any portion of the bride, one single member of that blood-bought company, held back from Him? Surely not.

as I keep saying .We are ALL (who are His) called to that high calling . No one is excluded from it.
Even as God so loved the world is a call to the whole world to repent and none are excluded from that love.
But even as the promise is to all who "will believe on him" shall not perish but have ever lastign life" So too then Paul warns the church or Gods people not to be like them who all came out of Egypt and heard the same message but enetered not in because of unbelief .
Unbelief in God entails believing another message .
The promise was to all ,They were all children of God in that respect. But how many enetered into the promise who came out of Egypt? and again I say the church has excused itself for wanderign in the wilderness for 40 YEARS as the norm of Christian life .When it took them only 40 DAYS and has excused its unbelief and justifies itself saying that those things apply to the world not the church.
Did God leave them or forsake them? No. Did God not give them a miracle every day twice on saturday for 40 years? Yes.Was the presence of God with them?Inso far as the pillar of smoke to keep them cook in the heat of the day as also to lead them and the fire by night to keep them warm and to lead them.
Yet Moses was without the camp.
What says the scriptures? "Behold I stand at the door and knock .........." The Lord is outside the church knocking on its door. When the church thinks he is inside!
and as there is but one church there is then but one door. After the resurection no door locked or closed was a hinderence to him. Why then does \he feel the need to knock?
is it because the church is full of its own ways that there is no room for Him?
What ever the reason the knockign on the door is a call to the WHOLE church. and none are excluded from it.
But as before the promise is for those who have ears to hear and open the door "^to THEM ..........." Will the Son and the father sup with or have close fellowship(?)
But here is a thought . After they have opened the door and the Lord has sat down with them . What THEN?
Do those who have ears to hear then go back to the church that has not heard? and if they do will they be accepted or cast out of the synagogue?
The church that in its own eyes was rich ,increased in goods and in need of nothing if it did not repent would be spewed out of Gods mouth into "great tribulation" where it would be tried and proved .
It is the Bride who is ready , the 5 wise virgins who will both have the faith and be ready to eb caught up to meet him in the air .
then those who were not ready will indeed weep and wail and they will be tried and proved in the great tribulation and then be fit .

The Bride is the future WIFE after the marriage . We can indeed separate them for our profit as each stage brings out different truths . But we should not think they are not 'connected'
The BODY in general is as of Adams BODY . Eve had a body and the Bride is another body out of the body of Adam.
Even as the bride will be bone of His bone of the Lords.

The bride will by scripture be made up of primarily gentiles though as she will be made up of from every tribe and nation .SOME Jews will be then partakers .
But Joseph who is an architype of Christ in that his whole life in many respects mirrored or foreshadowed the Lords.
He was ALREADY married when he revealed himself to his bretheren the second time.
Moses was already married when he returned to the children of Israel in Egypt to deliver them by Gods hand.
The Lord is coming to the air FOR His bride . Not for the nation of Israel.
Then after the marriage he will come WITH His bride to deliver them.

Concerning the 5 wise and foolish virgins .I think it will be far better to do another post entirely dedicated to them and break it all down and see where we are concerning them. whether they be all of God or the church or saved and the unsaved.

in Christ
gerald
 
I believe we see in the virgins those who have taken the ground of Christian profession, they take the ground of holding themselves for Christ. Yet, as Mr Coates has said about the foolish ones, "They are in the place of privilege and responsibility as professing to own Christ as Lord and assenting to the truths of the Christian faith, but they have no vital and saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ." It is an outward thing. They are in the kingdom already, so the wedding feast is not the kingdom. The tares are in the kingdom, the birds of heaven are in the kingdom, as are the foolish virgins. They take their place outwardly as watchers, but they have no substance. When the crisis comes, the midnight cry, that shows the reality of each. The foolish virgins were not "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4), so they were unsuitable. "I do not know you". Yes, they all appeared the same, as did the tares and the wheat, so did the prudent and the foolish. But just as the tares were worthless, so are the foolish, lightless virgins.

There are two judgments .
The one unto condemnation .
The other unto works .
The wicked are barred from the kingdom for there is foudn no place for them with the words "I NEVER knew you"
The 5 foolish are not barred from the kingdom nor are they worthless they are simply(?) not recognisable as a Bride with the words "I know ye not" and as it is said they are barred from the "marriage"
There folly was thinking that to be BORN again was enough and though their lamps were lit their vessels were empty.
When we are born into this world we have life . But to live that life we needs must be continually filled with the breath of life .
So too then to be BORN again we needs must know and understand "what is the exceedign greatness of His power that is towards us who believe ........." and be ye (continually) filled with the Spirit ."

In Christ
gerald
 
@geralduk, @Grant Melville, @Major and all other contributors.

Hello there,

I must differ with you, it seems.
Each title given, is given for a purpose, to differentiate, to separate, to give clarity of thought and understanding. 'The wife', 'The Bride', 'The Body'. The Holy Spirit intends that we look at each one separately, and not combine them, for that destroys their purpose.

'The wife' - Ezekiel 16, Jeremiah 2:2; - the nation of Israel is depicted as an unfaithful wife (Jer.3:20), to whom the Lord Himself remains faithful (Ezek.16:60; Jer.31:31,32; Isa. 54:4-6; 62:4,5. ) ; and whom He will restore (Hosea 3:3-5). The old covenant being the marriage contract.

'The bride' - In the day of Israel's blessing one Jewel brighter than the rest will be seen - the remnant of faithful ones who endured throughout the days of Israel's apostasy. See the parable of the One Pearl (Matt.13:46, separate from the 'treasure' of Matt.13:44, which is the nation of Israel) These are God's 'hidden ones' (Psa. 83:3,4).

Right down the ages since the time of Abraham there has been a faithful remnant, spoken of as, 'holy brethren, partakers of the Heavenly Calling', 'who died in faith, not having received the promise' (Isaiah 1:9; Isaiah 11:11,16, Ezek. 9:4-6; 14:22; Joel 2:32; Micah 2:12; Romans 9:27 and 11:5).

The overcomers of the Apocalypse, the 144,000 sealed of the tribes of Israel; and the various companies mentioned in Revelation (12:17; 14:1-5; 15:1-3 and 20:4), all seem to comprise 'the pearl of great price'. These have been through the refining process of trial, like the oyster in the production of a pearl.

In Revelation 21:2, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband, is inhabited by the partakers of the heavenly calling, who like Abraham, desired a better country, that is an heavenly, and for them God has prepared a city (Heb. 11 & 12). An elect remnant: including believing Gentiles during the Acts period; these, along with those previously mentioned comprise - the Bride.

* Many of the Lord's people are accustomed to the doctrine that the 'Bride' and the 'Body' are the same, and it is taken for granted as truth. However, the child of God must be willing to try all things, and bring it to the Word of God for verification.

The Bride and the Body are not one company, each are defined by what is written concerning them, and should be allowed to remain distinct, for truth to be clearly defined.

In Christ Jesus
Chris
So, you would connect the thought of the kingdom of heaven with the Jewish nation and with the Jewish remnant during the apocalypse, in the parables of the treasure in the field and the pearl, respectively?
 
So, you would connect the thought of the kingdom of heaven with the Jewish nation and with the Jewish remnant during the apocalypse, in the parables of the treasure in the field and the pearl, respectively?

In the beginning God created the HEAVEN and the EARTH.
When the devil tempted the Lord in the wilderness he showed him all the kingdoms of this world and said they have bene pit into my hands and I will give you them ,if you bow down and worship me . He offered the Lord a short cut without the cross.
For there is coming a day when the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ (anointed)
Two things then. In the beginning God gave the kingdom of earth to Adam. Giving him dominion over all the earth .
When he obeyed or believed the devil rather than God the title deeds of this earth were handed over to the devil and where once life reigned, so now death and corruption.
The kingdom of God is as far as I am aware always refers to the kingdom on EARTH . That was promised to the Jews and the disciples were still expecting it to happen after the resurrection.
The kingdom of HEAVEN is where the rule and governance of God has never changed . Indeed was not Lucifer cast down from heaven to the earth?

Jesus then ;will he not sit in the throne of His father? as he will also sit on the throne of David?
Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
The jews will reign with Christ over the nations/kingdoms of the earth .The kingdom of God .
The Bride will reign with Christ in heaven.
But then she also comes down from heaven as a bride adorned for her husband. Who is where? On earth.
There is much that I do not understand.
For if you measure the new Jerusalem as it si given then it is huge and I mean very huge .

in Christ
gerald
 
The great treasure hid in a field . We understand by that parable by which we understand all parables .That "the field is the world"

in Christ
gerald
 
I agree, @Geraluk, there is much that I do not understand, too.

Praise God! - That He knows, and that is what truly matters.

For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face.
In Christ Jesus
Chris
 
Can I take this opportunity, @geralduk, to say how much I've enjoyed and profited from your teaching. However, dear brother, I cannot agree with this.

Then you have to reconcile your disagreement with the fact of a church that the Spirit said if they fif not repent they would be "spewed out His mouth into GREAT TRIBULATION"
That Paul speaks to the whole church as pertaining to the Bride is simply because the WHOLE church is called to that high calling.
But he warns the same whole church not to be like those who came out of Egypt (BORNagain) but who enetred not into the promise . The promised land is not heaven. Why? "because of their unbelief" which is not simply not believing God but believing another message .
Did not Paul warn the churck also lest they be deceived like Eve? She too believed another message .One that mixed truth with error or "the truth changed into a lie"
The Bride cannot be LESS than the first church age or Apostolic age .
But whrere as that church had no door which the Lord found a barrier . In this age he says "Behold I stand at the door and knock "
Again the church ahs rejected the truth of it that iot applies to the CHURCH not to the saved and the unsaved.Though in a measure it can be so applied it is none the less a message to a church that thinks it has it all but a vital part is missing .or outside.
It is as the woman who had ten coins and lost one .
I do not believe nor can that the Bride of Christ can have less a revival than those real ones of scotland ,wales and in the USA .
I do not believe or can that the Bride of Christ can be less than the reformation church . Yet we claim we have a "better understanding " than they . Yet they turned the world upside down and we are asleep.
False prophets and apostles parade their wares before Gods people and claim here is the annointing and all Gods people nod their heads and cry halleluyah.
True it is written that these things should come to pass "but woe to them by whom it comes"
As in the days of Noah so shall, it be in the last days . In the days of Noah there was Enoch.
As in the days of Lot so shall it be in the coming of the Son of man. In the days of Lot there was abraham.

in Christ
gerald



Eve was formed from Adam's rib, yes. He could say of her, "This time it is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" (Genesis 2:23). Does this not describe His body, as much as His bride? She was formed from his rib because she was to be at his side, his companion, his help-mate. It isn't an exclusive thought.

Paul writes to the Corinthians, "For I am jealous as to you with a jealousy which is of God; for I have espoused you unto one man, to present you a chaste virgin to Christ." (2 Corinthians 11:2). He then compares them to Eve, the help-mate and companion. He is speaking to the saints generally, not to any particular ones who would form the bride in an exclusive way. And if these Corinthians, who needed so much correction from the apostle, could be spoken of as a "chaste virgin", then surely the feeblest saint is part of that entity.

The rapture is Christ's taking of the bride to be with Himself. Do we get an exclusive thought as to the rapture? "For the Lord himself, with an assembling shout, with archangel's voice and with trump of God, shall descend from heaven; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we, the living who remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we shall be always with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Do we not see the bride here, His perpetual companion? Living and dead, caught up together to be "always with the Lord"?

The idea that any blood-bought saint, any one who was foreknown of God before time, one for whom Christ suffered, died, and shed His precious blood... the idea that any such one should not take up that position of nearness to Him that the bride speaks of - well, it simply can't be entertained. The bride is for the satisfaction of the heart of Christ, and it was that great heart of love that compelled Him to go to the cross and into death. The Hebrew bondman says, distinctly, "I love my master, my wife, and my children, I will not go free" (Exodus 21:5). The Father, the bride and the brethren are all seen here in this type. It's for them that He goes that way. Is He going to give any of them up, have any portion of the bride, one single member of that blood-bought company, held back from Him? Surely not.
 
Back
Top