The Bride of Christ

Hello @geralduk,

Yes, Christ Jesus, our Beloved, risen and glorified Lord, is the Head of the One Body. That glorious fact we are all agreed on.

Praise God!

Our understanding differs on what the Body comprises, that is between ourselves and God the Holy Spirit. It is not a matter of contention or of condemnation. We, each one, have been brought into fellowship with the Father, and with His Son, through the Spirit, and it is there that we learn of the things of Christ, not from dispute or the accumulation of many words.

In fact the 'many words' of man just makes the heart to sink, and distresses the spirit. The Word of God itself does neither of those things, so it is best to concentrate on personal study, and wait on the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, Who gives it in the form, and at the pace that is right for each individual.

May God's perfect will be done in each one of us, for His Name and glory's sake.

In Christ Jesus
Our risen and glorified
Saviour, Lord and Head.
Chris



Given that the coming of the :Lord for His bride is the primary message of the age . For he has already as it were left the building and is on His way. I do not believe that these things are for ones own private view or indeed of contention and condemnation.
But for the preaching or teaching or the sharing of the truth .
You speak of" many words" and think that if a man speaks a long time he must be wrong?
I have in churches on Sunday where the primary thought in mens minds was not the message of the pastor or preacher but the dinner in the oven.
I know of one sincere man of God who was called to pastor a church in NW London . A church that had not a pastor for over 5 years .
A group (and ruling?) in the church took umbrage at the length of his sermon and at first began to look at their watches in such a way as to let the pastor know what they thought .
As a faithful man of God he preached as he was so led .Eventually they began to get up as he was preaching and stack the chairs !
The sad thing was that other members of the church did not rebuke them .
That Godly man resigned .For clearly while they expressed they wanted and needed a pastor they wanted one who would listen more to them than to God.
I once heard a man of God begin a message on Hebrews 1:1 and got no further than "GOD<" and preached I think for nigh on two hours on 'GOD'
It was a wonderful message and every time I use the Word "God" It is infused with that message and all that was said and understood.
Personal study is good but it is not enough . Indeed we can or could get a too narrow focus on things if that is all we do .
The message of the Bride is challenging.
For it goes against the grain of not only modern theology but also many years of loose teaching .
What i say is not in condemnation or to condemn. But to read a map you need to know two things . Where you are and where you want to go.
If you know where you want to go but do not know where you are you will not get to where you want to go.
If you know where you are but do not know where you want or need to be .You also will not get there .
Is it not w ritten "the Word of God is a lamp unto my feet (where we are) and a light unto my path" Where we are going.
It will tell us if we are in the wrong place . Im not speaking about being saved or BORNagain., Im speaking about in our thinking .
It will tell us .Not unto condemnation but that we may change our thinking.
It will tell us where we are going . and if we have strayed it will show us by examples of scripture and direct teaching likewise .
.Again this may seem overlong. But it is not really .
and it it does to you. Then read it one bit at a time and see if these things be true in scripture.
For I cannot in truth and faithfulness to God and the truth not say it as it is and how I find it . But I hope in a little measure to show why I believe what I believe and as I have been so led others following the argument may arrive at the same conclusion . If my words are badly done .Im sorry . If misunderstood then I will if needed try another way to say it .


in Christ
Gerald
 
Hello again, @geralduk,

While applauding your obvious knowledge of the Scriptures, I question your use of the Old Testament types, in regard to 'The Church which is His Body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.'

There is much to be learned from these examples, yes, but they do not describe the Church which is His Body.

I agree that there is evidence for the principle of an, 'election within an election,' but not with your application of it.

In Christ Jesus
Chris
I have no problem as to your questions and if possible I would answer them for I will always if I can answer an objection .

Yet you do not show me why im wrong simply that you disagree with my application.
I would be interested in what your" evidence " is . For you may understand and know what I do not or have not seen .
I did not by the way say they described the church which is His body.
What i said was that they in PART teach different aspects and charateristics of the Bride .
No Old testament scripture gives a perfect picture that i am aware of of anything .
Though the life of Joseph is perhaps the most complete picture of Him who was to come .
But as the scripture says it "God who in sundry times and in divers ways spake by the prophets"
Divers ways being the operative word .
You might argue that is speaking of the Lord (only?) for it continues "but in these last days hath spoken to us of His Son"
Who IS the message.
Primarily yes .
But as all sound doctrine is or has its roots in the book of Genesis and is then expanded on in various ways and times throughout the Old testament then we can also reasonably say this doctrine of the Bride can be also discovered there as well.
Indeed where did Paul get his doctrines from?
Did he not say to Timothy "ye have all the scriptures able to make you wise unto salvation"
He only had the Old testament so you can be saved by the Old testament or is able to make you wise unto salvation.....
Indeed a careful reading of scripture will show that in its embryonic form the gospel was first preached or laid out by God Himself in the garden of Eden!
"The Word of God is the seed " said Jesus . What was sown in the first book is fulfilled and bears fruit in the last book.
The Bride being in the last book then should be found in the first book.

in Christ
gerald
 
Given that the coming of the :Lord for His bride is the primary message of the age . For he has already as it were left the building and is on His way. I do not believe that these things are for ones own private view or indeed of contention and condemnation.
But for the preaching or teaching or the sharing of the truth .
You speak of" many words" and think that if a man speaks a long time he must be wrong?
I have in churches on Sunday where the primary thought in mens minds was not the message of the pastor or preacher but the dinner in the oven.
I know of one sincere man of God who was called to pastor a church in NW London . A church that had not a pastor for over 5 years .
A group (and ruling?) in the church took umbrage at the length of his sermon and at first began to look at their watches in such a way as to let the pastor know what they thought .
As a faithful man of God he preached as he was so led .Eventually they began to get up as he was preaching and stack the chairs !
The sad thing was that other members of the church did not rebuke them .
That Godly man resigned .For clearly while they expressed they wanted and needed a pastor they wanted one who would listen more to them than to God.
I once heard a man of God begin a message on Hebrews 1:1 and got no further than "GOD<" and preached I think for nigh on two hours on 'GOD'
It was a wonderful message and every time I use the Word "God" It is infused with that message and all that was said and understood.
Personal study is good but it is not enough . Indeed we can or could get a too narrow focus on things if that is all we do .
The message of the Bride is challenging.
For it goes against the grain of not only modern theology but also many years of loose teaching .
What i say is not in condemnation or to condemn. But to read a map you need to know two things . Where you are and where you want to go.
If you know where you want to go but do not know where you are you will not get to where you want to go.
If you know where you are but do not know where you want or need to be .You also will not get there .
Is it not w ritten "the Word of God is a lamp unto my feet (where we are) and a light unto my path" Where we are going.
It will tell us if we are in the wrong place . Im not speaking about being saved or BORNagain., Im speaking about in our thinking .
It will tell us .Not unto condemnation but that we may change our thinking.
It will tell us where we are going . and if we have strayed it will show us by examples of scripture and direct teaching likewise .
.Again this may seem overlong. But it is not really .
and it it does to you. Then read it one bit at a time and see if these things be true in scripture.
For I cannot in truth and faithfulness to God and the truth not say it as it is and how I find it . But I hope in a little measure to show why I believe what I believe and as I have been so led others following the argument may arrive at the same conclusion . If my words are badly done .Im sorry . If misunderstood then I will if needed try another way to say it .


in Christ
Gerald
Dear Brother in Christ (@geralduk)

Forgive me for alluding to your use of many words, critically, it was wrong of me. I myself have just entered notes in another thread, which are longer than I would wish, and I realise that it is sometimes necessary.

I know that I should have given explanations as to why I disagree with your observations, and will try to do so, for you deserve that. My reason for not doing so, is simply the degree of difficulty I find in doing so, because of the very different way that we approach this subject. It seems like an impenetrable wall at the moment. May God give ability and grace.

I do appreciate your depth of study and value you in Christ, geraduk.
In Christ Jesus
Chris
 
Dear Brother in Christ (@geralduk)

Forgive me for alluding to your use of many words, critically, it was wrong of me. I myself have just entered notes in another thread, which are longer than I would wish, and I realise that it is sometimes necessary.

I know that I should have given explanations as to why I disagree with your observations, and will try to do so, for you deserve that. My reason for not doing so, is simply the degree of difficulty I find in doing so, because of the very different way that we approach this subject. It seems like an impenetrable wall at the moment. May God give ability and grace.

I do appreciate your depth of study and value you in Christ, geraduk.
In Christ Jesus
Chris
Dear Chris in Christ and a brother,
Thank you for your reply both as to its honesty as also to the Spirit of it.
I apreciate the difficulty and to some degree understand it.
My a proactive to the scriptures is quite different, not because I wish to be 'different' for its own sake,but because I have had the privilege to learn from and have listened to a man of God for many years preach the whole council of God who's own aproach to the scriptures has been exemplary.
I am also coming from a life and character that does not readily accept what people say is true just because they say so.
This of course compounded the natural inclination of man not to believe God in the first place.
Thus for instance where the word says the heart of man is desperately wicked etc and who can know it. In not believing it I found that God as it were steps back and let's life ,circumstances and ones own decisions prove the truth of it that I and man is not so god as we they think they are.
God has been gracious to me in such a manner that despite my sins and predelictons to go to an extreme only to be proven wrong, he has kept me.
God is well able then to not only kep you but also give the understanding of what I have been trying to say in spite of me.
For if he has so faithfully led me into the truth that I have come to understand how much the more anybody else of a sincere heart?
And both to even more abundant promises that are the inherited of the saints who are the sons if God.
In Christ
Gerald
 
Dear Chris in Christ and a brother,
Thank you for your reply both as to its honesty as also to the Spirit of it.
I apreciate the difficulty and to some degree understand it.
My a proactive to the scriptures is quite different, not because I wish to be 'different' for its own sake,but because I have had the privilege to learn from and have listened to a man of God for many years preach the whole council of God who's own aproach to the scriptures has been exemplary.
I am also coming from a life and character that does not readily accept what people say is true just because they say so.
This of course compounded the natural inclination of man not to believe God in the first place.
Thus for instance where the word says the heart of man is desperately wicked etc and who can know it. In not believing it I found that God as it were steps back and let's life ,circumstances and ones own decisions prove the truth of it that I and man is not so god as we they think they are.
God has been gracious to me in such a manner that despite my sins and predelictons to go to an extreme only to be proven wrong, he has kept me.
God is well able then to not only kep you but also give the understanding of what I have been trying to say in spite of me.
For if he has so faithfully led me into the truth that I have come to understand how much the more anybody else of a sincere heart?
And both to even more abundant promises that are the inherited of the saints who are the sons if God.
In Christ
Gerald
Dear @geralduk,

What a wonderful God and Saviour we have, don't we.?
How loving and gracious, how wise His dealings with us.

I hear you, and understand what you say, 'Praise God!'
Thank you for sharing a little of your background, and how it has shaped you.


You have a long retrospective viewpoint from which to view God's dealings with you, that is one advantage of getting older, as a believer in Christ, isn't it, Gerald? I praise God for the grace He has given you, and the faithfulness of His loving care of you throughout your Christian life. I can second that testimony, for His dealings with me have been just as gracious, and His provision just as faithfully administered. So I can join my voice with yours in kindred praise and rejoicing to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you, again.
In Christ Jesus
Chris
 
Dear @geralduk,

What a wonderful God and Saviour we have, don't we.?
How loving and gracious, how wise His dealings with us.

I hear you, and understand what you say, 'Praise God!'
Thank you for sharing a little of your background, and how it has shaped you.


You have a long retrospective viewpoint from which to view God's dealings with you, that is one advantage of getting older, as a believer in Christ, isn't it, Gerald? I praise God for the grace He has given you, and the faithfulness of His loving care of you throughout your Christian life. I can second that testimony, for His dealings with me have been just as gracious, and His provision just as faithfully administered. So I can join my voice with yours in kindred praise and rejoicing to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you, again.
In Christ Jesus
Chris

We must not always ascribe to age wisdom or indeed understanding?
"Better a wise child than an old and foolish king"?
and was not Samuel but a young teenager who had lived and ministered in the temple all his life but "knew not the Word of the Lord "
Yet Eli, was it (?) an old and venerable man and high priest who did in the end recognise the Word of the Lord after the third time when Samuel did not . Was a foolish man who coveted the love of his sons rather than the honour God.
Was given the Word of God by Samuel that spoke of his end and his family for his folly.
I had not mean then to relate my past to give some sort of authority to what i said .
But attempted to show where I was coming from that I do not accept as true simply because the majority says it is .
and while it might be true I am of the deep conviction it is not true simply because the majority say it is ,For the truth is not democratic.
God is indeed gracious ,long suffering , patient not willign that any should perish but that all should come to a knowledge of the truth .
I know of a young man in the faith who had in many ways a better understanding of the truth than his peers who were much older and been in the faith far longer and in some measure than the pastor who he loved he was saved under .
"They that hunger and thirst after righteosness shall be filled "
I fear the church is not yet hungry enough nor knows what it needs for the days that lie before us .
Salt makes you thirsty .
it can be irritating too .

in Christ
gerald
 
So we have in Adam and Eve if we are to believe Paul as to a husband and wife the first mention of the Bride and where she comes from.
We have Enoch in the days of Noah and Abraham in the days of Lot each in their turn adding to the picture .
We have Abraham seeking a wife for the Son not from among the world but from "among his brethren"
We have Joseph already married when he revealed himself to his brethren the second time .
We have Moses already married when he by Gods hand delivered the children of Israel .
We have one tribe out of all the tribes who had no inheritance ,for God was their inheritance.
We have out of all the disciples another body of Peter James and John .
The Bride of Christ is without doubt a body from THE Body . A double selection , the "very elect" The 5 wise virgins who did enter the " marriage"
The first fruits .
Those who are "looking for and hastening to "the coming of the Lord.
The ones who will hear the words "come up hither" and they will go.
This the high calling to which we are all called if we are His.
That Paul spoke to and was concerned they would not enter the promise through unbelief .
Who would not be deceived as was Eve.
Who he sought then as now to present to the Lord a church as a chaste virgin ,(spiritually pure) 5 wise )

in Christ
gerald
 
What is called the 'rapture ' then is in fact the "translation" of the Bride .
Why translation? Because Enoch was translated before the outpouring of Gods wrath upon the earth in "the days of Noah"
and we are " translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of Gods dear Son "
We, by that are also translated from one predestination to another .
That of a "corruptable seed " to an inccoruptabel seed .
For as the law of the seed applies to all seeds . including" the seed of the serpent" That every seed will bring forth fruit "after its own kind "
Then every seed is predestined to bring forth fruit after its own kind.
A corruptable seed then is predestined to bring forth corruption unto death.
An incorruptable seed is predestined to bring forth righteousness unto life.
As Jesus speaking of himself said "unless a seed fall into the ground and die it abideth alone but if it does it bringeth forth much fruit" (after its own kind)
So then "the seed of the serpent " has a fruit after its own kind too.
We also see that while the good man sowed the good seed in HIS field ,"it was while men slept" that his enemy sowed another sort of seed . "tares"
Jesus said the "seed is the Word" the field the world .
If then the good seed is the Word of God and thy word is truth .
Then the seed of the serpent is the word of the devil and a lie .
But the law of the seed that each seed brings forth fruit after its own kind then applies to both.
and what sayeth the scriptures?
"By their fruits shall ye know them"
which says what? The sort of seed that was sown fed and watered .
What has this to do with the Bride of Christ?
Much.
If you preach salvation ,then people can get saved .
If you preach healing people can get healed .
For that is what you are sowing .
If you preach sanctification people will get sanctified.
and so on.
The message of the Bride is one that is sorely neglected and the lack of understanding as to the nature and character of the Bride has led to all the confusion as to what is called the 'rapture' and its timing. polerising the church into two opposing camps who both think they are right when in fact they are both wrong and only partly right. But the end result will be the same neither camp will be ready and will miss the boat and by the time they are ready they will be like the 5 foolish virgins be barred from the "MARRIAGE"
For the 5 wise virgins "went in with Him to the MARRIAGE" MATHEW 25:10
The 5 foolish then were not barred from the KINGDOM "I NEVER knew you" unrecognisable as sons of God .
But from the MARRIAGE "I know ye not" unrecognisable as the bride .

in Christ
gerald
 
Mathew 25

"Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened unto ten virgins ,which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom"

This message to the church like many others has been denied that it applies to the church but really applies to the saved and the unsaved and the contrast between the two.

But the Lord laid out the foundation of the message and who it applies to in the very first verse.
It is about the kingdom of HEAVEN.
The world is not in the least interested in the kingdom of heaven . Even less is it concerned about the coming of the Lord who is the Bridegroom. They have no lamp and will not nor do not go forth to meet him.
For they will not nor cannot hear the call "the bridegroom cometh"

They are 10 virgins . A virgin is a God given state it is not of the world it is of God . in the natural state.
But even more as Paul says of it in 2 Cor 11:2
"For I am jealous over you with a Godly jealousy : for I have espoused you to one husband , that i might present you as a chaste virgin to Christ "
So let us dismiss all claims that this message is to the unsaved.
and if still doubted then we can go to Romans 7 as those under the law espoused to a husband!

Beyond all reasonable doubt then this teaching applies to us who are HIS.

and we shall continue anon

in Christ
gerald
 
So we have in Adam and Eve if we are to believe Paul as to a husband and wife the first mention of the Bride and where she comes from.
Hello @geralduk,
Simply because this is the first illustration that we have of marriage in the Bible, does that mean that it has, necessarily to be a type of 'the Bride of the Lamb' of Rev. 21,22?

'And there came unto me one of the seven angels
which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues,
and talked with me, saying,

"Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife."
And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain,
and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem,

descending out of heaven from God, ... '
(Rev 21:9,10)
geralduk:
We have Enoch in the days of Noah and Abraham in the days of Lot each in their turn adding to the picture .
Enoch: (Hebrews 11:5)
Abraham: (Hebrews 11:8-11)
* These two are examples of those who are noted for faith obedience, who were overcomers in their generation, so yes, they belong to the company who will inhabit, 'the great city, the holy Jerusalem'. Abraham, ' looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.'
geralduk
We have Abraham seeking a wife for the Son not from among the world but from "among his brethren"
* You believe this to be illustrative of - 'the bride, the Lamb's wife.'
Would you please explain to me why you believe it to be, Gerald?
geralduk
- We have Joseph already married when he revealed himself to his brethren the second time .
- We have Moses already married when he by God's hand delivered the children of Israel .
How are these examples illustrative of, 'the bride the Lamb's wife'?
geralduk
- We have one tribe out of all the tribes who had no inheritance, for God was their inheritance.
- We have out of all the disciples another body of Peter James and John.
These two examples give evidence to the fact that God has taken an election from within an election on more than one occasion, and that this is illustrative of what happens in regard to, 'the bride the Lamb's wife', and with this I agree.
geralduk
The Bride of Christ is without doubt a body from THE Body ....
What makes you believe that, 'the bride the Lamb's wife,' is an election from within the Church which is His Body,(the fulness of Him that filleth all in all) Eph. 1:21,22.

geralduk
... A double selection , the "very elect".
'The very elect' - is that term used in relation to 'the bride the Lamb's wife'? (Matt. 24:24)
geralduk
The 5 wise virgins who did enter the " marriage"
You believe that the 5 wise virgins are illustrative of the bride the lamb's wife? Why, Gerald?
geralduk
The first fruits .
geralduk
Are you referring here to Revelation 14:4?
geralduk
Those who are "looking for and hastening to "the coming of the Lord.
The ones who will hear the words "come up hither" and they will go.
What verses are you referring to here, Gerald?
geralduk
This the high calling to which we are all called if we are His. ...
You believe that we are all called to be part of the company, 'the bride the Lamb's wife'?
What makes you believe so?
geralduk
... That Paul spoke to and was concerned they would not enter the promise through unbelief .
Are you referring to, Heb. 3:11, 18; 4:3, 5, 11?
geralduk
Who would not be deceived as was Eve. Who he (Paul) sought then as now to present to the Lord a church as a chaste virgin ,(spiritually pure) 5 wise )
2 Corinthians 11:2 & 3, you believe this to be illustrative of, 'the bride the Lamb's wife,' Gerald?

In Christ Jesus
our risen and glorified
Saviour, Lord and Head.
Chris
 
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Jesus is called the last Adam.
1 Corinthian
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul;the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
He is called the last Adam because he is likened unto the first and that after Him there are no others.
He is likened unto the first in so much as it is written Romans 5:14 that the first Adam ".....who is the figure of Him who is to come "
and in another place 1 Cor 15:22 for as in all Adam we all die,even so in Christ shall be made alive .
thus Adam was the father of this generation . who was given a bride and wife a help meet for him.
So too the last Adam who is the seed of a new generation .
So in of and by itself it is neither proof or establishes it that the Bride of Christ comes out of the midst of His body.
But it is foundational and it is not alone either .
For if the first Adam was the figure of Him who was to come then also the Bride is in figure of she who is to come also .For the bride of the first Adam came from his body.
and the Bride of the last Adam comes from the midst of his body as well.
By your own words you allude to the marriage of the first Adam and did not Paul when speaking of a man and a wife then said " but I speak of a mystery ? and he says he is speaking about the Lord and His bride?
I am not therefore in any way stretching scripture out of context or beyond its meaning.
This I believe I have already mentioned in the beginning. But it does no harm to repeat it .

in Christ
gerald
 
When you speak of Enoch and Abraham you speak as if they are equal or there is no difference between the two .
this by scripture they are not.
For one thing ,Noah was saved THROUGH the flood .Enoch was translated before the flood .
" though Noah found grace in the sight of God ,the scriptures say "he was moved by fear"
love is not perfected when there is fear .
Nevertheless he condemned his generation by his faith in God .
But his walk was not perfect .
Enoch however walked by faith and was perfected and was translated BEFORE the outpouring of Gods wrath upon the earth .
in of and by itself and disregarding all other scriptures it is not proof . But Jesus said "as in the days of Noah so shall it be ......" at the coming of the Son of man. A careful adding up of the days births and deaths of all from Adam to Noah and you will find Enoch was in the days of Noah .
Even taking the scripture alone .They are great differences between Noah and Enoch and we should not count as if there were none .Yes they were both 'saved' and yes they both had faith in God. But so did Paul and so did the thief on the cross who repented and turned to the Lord in faith . But that does not make them equal either in faith or rewards.

in Christ
gerald
 
As in the days of Lot , so too there was Abraham . A repeating pattern.

Lot although he was counted righteous ;"for his righteous soul was vexed by the ........"
His WALK was totally different from Abrahams .
Abraham walked by faith . Lot walked by sight .
In the beginning they were both made rich by the blessing of God so much so that the land could not contain them both at the same time and friction began .
Yet at the end while Abraham was no 'poorer' .Lot lost all but the saving of his own soul. Is it not written of some they "shall suffer loss as through fire"?
Again the reward of the one was not the same as the other and the walk of one was not the same as the other either .

Lot was saved nigh on through or from the destruction and judgment of God on the city . Abraham was no where near it .

Again then as in the days of Lot you have also Abraham .

in Christ
gerald
 
Hello, @gerlduk,

Are your entries #151, 152 & 153 - in response to my entry (#150) which was made in response to your entry - #147?

This is getting so complicated, it's like pulling teeth! ;)

Thank you.
Chris
 
Abraham seeking a bride for Issac .
Abraham is beyond all doubt a type of THE Father .
For not only is he the "father of the faithful" he was willing to sacrifice the "son of promise"
Is not the Lord Jesus Christ the son of promise given to man in the garden of Eden?
Who would not be of Adams seed and be thus by a miracle of God?
Was not Issac the son of promise by whom all the nations would be blessed?
Who was not born by the will of man nor of the will of flesh but of God? When it was beyond the hope and possibility of the flesh to either conceive a child let alone bear it in the womb , for they were both well past the age and strength naturally speaking to do so.
For God had said "I will give ..." When they tried to do what God had promised Ishmeal was born and we are still sufferign the consequences of it .
So as Abraham is a type of the father .Then Issaac the son of promise is a type of the Christ the Son of God .
Then the high servant is a type for the Holy Spirit who the father sends out to seek a bride for the Son .
and commands him and to swear that he will not seek one from among the world but from "among his brethren"
In of and by itself its is not proof .But it is neither alone nor twisting scripture.
and what was clearly the woman chosen was of God she also shows in part the character and the nature of the Bride also .

in Christ
gerald
 
Hello, @gerlduk,

Are your entries #151, 152 & 153 - in response to my entry (#150) which was made in response to your entry - #147?

This is getting so complicated, it's like pulling teeth! ;)

Thank you.
Chris

Chris.
I cannot possibly answer each of you objections or queries in one post .
So I am answering them one by one .
Nor will I simply quote one scripture in reply as that neither proves anything nor can or could give any understanding .

in Christ
gerald
 
Moses speaking of Christ said there will be one who will be like unto me who will come after me but will be greater than me .

Moses then is also a type of Christ .

But as he delivered men from the bondage of men. The Lord delivers men from the greater bondage of sin and death.
So then as the figure delivered them by the blood of a lamb .
So the substance was "the lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world "
In that Moses then was the figure of Him who was to come even as Adam was a figure of Him who was to come .
Then we can look at the life of Moses in relation to the Bride and the Lord also .

He was rejected by his brethren for one thing.
and it was only at the second time that he revealed himself to his brethren and "made himself known" who they had rejected .
This then is a a figure of the Lord also as also to the fact that when he came to deliver them he was already married. In of and by itself is not proof .But it is not alone nor is it twisting the scriptures .

In Christ
gerald
 
Hello, @gerlduk,

Are your entries #151, 152 & 153 - in response to my entry (#150) which was made in response to your entry - #147?

This is getting so complicated, it's like pulling teeth! ;)

Thank you.
Chris

If it is has got complicated it of your own doing as you have taken a lot of separate posts and put all your 'objections' or questions into one .
As I have said it would be impossible to answer them all in one post . But each must be 'answered ' in their own post.
if then you take each in turn I think it will help to 'uncomplicate ' matters.

in Christ
gerald
 
The ten virgins : continued.

As we have shown by Paul that he sought to present the church as a virgin and chaste bride to the bridegroom .
One unspotted by the world. He was also concerned that the bride would not be deceived as was Eve .
Nor not enter in to the promise through unbelief . as did the children of Israel who in not believing God believed another message .

So having established beyond all reasonable doubt that the ten virgins relate to the people of God and none to the unsaved or the world .We should then look at this 'parable' (?) or picture the kingdom of heaven is likened unto; that Jesus told.

Mathew 25:1
"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto 10 virgins ,which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And they that were foolish and took no oil with them"
Lets not over spiritualize the matter of their foolishness . Any one who goes out into the night with their lamp but takes no oil with them is foolish.
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps . They had vessels filled with oil to fill the lamp when and if needed .

ALL ten were waiting for the bridegroom.
ALL 10 had lamps that were lit in the beginning .
5 "while the bridegroom tarried they all slumbered and slept."
ALL 10 fell asleep.
6 "And at midnight there was a cry made (who made the cry?) Behold the bridegroom cometh go ye out to meet him"
ALL 10 heard the cry . Who is it who will cry out if not the Holy Spirit ?
7 " Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps "
ALL 10 heard the cry and arose and trimmed their lamps . The lost are deaf they will not hear and nor have they any lamp lit that it needed trimming.For they have no light .
8 "And the foolish said give us of your oil ;for our lamps have gone out " They were once lit .But their vessels are empty and cannot relight their lamps .
9 "Not so ;lest there be not enough for us and you;but rather go to them that sell,and buy for yourselves " Being wise they remained wise . A man must draw from his own well and not anothers.
10 " And while they went to buy;the bridegroom came;AND THEY THAT WERE READY went in WITH Him to the MARRIAGE ; and the door was shut "
My emphasise was as is the scripture "and they that were ready " "Be ye also ready " the Lord said to His disciples and therefore to us . then next thing is they went in" WITH Him " we are crucified with Him, we are buried with him and we are raised together with Him" He is coming FOR His Bride" that where I am ye may be also " and she will enter with him also into the marriage . and note also they entered into the "MARRIAGE" not the kingdom of God . They were all already in the kingdom of God being children of God . There is the kingdom of God and there is the marriage of the lamb .
"and the door was shut "
Paul warns the church "not to be like them who entered not in to the promise through unbelief " Unbelief is not just simply not believing God it is believign the wrong message as well. For this is what happened also with Eve . Paul was also concerned that the people of God would not be deceived as was Eve .
It is then established beyond all reasonable doubt that this message and teaching that Jesus gave was not to the world or for the world and the unsaved but primarily for the church .
That it can in a limited way be used and preached to the world is not disputed ,But only in a limited way but it has become the only way and insisted upon that it is a message for the unsaved and the world . This it clearly is not . Nor is it for those who are pretending to be christians though again in a limited way it can be so used. But it is primarily for true believers and for every true BORN child of God.
To be READY! and that to be ready you needs must not only have your lamps lit but your vessels full as well.

11 "Afterward (the door was shut) came the other virgins , saying Lord Lord Lord open unto us "

In the case of the children of Israel after 40 DAYS God had said" go in and posses the land for I have given it to you"
But because they had listened to the wrong message and believed it they refused .By the time they had repented and were willing to enter into the promise the door had been shut and they were not able to enter in.

12 "But he answered them ,verily verily I say unto you I know ye not"

A careless reading of this will liken it to that terrible day of judgment of the wicked where the words are spoken "I NEVER knew you" and they are barred from the kingdom .
Here though the words spoken are "I know ye not " or in other words you are unrecognisable as the bride and they are barred from the" MARRIAGE"
The wicked and the Godless are unrecognisable as children of God and are barred from the KINGDOM.

There is a judgment of the wicked unto condemnation.
There is also a judgment of the righteous unto works whether they be of wood hay or stubble or of things of eternal value .

It only took the children of Israel 40 DAYS to reach the promised land .Not 40 years .
Their wandering in the wilderness for 40 YEARS was due to their unbelief .
When God said after 40 days go in a possess the land . He expected them to be ready and they should have been . For the two faithful spies WERE ready and by them all should have been ready also .For did not all as Paul said hear the same Gospel? Were they not all baptised with the same baptism? Did not God lead them ALL ? etc.
Then by the two that were ready the vast majority who were found not to be ready failed to enter into the promise .While the two did .
But the church has made 40 YEARS wandering in the wilderness as the NORM of the christian life . When in fact it is the sub standard christian life . For they were not "more than conquerors" in very truth till they did cross Jordan and enter the promise .
What has this to do with the Bride ?
Much in respect of being ready to enter the promise of the "marriage"
and in other respects of living in the center of Gods will and doing the works of God .
For while they wandered in the wilderness they were still the children of God and had miracles every day and twice on Saturday and more . They were out of the will of God .
and it was not till they crossed Jordan that they began to do the works of God .

The ten virgins then give a picture of the children of God who will be found ready and those who believe that to be but BORNagain is the be all and end all of beign 'saved' and are found not ready because of that belief.
For to be BORNagain is to get out of Egypt saved from the bondage of sin and the devil.
But our salvation is so much more than that . It is also to allow God to get Egypt out of us and to be transformed by the renewal of our minds to such an extent that we do not have the mind of a slave but have become more than conquerors .
If it only took them 40 DAYS to get from one to the other and God expected them to be ready . Then as they were given for our ensample then it should not take us 40 YEARS to do the same .In truth they all perished in the wilderness not having entered in and it was another generation who had the privilege of doing so .
So let us arise and put on the whole armour of God for God still desires we enter into the promise .
and be "counted worthy" and to be ready at the coming of the |Lord .

in Christ
gerald
 
First fruits relate to the law of the harvest .
That the first fruits belong to God .
Then you have the general harvest .
Then you have the gleanings .

in Christ
gerald
 
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