Mr. Roy Holladay
Sermon Transcript
August 4, 2001
Preparing the Bride of Christ
I would also like to extend a welcome
to all of our visitors, our guests who are here with us. This is obviously a
special weekend, and one that I know you have been looking forward to. We are
here to honor the ABC graduates, the class of 2001. Many sacrifices have been
made. I know many of the students have made a great deal of sacrifices to be
here, giving up jobs, opportunities, to be able to take advantage of the privileges
that they have here. Many of their families and friends also have participated
in that. And I am sure there have been many lessons learned over the last seven
months by the ABC students. And these will be lessons that will last a lifetime,
lessons that actually will go on for eternity. I believe we all understand that
this is a training ground that we are experiencing presently. And God is teaching
us so that we can live with him forever, and we can experience life on a higher
plane. And that was brought out very well by Mr. Harmon. God wants us to be
able to live on the God level. And we are here to learn how to do that. What
you have experienced for the last seven months is tremendous. As we used to
say at Ambassador College, the word of God is the foundation of knowledge. And
you have been given that foundation over these last seven months. A foundation
is what you build on. We are going to have a building going up here shortly.
A foundation is going to be laid, and the rest of the building is going to be
erected on that foundation. So you have been given a foundation to build on,
that you can continue your growth, your development in the future. Now, considering
all of this I was thinking about what would be an appropriate topic to speak
on today. I thought about speaking about the future, about service, about courage,
strength, new opportunities, new beginnings. I settled on a topic that seemed
to be very appropriate. I thought I would talk about marriage today. Somehow
this just seemed to ring a bell, hit a chord, hit the mark.
Actually, I would like to touch
on that, as well as almost all the other topics that I threw out to begin with.
I want to take a look at two very important points of our calling that apply
to all of us. How God is preparing us, preparing his family to assist him in
the kingdom of God, and why is God preparing us? Not only that he is
doing it, but why is he doing it? And along the way we will discover that God
does things in a certain manner, a certain way. You will find that the plan
of God was revealed in Genesis 2. Genesis 2 reveals a lot about the plan
of God. Mr. Armstrong used to talk about the two trees quite a bit. I am not
going to talk about the two trees today, just incidentally. God has a purpose
for everything he does. God doesn't do things capriciously, happenstance, second
thoughts, wonder why I did this. God has a plan, a purpose, and he has thought
it out.
Let's go to Genesis 2:7. We will
spend a little time in Genesis 2, back and forth today. But notice chapter 2,
verse 7. Notice what we read here. It says, The Lord God formed man of the
dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man
became a living being. Or, man became a living soul. So you find
that God created man. He created Adam out of the dust, and man became a living
soul. The word is nephesh in the Hebrew. Now notice verse 19, because
it says almost the same thing, but about the animals. Verse 19. Out of the
ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every bird of the air.
So I want you to take note that they were created out of the ground, out of
the ground just like Adam. And he brought them to Adam to see what he would
call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.
Living creature in the Hebrew is nephesh. So every living soul, or
nephesh, referring to the animals and to the birds.
So again in verse 19 you find that
God created the beasts and the fowls also out of the ground. And they became
living souls likewise. Now I don't know if you have ever stopped to think about
it, but Eve was the only one not created directly out of the ground. Now the
question is, why? Why would God go through a process where he creates all of
these animals out of ground, he creates Adam out of the ground, breathes into
their nostrils, they are breathing air now, they are alive. But Eve was not
created in that way. Why would God go through a different process for her? Is
there a reason? I contend that God does everything for a reason, that there
is a purpose God has. There are lessons that God wants us to learn. Why did
God wait to create Eve as the last of his physical creation?
Well let's continue on here in chapter
2, and we will pick it up here in verse 18. Chapter 2, verse 18. We find that
the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone. Apparently
several have read this scripture this year and have honed in on this. It
is not good that the man should be alone. I will make a helper comparable to
him. So I want you to notice. Adam could not find anyone comparable to him.
Going on here in verse 19, the scripture
we read where God created all of the animals, the birds, so in verse 20, Adam
gave names to all of the cattle, the birds of the air, to every beast of the
field, but for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. Now,
Adam looked around and here was Mr. & Mrs. Dog, Mr. & Mrs. Chicken,
Mr. & Mrs. Horse, Mr. & Mrs. Monkey. And he said, well, am I going to
climb in bed with the horse? Am I going to live with a cow forever? He looked
around and there was nobody like him. Nobody he could talk to. Nobody he could
confide in. Nobody who was going to be a helpmeet who was really on his level.
Actually, if you will read in chapter 1, verse 25, just a reference here, when
God created the beasts of the earth, he created the beasts of the earth according
to their kind, the cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps
on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was so. So when
God created the animals he created the male and the female, and they were to
reproduce after their kind. But when Adam looked around, even though there was
a monkey who might go hoo, hoo, hoo, still it was not somebody who was after
his kind that he could marry, that he would want to be with.
Now notice in verse 21, there was
a lesson that God was trying to teach Adam out of all of this. So the Lord
God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept. And he took one of his
ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. And then the rib which the Lord
God had taken from the man, see I said Adam was created out of the ground,
so the other beasts, or others, I shouldn't say other beasts, other animals
were, that the Lord God then took a rib and he made a woman. He made the woman
out of the rib and the flesh that he took from the man, and brought her to the
man. As a result of this, notice what Adam said. This is now bone of my bones,
see she is part of me. God took a bone and created her. Flesh of my flesh.
She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. Now again, why
did God do it this way? I mean, why go to the trouble of taking a rib and creating
the woman? Why didn't God, when he created Adam, why didn't he create the woman
right there with him? Again, there is a lesson that God wants us to learn.
I think it is interesting when you
read the Jamieson, Fawcett, and Brown Commentary, they bring out a very
interesting point in verse 23. Jamieson, Fawcett, and Brown states that
the literal translation of verse 23 is, this is the hit. When Eve was
presented to him, he said, this is it! This is what I have been looking for!
This is a hit! This is the very thing that hits the mark. This reaches what
was desired. You see, none of the animals hit the mark. When Adam looked around,
none of them hit the mark. When he looked at the woman he said, oo la la! She
hits the mark. She is the one. She looks like me. We are compatible. There was
no being who had been created who was human or comparable to him who could help
or who could assist him.
Now brethren, God has looked around,
and he has not found anyone, at least at that time, who was comparable to his
son Jesus Christ. No one who was on the same level, or the same plane, no one
who was comparable to him, compatible with him. At that time there was no one
who hit the mark. No one who had hit the mark.
Now keep that in mind. Because let's
go back to 1 Corinthians 15:45. We are all familiar with this section of the
scripture dealing with the resurrection. But notice that Paul brings out here
something very interesting. So it is written that the first man Adam became
a living being. He became a living, breathing nephesh. Living being. The
last man Adam became a life giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first,
but the natural. And afterwards the spiritual. The first man was of the earth,
made of dust. The second man is the Lord from heaven. And as was the man of
dust, so also are those who are made of dust. We are all human. We all return
to the dust. And it says, And as is the heavenly man, so also are those who
are heavenly. As we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear
the image of the heavenly man. Adam was a type of Jesus Christ. There was
the first Adam, and there was the second Adam.
Brethren, God is in the process
of preparing a bride that will be a helpmeet for his son, that will be made
comparable to Jesus Christ. And you and I have a part in that. God created Eve
as a helpmeet, or one who was perfectly compatible to Adam. They became partners.
Marriage has been given to us as human beings to teach us that lesson. To see
how it is accomplished. And we are going to see as we proceed through the sermon
today how God is doing this.
I think this is one reason Satan
has tried to destroy the family. He has tried to destroy marriage. You see that
today he seems to be doing a very good job. Because most human beings don't
really fully understand outside of just physical pleasures of marriage, why
God has given us marriage. They don't learn the spiritual lesson or understand
that. And when marriages dissolve, break up, and couples are fighting, there
is animosity and violence, they are not learning the lesson that God is trying
to teach. But you see, we have a unique opportunity. We can. Because God is
dealing with us in a different way.
Notice again how the woman was created.
I won't read this. But Genesis 2:21 again. She was taken out of the man, from
his rib. And verse 23. This is why Adam said, She is bone of my bone, she
is flesh of my flesh. The Hebrew just means that she was taken out of the
side of the man. God took bone and flesh from Adam to create Eve. Now the question
is, how is the church being created? How is the bride being created that God
is working with?
Let's go to Ephesians 5:28, where
we will begin to see how God is working with the church today, with the bride.
Verse 28. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies.
He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but
nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members
of his body. Notice. You and I today are members of his body, of his
flesh, and of his bones, just as Eve was of Adam. She came from Adam, so
we come from Christ. We are part of his body, of his flesh, of his bones.
Now you might ask, how is that possible?
You know, Jesus Christ slept the sleep of death. Adam literally was put to sleep,
but Christ died as we know. Prior to that his side was ripped open, and he shed
his blood. And it is through his blood and his sacrifice that you and I have
the opportunity to become a part of Christ, part of the body of Christ. Adam
slept and God took a rib to create Eve. God is creating a bride through Jesus
Christ through his sacrifice, because of that sacrifice. You and I are to become
one flesh with him.
In Genesis 2:24, notice the instructions
that are given concerning marriage. It says, Therefore a man shall leave
his father and mother, and be joined to his wife. And they shall become one
flesh. In marriage a couple is to become one flesh. They are to leave all,
as it says father and mother, those that might be the dearest to you, you are
to leave your father and mother and you are to be joined together.
Luke 14:26, you might remember is
a scripture I am sure was read to all of us when we were baptized. It says if
you are going to become a Christian, a disciple of Christ, that you have got
to be willing to forsake all. You have to be willing to give up everything.
You have got to love God more than you love your own life, your wife, your family,
whatever it might be. There has to be a total and complete commitment to God,
to go God's way when we are baptized.
You will find that marriage helps
to teach that lesson. It is a physical plane thing, but it is to teach a spiritual
lesson. In the Hebrew you will notice here in verse 24, it says he is to leave
his father and mother and be joined to his wife. The word joined,
or as it is in the King James Version cleave, in the Hebrew means simply
to cling, to stay close, to cleave, to keep close, to follow closely, to join
to. So when a couple gets married God says they are supposed to be like this.
They are supposed to stick as close as they possibly can. And that nothing would
be able to pry them apart. Nothing would be able to separate them. We see that
a couple is to stay close and to cling to one another. Be close in their intimate
relationship and marriage, to be close in their desires and plans and their
working together. There should be no one else. Husbands, there should be no
one else you would rather be with. And the same thing would be true of the wife
with her husband. When I look at my wife, there is not another human being that
I can think of that I would rather be with, spend time with, and share my life
with. There is just simply nobody else that I have those feelings and those
desires for. And when it comes to the Christian area, there should be no other
way of life that you and I would want to live. We should want to live God's
way and not want to go any other way. Not want to live any other way except
God's law, his way of life, and seeking to please him.
Let's notice in 1 Corinthians 6:13,
we begin to see, and Paul explains very clearly, what we are talking about here.
Verse 13. Foods for the stomach, and stomach for foods. Okay, God created
the human body with a digestive system, and then he has created foods that we
can eat that can go into that digestive system. So you have the stomach for
foods, and foods for the stomach, as it says. But we find that God will destroy
both it and them. We are human, we are physical, we will finally die. So we
don't continue to live forever in the flesh. But notice it says, God will
destroy it and them, but now the body is not for sexual immorality, but for
the Lord, and the Lord for the body. So the body was created for the Lord.
It was made to be the temple of God's Holy Spirit, where God himself would come
and dwell within us. So our bodies were made for the Lord. They were not made,
as it says here, for immorality. They were not made for lusts. They were not
made for inordinate and wrong purposes. They were made for a temple to receive
God's Spirit, so that God could perfect himself in us, that God could develop
his character. In verse 15 it says, Do you not know that your bodies are
members of Christ? So again, we become a part of Christ. We are members
of Christ. Shall I take the members of Christ and make them members of a
harlot? Certainly not, he says.
So our bodies are members of Christ.
Christ is the head. We are a part of the body. Now verse 16. Do you not know
that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For the two, he says,
shall become one flesh. But he who is joined to the Lord, now notice, we
are to be joined to the Lord, is one spirit. Not one flesh, but one spirit
with him. So we are to become one with God, one spirit. In the human realm,
in marriage, we become one flesh. In the spiritual realm, we are to become one
spirit. In the Greek the word joined here means to glue, or to glue together,
to cement, or to fasten together. Have you ever heard of epoxy glue where you
have two different types of elements, and by themselves they are really nothing,
but when you mix them together they become so strong they become like cement
or an extremely strong glue. This is exactly what God is talking about when
it comes to a man and a woman. You take the two, you mix them together, they
become one flesh, and they should have the same desires and work together, be
on the same level. Well, when it comes to the spiritual level, we are to become
one spirit. God is looking for his sons and daughters, he is looking for the
bride that he is creating, that we will have one spirit, one attitude, one approach.
That we are not going to have our own ideas, our own thoughts, that we are not
going to just simply go our own way, but we are led and directed by the spirit
of God to do what God says. And that we are to become, as it says here, joined
to the Lord, and nothing should be able to separate us from God.
I don't have time, but remember
Romans 8. Paul says, can anything separate us from the love of God? Can life
or death? Can trials, tests, problems, difficulties, whatever it might be?
He gave a whole list there. And he asks, Can anything separate us from
God? Once we have the spirit of God which glues us to God, that gives us
the mind of God, then nothing should be able to separate us.
So brethren, how are we being made
comparable to Jesus Christ? How are we being made a helper to Jesus Christ?
Go back to Genesis 2:18 again. And notice what God said here originally when
he instituted marriage. The Lord God said, it is not good that man should
be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him. So God said, I am
going to make someone who will be a helper, who will be comparable to him. Literally,
this could be translated a helper corresponding to him, or a corresponding
helper. The Theological Workbook Of The Old Testament states this
about the word helper. "While this word designates assistance, it is more
frequently used in a concrete sense to designate the assistant." Helper
is not a demeaning term. When God said that he created the woman to be a helper,
that is not a demeaning term. This word is used quite frequently, probably as
often for God as it is used in any other way. You go back and read through the
Psalms where David says, The Lord is my helper, my shield, my protector,
my high tower. He says, God is my helper. He is there to help. And so you
find that God created the woman to be a corresponding helper. And, as I said,
it is not a demeaning term.
So when we look at it, let's see
how God is making the bride comparable to the son, to Jesus Christ. In Colossians
1:24 we find the first way. Actually you could give sermon after sermon after
sermon dealing with this particular aspect that I am going to try to cover here
just very quickly for you. Colossians 1:24. Notice, Paul says, Now I rejoice
in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions
of Christ for the sake of his body, which is his church. Now notice very
carefully what Paul said. He said, I fill up in my flesh what is lacking
in the afflictions of Christ. So there was something lacking in the afflictions
that Christ suffered, and he is doing it for the sake of the body, for the sake
of the church, which he says here is the church. What was lacking in the afflictions
of Jesus Christ?
Turn over to 2 Corinthians 1, and
I want you to notice in verse 3 here, it describes the very nature of God and
what God is like, how God approaches us. We are told here in verse 3, Blessed
be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the
God of all comfort. So God is a God who shows mercy. Mercy is a part of
God's nature. And he is a God who gives comfort, who encourages us, who comforts
us in all of our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in
any trouble. So why does God comfort us? So that we might turn around and
help others, and comfort others. If you have gone through a particular trial,
such as losing your job because of the Sabbath, and there is someone who comes
into God's church who is going through the same thing, you can put your arm
around that person and say, I know what you're going through. I can help you.
And you can encourage them, because you have experienced the same thing. In
verse 5 it says, For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, Jesus
Christ when he was on this earth was persecuted, he did go through sufferings.
So will we as Christians, those who follow him as his bride, for as the sufferings
of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. So
brethren, we are able, we are learning how to have compassion on others.
I have used the example before of
childbearing or childbirth. I don't know of any other better example than this.
I have five sons. So does my wife. I should say we have five sons. And I have
been at the birth of all of them. And I have seen my wife go through childbirth.
I have held her hand. I have coached her. I have said, breathe, pant. She has
grunted. I have grunted. But you know what? I never had a baby. I don't care
how much I observed, how much I watched, how much I held her hand, she gave
birth to those children. Our fifth son was a frank breach birth, which means
the baby is turned around like this and coming out backwards, which was very
difficult. And you know, she did fine. I almost passed out. That's the way those
things go. But when a woman goes through childbirth like that, any other woman
who is going through childbirth, and especially if she is having difficulty,
you can have compassion on them. You understand. You know what they are going
through, because you have experienced it. You have lived it. And so it is with
us, brethren, that God is allowing us to go through trials and tribulations.
Wouldn't it be great that you come into the church, and all at once, no more
problems, no more trials, no more tests. Everything is just great, and you just
fly into the kingdom. But sometimes I think we find we have more trials and
problems and difficulties afterwards. God wants to know, will we obey him no
matter what? Are we going to stick with him? It is the same type of thing in
a marriage. We find when a couple gets married it is for good or bad, in sickness
and health, poor times, rich times. So we have said that we will stick with
one another. We make a commitment to be with one another. And that we are not
just going to bail out when the first difficulty or trouble or problem comes
along.
In Philippians 3:10 we read again
the scripture that simply backs up what I just said here. It says, That I
may know him, the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his suffering,
being conformed to his death. So brethren, we are looking forward to the
power of the resurrection when these bodies will be changed. But before that
time there is also the fellowship of his suffering. Christ suffered and was
persecuted, and so will we. We learn to have compassion for others in God's
church now, and for the world. I think many, I hope all of us, are able to look
around, and we see what society is going through and human suffering, and our
hearts ache, and we wish that God's kingdom were here. We can learn to have
compassion for them. As the bride of Christ, we are being made comparable to
our future husband in this area.
Notice Hebrews 4. Why did Jesus
Christ have to suffer? Why did Christ go through some of the difficulties that
he did? Hebrews 4:14. Seeing then that we have a great high priest who has
passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
For we do not have a high priest - notice Christ is our high priest - who
cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are,
and yet without sin. Jesus Christ was tempted like we are. He knows what
it is like to be a human being, to walk in the flesh, to get tired. He knows
what it is like to fast, to be thirsty, to go without food, to be tempted, and
yet Jesus Christ never sinned. So he can have compassion. He can have sympathy
for us. You and I are being prepared as a compassionate servant of humanity
in the world tomorrow. There is going to be someone in the bride of Christ who
has gone through the trials, the difficulties, that all human beings have experienced,
who are going to be able to help and relate to people at that time.
Let's just read one scripture in
Isaiah 61:1, that Jesus Christ wants a wife who will respond to others the same
way he does, that will have the same mind that he does, the same approach he
does, the same love, concern, compassion, mercy. Isaiah 61:1. It says, The
spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach
good tidings to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prisons to those who are bound,
to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, the day of vengeance of our God,
and to comfort all who mourn. You see, when Christ comes back, he is going
to comfort humanity. Humanity has just been through the tribulation and suffering
and anguish, mentally, emotionally, and physically, that no human being should
have to go through. And you and I are going to be there with him as the bride.
Verse 3, it says, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty
for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit
of heaviness, that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of
the Lord, that he may be glorified.
So Christ wants a wife who will
be comparable to him, who will be a helpmeet to him, who will help him in helping
humanity as they come out of the tribulation and the world tomorrow is set up.
So brethren, that is an attitude, that's an approach that you and I are to be
learning today. And God is working with us in that way.
Let's go back to Ephesians 5 again,
and I want you to notice that is only one thing that God is working on. You
and I are to become comparable in many ways. Ephesians 5, we will begin this
time in verse 30. Ephesians 5:30. It says, We are members of his body, of
his flesh, and of his bones, which we have already read. For this reason,
a man shall leave his father and mother, be joined to his wife, and the two
shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery. Now all that Paul has been
writing about here in marriage, he says, is a great mystery, but he says, I
speak concerning Christ and the church. So what he is speaking about here
is Christ and the church. We are to become one in mind and approach with Jesus
Christ. I have already touched on that. We become one flesh, as a type of us
becoming one spirit with Christ. It takes the spirit of God to make the bride,
just as God took a rib and flesh to make Eve.
Now you stop and think, in marriage
you have two people who come from completely, totally different backgrounds.
You can have someone from Louisiana marry somebody, if I remember, from Massachusetts,
or somewhere up there. These are different cultures, different backgrounds.
My oldest son married a young lady from South Africa. I will guarantee you,
those are different cultures, different backgrounds. Now you take two people
who have grown up in different families, and they have had different sets of
values, they have done things differently. Some don't squeeze their toothpaste
from the end. Others squeeze it in the middle. You find there are all kinds
of little different things that different families do. All at once you get married.
You have got these two from diverse backgrounds, and all at once they are supposed
to become one. And there is a lot of learning that goes on, especially in the
first few years of how to accommodate each other, what is important, what is
not important, and you learn to become one in your thinking and your approach.
Well, what God is doing, he is taking us, we have all come from a human background,
Jesus Christ came from a heavenly background - he was God in the flesh. He came
to this earth. He is God presently. And there is a wedding out in the future
that is going to take place. But the bride is being prepared. The bride is getting
ready. That is what we are supposed to be doing right now. Getting ready. And
we come from different backgrounds. We come from a totally different background.
And we have to learn how the God family lives, how they operate, how they do
things, how they think, what is their approach. Because it is not going to be
a matter of us bringing our way, our thinking, our way of doing things to the
marriage. In this case no, we have to reconcile totally to God. You know, the
word reconciliation means that we change from one standard to another standard.
We are changing from the human standard to the God standard, and in order for
us to be a part of that bride we have to become one with God.
Notice Romans 12:4. We will begin
in verse 4 here. For as we have many members, notice, in one body,
all the members do not have the same function. So we are all a part of one
body, but we don't all have the same jobs, the same functions, the same responsibility.
Verse 5. So we being many are one body in Christ, and individually members
of one another, having gifts differing according to the grace that is given
to us. And it goes on to talk about those particular gifts.
God has given everyone who is a part of his body gifts. We have at least one
gift that God has given to us. Listening to these ABC students, it is obvious
that they have many gifts. And you see them when you talk to them. God has given
us all gifts. And those gifts are given to profit the whole, the whole body.
Not for our vanity or our pride. We all have various functions within the body.
My foot has a function. It carries the body around. This arm, this hand has
a function. The eyes have a function. My eyes are not envious of my feet. And
my feet aren't envious of my eyes. I could put my feet up on the top of my head
and they wouldn't see a thing, I don't care how long they are up there. They
function very well where they are. If I put my eyes on the bottom of my feet,
it wouldn't help me in any way. God has put the body together as he sees fit.
He has put us all in the body to function. He has given us gifts, and all of
the composite gifts that God gives us help to make the bride comparable to the
son. Because these gifts are given to us through the Spirit. And you find that
God has these gifts, and he shares them with us. But he gives to each one of
us, some individually.
We are to become as Christ said
here in John 17:20, notice, we are to become like he and the Father. Christ
said, I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who believe in me
through their word. And that is all of us. We have their word written down.
We believe through them. That they all may be one. You see, God's desire
for us is that we become one, that we have that unity and that harmony. Going
on here in verse 21, That they all may be one as you, Father, are in me,
and I in you. That they may be one in us. That's a tall order. The Father
and the Son are one. They want us to become one just as they are one. Now can
you picture Christ saying, okay Father, I've had it! I'm just tired of you telling
me what to do all the time. I'm going to take my marbles and I'm going over
here to the back solar system, and leave me alone. Jesus Christ doesn't talk
that way. He is perfectly in harmony with the Father. They are one with one
another. This is what we are to become. And notice going on in verse 22. It
says, The glory which you gave me, Christ says, I have given them.
So God gave Christ glory. That glory has been given to us, the bride. We are
to share in the glory, that they may be one just as we are one. I in them,
you in me, that they may be perfect in one, that the world may know that you
have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me. Verse 23 says that
one way the world knows that Christ has been sent is by our example of oneness,
of harmony and unity. That they can see Christ in us.
So, as the bride of Christ we are
to become one with one another as the Father and Jesus Christ are one. Jesus
is not going to marry a warring bride. We have to learn to love one another,
get along with one another, have harmony with each other. Our relationships
in the church are to teach us this lesson. There is to be unity, and harmony,
and love, a cohesiveness. You see, commitment is what holds a marriage together.
We must be committed to Jesus Christ and to one another. The reason why I say
that there are those today who don't want to be committed to anything, and aren't
committed to anything. And they are not learning the lessons of relationships
with one another. You can't just sort of be off out here on your own and never
fellowshipping and being around others of like mind and learn the same lessons.
Loving relationships are built upon commitment. If you and your wife have a
loving relationship, there is a commitment there to one another. And there has
to be that commitment.
So brethren, we are here to model
and to learn how people live in peace, and unity, and harmony. We are to learn
how to cooperate. We are to have the mind of God. We are to have the approach
of God.
Now Genesis 3:1 also reveals another
aspect that God is looking for. Christ is looking for a wife who will make the
right choices. God created Adam and Eve. Genesis 3:1-7. What happened when the
serpent approached the woman? He said, look, the tree is good for knowledge.
Let's read just a little of this. The serpent (in verse 4) said to
the woman, you're not going to die. In other words, if you eat of that tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, you won't die. For God knows in the day
you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good
and evil. I want you to notice the contrast here. When God calls us, what
does he do?
Doesn't he open our eyes - to what? To spiritual knowledge. Here their eyes
were opened to what? To the knowledge of good and evil. To wrong knowledge.
A mixture of good and evil. So the woman reasoned and she took of the wrong
tree. God wants a bride who will choose the tree of life, who will choose the
right way, who will not choose the wrong tree as Eve and Adam did. Jesus Christ
chose the right way when he was here. He never sinned. He never compromised.
We as the bride must do the same. We are being made comparable to Jesus Christ
in this way. And what is that called, when you choose the right way? You resist
the wrong, you go the right way. Isn't that called character? You and I are
developing Godly character so that we can be comparable to Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:15. We read this particular scripture. It says, But as he who called
you is holy, you also be holy in all of your conduct. So you and I are to
be holy as God is. Verse 6. As it is written, be holy for I am holy. Verse
18. Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver
and gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot. Notice, Christ was without blemish and without spot, and you and I
are told to become holy.
With that in mind, let's read Ephesians
5 again. Ephesians 5 talks about how God is making the church the bride. Begin
this time in verse 25. We are told here, Husbands love your wives just as
Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her. That he might sanctify
and cleanse her with the washing of the water by the word. We know that
the word of God cleans us up. We read the word of God, study it, and through
the spirit of God it begins to cleanse our minds of wrong attitudes and approaches.
Why? Why is this process going on? Why is God working with us in this way? That
he might present her (the wife) to himself, a glorious church, not having
spot or wrinkle. So when the bride comes down the aisle she is not going
to be wearing a gunnysack. She is going to be arrayed in what? White raiment.
And there are not going to be spots and wrinkles. It is not going to be like
she has been wearing this for two months and going to sleep in it, and it is
all wrinkled. It will be without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. That
she should be holy, and without blemish. So Christ, you find, was a lamb
without blemish, without spot. You and I are to become without spot, without
blemish, and we are to become holy. What does that mean? That means that God
is working with us to bring us to be like the son, so that there can be a marriage
that can take place. You could put it this way. Jesus Christ is not going to
marry a dirty bride. He is going to marry a bride that has been cleaned up,
and that gotten herself ready.
In 2 Corinthians 11:2, Paul writing about the bride says, For I am jealous
for you with a Godly jealousy, for I have betrothed you to one husband, that
I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. So we are to become as a
chaste virgin to Jesus Christ. We are betrothed. This word is only used once
in the New Testament, and it means to join or fit together. It is used of a
carpenter who fastens together beams and planks to build a house or to join
oneself such as in marriage. So what it is talking about, we are going to be
betrothed with Christ. We are going to be put together just like taking planks,
a floor that you might walk on, tongue and groove, and you put those together
so that you have a solid piece. And this is the way we are going to become with
Christ. We are to be a chaste virgin, emphasis here on virgin. It is interesting
that in the Old Testament a high priest could only marry a virgin. Jesus Christ
today is our high priest. We are going to marry him in the future, but he is
our high priest.
Leviticus 21. Let's just notice
this. It is an interesting sidebar, but it fits in with what we are talking
about here. Verse 10. It says, He who is the high priest among his brethren,
on whose head anointing oil was poured, and who is consecrated to wear the garments
shall not uncover his head, nor tear his clothes. And then notice verse
13. And he shall take a wife in her virginity. So as a high priest he
was to marry a virgin. A widow, or a divorced woman, or a defiled woman,
or a harlot, these he shall not marry. But he shall take a virgin of
his own people as wife. So she had to be of his own people, and she had
to be a virgin.
Remember Adam could not find a mate
who was comparable to him, who was suitable to him, who was of his kind. Well,
Jesus Christ in looking around has not totally found that mate. But she is being
perfected.
In 1 John 3:2 I want you to notice
that at the resurrection at the return of Christ to the earth, notice what the
Bible says we will become. It says, Beloved, now we are the children of God,
and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know what when he
is revealed, when Christ is revealed, he comes back, we shall be like
him. We are going to be exactly like him. For we shall see him as he
is. So you and I, brethren, are going to be like him. The word like
in the Greek means corresponding to a thing, resemble, or to be similar.
You and I are going to be a member of the God family. We are going to be elevated
from the human plane to the divine. Remember when the animals were created they
were told to what? Produce after their kind. So cats produced cats, and dogs,
dogs, and chickens, chickens. Christ will marry his own kind. He will marry
one who has been perfected, who has been elevated to become a part of the God
family. We will be a part of that family.
Now why did God institute marriage?
There are many reasons why, and I have been covering some of these for you today.
But in Genesis 1:27-28 God told the man and the woman, be fruitful, and multiply,
and replenish the earth. This is certainly one reason. They were to be holy,
and they were to have children. And they were to bring their children up in
the way of God.
Did you ever ask yourself why does
God make man and woman one in marriage? Why did God say that we are become one?
Malachi 2:14 tells you. Notice here, talking about marriage, and Israel and
their corrupting of the marriage covenant. He says, Then you say for what
reason? Because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your youth
with whom you have dealt treacherously. She is your companion, and your wife
by covenant. Brethren, we have entered into a covenant with God also. But
notice, And did he not make them one? Didn't God make man one, having
a remnant of the spirit? And why one? Why did God do this? Why did he make
them one? Because he seeks Godly offspring. That is why. God seeks Godly
offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously
with the wife of his youth.
In the world tomorrow, the millennium,
and the great White Throne Judgment, we will be a helper to Jesus Christ. We
will have been made comparable to him, a member of the family of God. And we
will help him, assist him in bringing billions into the family, into the kingdom.
We will take that position to assist and to help. And Jesus Christ is not going
to give that responsibility, that duty to a wife who doesn't agree with him,
who is not of the same mind and the same attitude, who has not been made comparable
to him.
In Genesis 3:20, you can just jot
that down, Genesis 3:20, it states that Eve was the mother of all living.
The word Eve means living. All human beings sprang from Adam and
Eve. You and I will help to bring all into the family of God in the millennium,
in the White Throne Judgment. We will have that opportunity. You see, this is
what God is doing with the firstfruits. We are being prepared in a special way
to assist, to help, to be made comparable, to assist Jesus Christ.
In Revelation 22:17, one last scripture here has this to say about the job of the bride. The spirit and the bride say come. You see, at that time blindness will be removed. All will be given an opportunity for salvation. And we will be there. We will be telling them, Come, drink of the waters of life. Take of the right tree. You notice here that there is no tree of the knowledge of good and evil. There is just the tree of life. They will be asked, humanity will be asked to eat of the tree of life and live forever. And we will be there, and we say come, this is the way. And then it says, let him who hears say come. And let him who thirsts come. And whoever desires, let him take of the water of life freely. So the book of Revelation clearly shows that the bride has made herself ready. And that is something else that we could get into. But brethren, we are in the process of being made ready, being prepared. This is part of the reason why we are here at services today. This is part of the reason why God has called us into his church. We are to be made ready. We are to be prepared. And when we are, and the resurrection takes place, we will be made comparable. And we will be there to assist and to help Jesus Christ forever.