Fruit of the Spirit

For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth...Eph 5:9

Fall 2004                                                            Volume 5, Issue 4


A Beautiful Bride! Part 2

...And He said to me, “These are the true sayings of God” (Rev. 19:6-9).

Is this a fanciful promise that God cannot fulfill? He who created the heavens and the earth can surely put on a marriage supper for His Son and His Son’s Bride that is beyond human imagination.

There is always that special time when the bride presents herself, so it will be an exceedingly special time when the Bride of Jesus Christ is seen in all her splendor. I know of no other text in the New Testament that shows Jesus enjoying Himself with someone other than His Bride. That is why no one should say, “Give me Jesus, not the church.”

In Matthew 22, Jesus used a wedding to illustrate the Kingdom of Heaven; and remember the Kingdom first exists as the church. Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, Tell those who are invited, See,I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding. But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city” (Mat. 22:1-7).

Those who knew the father and the son did not think the wedding was important. That is hard for me to understand, because when my daughter married, we were overwhelmed by the attendance. The building in Klamath Falls, Oregon where I was preaching at the time holds 110, I guessed 120 or 130 were present, and my wife and daughter counted 200 in the guestbook. I hope there is no one who works for the fire department reading this!

However, there was one significant person who did not come. It broke my wife's heart. Likewise, there are people who make light of the Bride of Christ, as shown in this parable, not knowing her majestic splendor and the joys that are awaiting only for her. Not only did some make light of it, but many went their own ways,

tending to their personal matters, businesses, projects, etc. Others persecuted the messengers of the father. The king did not take this matter lightly. The way the invitees treated the messengers was a reflection upon the king.

Jesus continued His parable saying, “Then he said to his servants, The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding. So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests” (Mat. 22:8-10).

When the wedding has an open invitation, the king expects everyone to attend. If not, he is personally offended. It is not a good idea to offend this king. You can offend the kings of this earth, you can offend our president, but do not offend the king in this parable.

Finally, Jesus declared, “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mat. 22:11-13).

Some people want to do things their own way. That is fine with personal matters. When it comes to matters greater than ourselves, especially the Kingdom of Heaven, which is the Bride of Christ, it is a different story. He knows just how He wants His Bride to beautify Herself. Who are we to tell the Lord that we have better ways of beautifying the Bride? Beware of those who seek to change the Bride’s attire.

The King is the One putting on this eternal wedding. Therefore, He can require that the guests present themselves in a certain way. If they do not, they are thrown out. How should they present themselves? Revelation 19 showed us that it was by righteous acts. Jesus concluded in Matthew 22, “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Mat. 22: 1-14). Receiving an invitation is no guarantee that

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Inside...
Page 1 - Be Confident Of Your Salvation | Page 2 - We Must Grow
Page 3 - Prison Report | Page 4 - Old Testament Studies | Page 5 - The Beautiful Bride, Part 2
Page 6 - Indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Part 4 | Page 7 - Christian Evidences
Page 8 - Suicide - A Modern Epidemic | Page 9 - The Christian Home
Page 10 - Continuations | Page 11 - The Children's Page
Page 12 - Announcements / Continuations

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