The Presentation Of The Church And The Marriage Of The Lamb

by Drain, J. | Category: The Coming Again Of The Lord Jesus Christ: | Jun 1954

Unique in the many purposes of God affecting created beings is that which during the present dispensation is being fulfilled by the calling out from all peoples, whether Jews or Gentiles, and from all kinds of people, that which is identified in Scriptural language as "The Church which is His (Christ's) Body" (Ephesians 1.22, 23). This purpose (described in Ephesians 3.11 R.V. Margin as "the purpose of the ages"), is based upon the cross-work of Christ, and it is effectuated through the call of the gospel. The gospel message is world-wide in its scope and everyone who believes in Christ and His work is not only saved from eternal judgement but is also in the one Spirit. baptized into the one Body (1 Corinthians 12.13). It is this Church that is referred to in the subject of this article. We are not dealing with the purpose of God which is fulfilled in members of the Body being together in churches of God for divine testimony and service on earth. This purpose involves important truth in connexion with the obligations, responsibilities and privileges of God's people. We mention this because the word "church" is frequently used in a loose and unscriptural way to describe all believers in Christ, without making any distinction between the divine purpose in "the Church which is His Body" and "the church of the living God," otherwise the house of God (1 Timothy 3.15).

Christ also loved the Church" (Ephesians 5.25). It is true that Christ loves all men. It is true also that individual believers in Christ can say with Paul, "The Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself up for me" (Galatians 2.20). But the words quoted from Ephesians 5. suggest to our mind that before the world was, before His hands "had made the sun to rule the day, or earth's foundation laid, or fashioned Adam's clay," the Son of God, anticipating the outworking of the divine purposes of love and grace relating to mankind, was, with infinite affection, attracted by this special feature of dispensational purpose characterized by the incorporation in one organic entity of men and women, boys and girls, of all nations and races of earth. In this incorporation, natural differences and distinctions would disappear and there would be something distinctively and intimately Christ's-His Church, His Body. God's Son desired this Church that He might present it to Himself.

The accomplishment of this desire was affected by the entrance of sin and its consequences. Christ is absolutely holy and righteous. Men and women are defiled and dead through sin. These very attributes of Christ must in themselves preclude sinful creatures from fellowship with Him, and must make it impossible for a presentation to Himself, in the intimate relationship contemplated, of a church of men and women so defiled. But Christ's love was strong and great. He would give Himself for the Church, give Himself in sinless purity as a divine sacrifice to make propitiation. He, by His death, would vindicate the throne of heaven, would sustain divine righteousness and holiness in the fulfilling of divine purposes of love and grace. In love "all human thought transcending" Christ died to secure what was so very dear to His heart-the Church of blood-bought, blood-cleansed men and women which He would present to Himself.

The Church is composed of individuals each of whom has had a personal experience in finding a place therein. What is true of one member applies to every member of the ultimately completed Body. Perhaps, therefore, it may be helpful to consider briefly the experience of an individual. As we have already said, the work of Christ has made possible the call of divine grace to the sinner. The one who by faith accepts the word is by the word and Spirit of God born again. Paul says, "But when the kindness of God our Saviour, and His love toward man, appeared ... according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3.4, 5). At the time of the miraculous experience of regeneration two outstanding things take place. The believing sinner is cleansed for ever from all sin. He is "clean every whit." And in Christ he is once and for ever sanctified-" sanctified in Christ Jesus " Corinthians 1.2). Christ is made unto him sanctification. These are experiences of eternal duration. Nothing can affect them. By one offering Christ has "perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10.14). The cleansed, sanctified believer is knit in closest vital union with other similarly cleansed sanctified believers in the Body of Christ, the Church, into which sin and its effects can never intrude.

The process of the Lord building this Church will continue until the last member is added to the Body. Then will come the consummation of the hope of Christ. Then will come too the realization of the cherished hope of the believer. Christ will come to take His Church and present it to Himself. "To Himself "-how sweet are these words to our hearts! In earthly experience we may have known something of what is involved in the words of Paul to the church of God in Corinth, "I espoused you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ" (2 Corinthians 11.2). We may also be anticipating the time when Christ will present us to His Father. But Christ will present the Church to Himself It will be a glorious Church. The effects of sin will have been for ever removed. There will be neither spot nor wrinkle. Just as each individual member of the Body of Christ will, at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, take on His image, experiencing the wondrous change wrought by the almighty power of Christ, "Who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of His glory" (Philippians 3.21), 50 the Church His Body, in its completed state, will be glorious, will bear the very glory of the Head. There will be no stain, no blemish, no defect, no defilement to mar or disfigure this glorious Church. It will be holy. Christ the Saviour and Head of the Body is holy in an absolute sense, and by His work for the Church as a whole it will be in a condition answering to every claim of that infinite holiness. The Church will be for ever set apart in and for and to Christ.

The question of the identity of" the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb" has received close examination by many students and expositors of the Scriptures, and diversity of mind exists. The writer of this article gives his understanding of the matter. We know that in Ephesians 5.22-33 Paul is setting forth doctrine of the Lord bearing upon the nature and responsibilities of marriage. In so doing he brings in the example of Christ and the Church. It is true that in this portion Paul does not say that the Church is Christ's Bride. But it is most significant that he should demonstrate that the nature and obligations of the marriage bond find their perfect example and expression in the relationship of the Church to Christ. As Christ is to the Church, so the husband is to the wife. As the Church is to Christ so the wife is to the husband. The perfect love of Christ for the Church, and the consequences of such love, show to the husband the proper nature of his attitude to his wife. The perfect subjection of the Church to Christ should find a corresponding attitude of subjection on the part of the wife to her husband. The intimacy and interchange of language used by Paul in this portion of scripture make it extremely difficult to accept that he could trace such affinity of relationship, purpose and objective, and at the same time maintain that the Church would never be to Christ what the woman is to the man, namely his wife. These words of Paul lead us to believe that he understood that the Church will be the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb.

There arises the question, When does the marriage of the Lamb take place? To the writer's mind, the events narrated in Revelation chapters 19, 20, 21 and 22 are given in chronological order. If this be so the marriage of the Lamb (Revelation 19.7) takes place in heaven subsequent to the destruction on earth of the great harlot and prior to the coming forth of the Son of Man, the Word of God, to tread the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. This treading will terminate the seven years which will intervene somewhere between the return of Christ to the air for His Church and the inauguration of the one thousand years reign of Christ (Revelation 20.4). The wife has made herself ready and has adorned herself with the fine linen of righteous acts of the saints. "She shall be led unto the King in broidered work." The Lamb, the Bridegroom, is also King of kings and Lord of lords. After the marriage He will deal with His enemies and establish His reign on the earth. His wondering and adoring Bride will share His glory. For her these will be the early rapturous days of marriage which will prepare the way for the unending joys of the eternal state.

In Revelation 21.9, John was bidden by an angel, "Come hither, I will shew thee the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb." He was shown a comprehensive panorama of the eternal state, and his description is given in Revelation 21.10 to Revelation 22.5. The central feature of the vision was the holy city, the new Jerusalem. It came down "made ready as a bride adorned for her husband." Scintillating with the glory of God this vast city will hold the throne of God and of the Lamb. It will be the seat of divine authority and rule. It will be the great pivot of universal activity. It will be the centre for the divine service of the worshipping millions. In the recorded vision John saw at the gates twelve angels; on the gates the twelve names of the tribes of Israel; on the foundations the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb; and having access to the city the kings of the nations of the new earth. This great city will be an abiding witness to the consummation of the progressive purposes of God in creation and in salvation.

It would appear that when the angel said, "I will shew thee the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb" he was going to show to John, the Bride, the Wife, the Church which is His Body, in her eternal setting in the ordered state of eternity. The city will be her domicile, her permanent abode. She will be close to the Lamb. And in relative nearness and sphere will be the peoples of God with whom He will dwell.

Drain, J. | Jun 1954
The Coming Again Of The Lord Jesus Christ: