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The Apostolic and Prophetic Foundation
In this final chapter I would like to shift the emphasis from the Church’s identity as both Christ’s body and God’s house to that of her calling to be His bride. While a large portion of Scripture is devoted to the theme of God building His house for His own eternal habitation, it is His marital relationship with His people that comes forcefully into view at the end of the Bible.
Much of the book of Revelation focuses on the cosmic battle of the ages between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. However, God’s total and absolute victory is never in doubt. In fact, His judgment on His enemies culminates as He fulfills His own very unique end-time goal.
For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her. And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”
God is preparing a bride to rule with Him forever. The spiritual war we are presently in serves His purpose in readying us to fulfill that high and holy calling.
Someone once said that the world’s definition of the golden rule is that those who have the gold, rule. A quick look at the world’s systems would seem to affirm this. But it is different in the Kingdom of God. Simply put, God’s value system is totally opposite to man’s.
When some rich men brought bags full of money into the temple treasury, the disciples were impressed…and Jesus yawned. But when the widow put her pitifully small contribution in, the disciples barely noticed…while Jesus was greatly blessed. They had been stirred by the amount of money; Jesus was impressed by the amount of self-sacrifice.
The problem the disciples had continues to plague us today. It stems from our tendency to evaluate by external appearances, while God always looks at the heart.
If we would be used by the Lord in preparing His bride, we must have the proper value system. Whether or not she is beautiful by the world’s standards is really unimportant. God is not looking to impress the world with her so much as He is to impress His Son!
The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son.
The Kingdom of God is like a feast where the Groom (His tastes, His desires) is the focus. All spotlights are on Him! Even the bride herself is not the main event. Her beauty is only relevant to the extent that it pleases Him; her preparation has been solely for Him. To the degree she considers what others would like to see in her, she fails to fulfill her calling. Their evaluation is unimportant and irrelevant; His is of primary significance.
Does this mean the Church is not to take any consideration of the world? Of course we are. However, the world must not set our standard, define our task, nor issue our timetable. If what we minister to them is valued only by the benefit to them, then their evaluation of us will become all important.
But if what we do on the earth is an offering unto Christ on their behalf, then only His assessment will matter. In Revelation 19 the bride is said to have made herself ready. Ready for what? For Him! What confirms this? She has put on fine linen garments, which are her righteous acts.
In other words, her righteous deeds on the earth - her ministry to the world - reflect her preparation for Him (her relationship with Christ). The Church is to serve others at His command, not theirs. To the degree that she does so, she is adorning herself for Him. Of primary importance to her is what He thinks, not what the media say.
A Christ-centered people will impact the nations of the earth. A Church that simply focuses on the needs of man will continually react to crises that arise, rather than function as a prophetic voice reflecting the initiative of God.
Why was mammon such a common topic of our Lord’s during His earthly ministry? Mammon (riches) reflects the power to beautify according to the world’s standards. It can purchase magnificent cathedrals, attendance at the finest seminaries, high-tech communication equipment to reach millions, political clout. This is not to imply that proper use of such things is wrong. However, attractiveness in the sight of God has nothing to do with them.
The world has its definition of beauty; God has His. Of the two, one is from a temporal perspective; the other has eternity in mind. One is short-lived; the other lasts forever. For too long the Church has been impressed with what has attracted men. What is our goal? To attract men to the Church? If so, then what they think of us will govern our actions. Or is our goal to become increasingly attractive in Jesus’ sight? Yes! What He thinks is of supreme importance. Any bride that dresses to impress anyone other than her groom has wrong priorities. We are being prepared for a day that has been exclusively set aside for Him. It will be His day. That is why Scripture calls it “the day of the Lord.” It will be a day to consume the temporary and confirm the eternal. We must “dress” in preparation for that day.
Of course, reaching out to lost men in the name of Jesus is part of the bridal apparel we are donning in this day.
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news.
(Is. 52:7)
God loves the lost; we are to do so as well. This is attractive in His sight. However, in this time of evangelistic emphasis, it can be easy to lose sight of God’s priorities. Numbers can become the mark of a successful local church. Beautiful buildings can be seen as evidence of God’s approval. Multi-million dollar projects done in the name of Jesus can seem impressive to many. Money then can become the key ingredient for “maintaining this ministry.”
The real question is whether or not God considers it a spiritual success. This is an issue that Christian leaders must continually answer as they endeavor to serve God’s people (assisting Christ’s bride with her wedding dress).
The truth is that money itself never enhances the beauty of God’s people in His sight. In fact, wrong attitudes toward it can quickly mar the eternal qualities of faithfulness so important to our Groom. Thus we may grow in increasing beauty in the sight of men while simultaneously causing grief to the heart of God. Jesus was so concerned with the seductive power of earthly riches that on several occasions He warned that it was impossible to serve both God and mammon. (Luke 16:13; Mt. 6:24)
To serve God means that He “calls the shots” in our lives; to serve money means that it does. This shift can occur very subtly. A project may start out with great enthusiasm as God leads His people in a new direction. The finances to accomplish it quickly flow in. As the endeavor nears completion, perhaps too much attention is given to the usefulness of the funds God supplied. Mammon begins to get a bit more credit than it deserves. Soon, actions are taken to get more capital. Thus, mammon is calling the shots as the need for money dictates the activity.
Instead of seeking God for His direction, methods that have worked before are enlisted again. Then, ever so subtly, our theology begins to give a greater place to earthly riches than God intended. “If only I had more money, I could really impact the nations with the gospel and help extend God’s kingdom.” But money is not the driving force behind God’s purpose. It is simply a tool in the hand of the Master.
Contrary to the impression left by some of our brothers on Christian television, the Lord has plenty of resources to accomplish what He desires. He does not need money; He created gold in the first place! He only needs our obedience with what He has already put into our hands.
In light of this, how are we to “dress” for the day of the Lord?[19] First, we must understand what He defines as riches. If mammon brings an earthly beauty, what brings a heavenly one? And where is it to be found? We must be:
...knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
(Col. 2:2 - 3 NASB)
The supreme riches of the universe are hidden in the Son! They are not found lying on the surface so that we can easily fit Him into our schedule in “quickie” five minute devotional times while we hurry about with “more important” things to do. God has called us to plumb the depths of His own being!
It is in knowing Him that we will receive insight concerning how to walk before Him and impact the nations. He has a plan. If only we would take more time to listen. Simply put, the treasures of eternity are the wisdom of God and the knowledge of His ways. As our ministry on the earth - both to the world and to the Church - increasingly reflects these, we will be literally adorning ourselves for the day of the Lord!
Lord, we present ourselves again to You. Forgive us for wrong priorities, for fitting You into our schedules instead of centering our lives around You. We realize that the wealth of Heaven is found in You. We commit ourselves to pursuing You and spending time in Your presence. Teach us Your ways, reveal Your wisdom to us and cause us to learn Your value system, that our lives and ministries may be in harmony with Your process of preparing Your bride with Your eternal beauty. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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