The Believers (1)
Message Twelve
The Bridegroom, the Maturity of the Bride, and Being a Warrior to Defeat God’s Enemy
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture reading:
Rev. 19:7-8 Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean…
I. Christ is the Bridegroom, and the most pleasant person in the whole universe is Jesus as the Bridegroom—Matt. 9:14-15; 22:2-3; 25:1, 5-6, 10: (Monday)
A. John the Baptist said, “He who has the bride is the bridegroom”; when the Bridegroom is present, fear does not exist; when we touch the Lord’s presence and touch Him as the Bridegroom, we touch His loveliness, sweetness, and freshness—John 3:29a.
B. The direction of the Lord’s move today is to prepare the bride as the counterpart of the Bridegroom so that the redeeming God and His redeemed people may become an eternal marriage—Rev. 19:7-8; 21:1-2, 9-10.
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II. We need to see and apprehend the matter of the maturity of the bride—2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 8:29; Eph. 4:13, 15; Heb. 6:1; Rev. 19:7b; 21:2, 9: (Tuesday)
A. Revelation 19:7b says, “His bride has made herself ready”; in the maturity of the divine life, the loving seeker of Christ becomes the Shulammite, signifying that she has become the reproduction and duplication of Christ to match Him for their marriage—S.S. 6:13; Rev. 21:9-10.
B. In the New Testament, the word maturity is used to denote the believers’ growing and being perfected in the life of Christ, which they received when they were regenerated; we need to go on, pressing on to maturity, forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before—Titus 3:5; 1 Pet. 1:3, 23; Matt. 5:48; Phil. 3:12, 14.
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C. Maturity is to have Christ formed in us; this also means that we are fully transformed into His image, and when the Lord has fully worked His image into us, we will be mature in life—Gal. 4:19; 2 Cor. 3:18. (Wednesday)
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III. The church as the bride of Christ must be a warrior to defeat God’s enemy—Eph. 5:25-27; 6:10-18; Rev. 19:7-9, 11-16: (Thursday)
A. The purpose of spiritual warfare is to bring in the kingdom of God; spiritual warfare is a matter of the Body, and we are a corporate army fighting for God’s interests on the earth—Rev. 12:10; 17:14; 19:14.
B. Christ as the fighting General will come with His bride army to fight Antichrist at Armageddon; the wedding garment is Christ lived out of us to become our daily righteousness—Matt. 26:64; Rev. 19:11-21.
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C. In Song of Songs we see that the overcoming lover of Christ becomes as beautiful as Tirzah and as lovely as Jerusalem; however, to the enemy, she is as terrible as an army with banners—S.S. 6:4, 10. (Friday)
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D. David typifies the fighting Christ in the midst of sufferings, and Abigail typifies the church fighting for the kingdom of God in the midst of sufferings; Abigail’s marriage to David typifies a fighting church as an army for warfare—1 Sam. 25:28; Eph. 6:10-20. (Saturday)
E. Through spiritual warfare, God’s eternal purpose is fully accomplished; “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever”—Rev. 11:15b.
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
And Jesus said to them, The sons of the bridechamber cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast—Matt. 9:15.
Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean…—Rev. 19:7-8.
Word of Appetizer
To enjoy Christ as the Bridegroom, what four kinds of persons must we be to Him?
The first aspect is that we are the bridegroom’s companions, the second aspect is that we are guests, the third aspect is that we are virgins, and the fourth aspect is that we are the bride. … All these four aspects are for us to enjoy Christ as our Bridegroom. In the first aspect, we are the bridegroom’s companions, enjoying the Bridegroom. In the second aspect, we are guests, enjoying Him as our feast. In the third aspect, we are virgins, enjoying the Bridegroom’s coming. Ultimately, we will be the bride, enjoying the Bridegroom to the uttermost. Therefore, to enjoy Christ as the Bridegroom, we must be these four kinds of persons to Him. In these four ways, our enjoyment of Christ is so rich and so sweet. May the Lord impress us deeply with these four aspects and bring us into the full enjoyment of Christ.
Spiritual Burden
Our spiritual walk is for the fulfillment of God’s purpose, our living is for Christ’s satisfaction, and our fighting is to defeat God’s enemy and maintain His victory.
Christ is the Bridegroom, and the church as the bride of Christ must be a warrior to defeat God’s enemy; through spiritual warfare, God’s eternal purpose is fully accomplished.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
Christ is the Bridegroom; in the whole universe, the most pleasant One is Jesus as the Bridegroom.
We need to see and apprehend the matter of the maturity of the bride; maturity is to have Christ formed in us; this also means that we are fully transformed into His image.
The church as the bride of Christ must be a warrior to defeat God’s enemy; through spiritual warfare, God’s eternal purpose is fully accomplished; “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.”
The Experience of Life
When the Bridegroom is present, fear does not exist; when we touch the Lord’s presence and touch Him as the Bridegroom, we touch His loveliness, sweetness, and freshness; He is so lovely!
While we are waiting with endurance for the Lord’s coming, He as the true Farmer is also waiting with patience for our maturity in life to be the firstfruits and the harvest of the field. From the time we were regenerate, the Lord has been working in us so that we may have His image; when the Lord has fully wrought His image into us and is fully expressed from within us, we will be mature in life.
Practice and Application
We should never be self-satisfied, but we should pursue to grow and mature in the life of Christ; we need to go forward, press on to maturity, forget the things which are behind and stretch forward to the things which are before, and pursue the full enjoyment of Christ and gain Christ, so that we may have the utmost enjoyment of Christ in the Millennium.
Spiritual warfare is necessary because Satan’s will is set against God’s will. The church must be a warrior; as the church, our fighting is to subdue Satan’s will and to defeat God’s enemy.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1: The Bridegroom is the most pleasant person in the entire universe (Matt. 9:14-15)
(Please illustrate that the Lamb who took away our sins on the cross is also our Bridegroom.)
T2: Enjoying Christ as our Bridegroom (Matt. 9:14-15)
(Please illustrate what four kinds of persons we must be to Him to enjoy Christ as the Bridegroom.)
Day 2
T1: Transformation is the change in our natural life, whereas maturity is our being filled with the divine life (2 Cor. 3:18; Heb. 6:1)
(Please illustrate that our qualification for waiting for Christ’s coming is life, because Christ’s life makes us His bride.)
T2: We believers have life; this life still needs to continuously increase within us (2 Cor. 3:18; Heb. 6:1)
(Please illustrate that Song of Songs depicts the Lord’s lover gradually growing in life and being transformed in life.)
Day 3
T1: The Lord Jesus is the true Farmer, the unique Farmer (James 5:7)
(Please illustrate that while we are awaiting His coming, He as the Farmer is also awaiting our maturity.)
T2: For the Lord’s return, we need long-suffering, endurance, and growth in life (Gal. 4:19)
(Please illustrate the difference between “long suffering” and “endurance”.)
Day 4
T1: The church is a fighter, an army, to defeat God’s enemy (Rev. 19:7-8, 14)
(Please illustrate that the bride’s wedding garment is also the uniform worn when fighting against God’s enemy.)
T2: Spiritual warfare is not an individual matter but a matter of the Body of Christ (Psa. 23:5)
(Based on Psa. 23:5, Please illustrate that when we are in the Body of Christ, we are actually not engaging in spiritual warfare, but enjoying spiritual warfare.)
Day 5
T1: The lover is as beautiful as Tirzah, as lovely as Jerusalem, as terrible as an army with banners (Song 6:4; Eph. 6:12-13)
(Please illustrate that when we become one with God to be God’s habitation, to the enemy, this lover, this overcomer, is as terrible as an army with banners.)
T2: In an army during the time of fighting, the most important thing is weapons; at the time of victory, the most important thing is banners (Song 6:4; Eph. 6:12-13)
(Please illustrate that the believers should be lovely and should also be terrible.)
Day 6
T1: All warfare originates from the conflict between God’s will and Satan’s will (Eph. 6:10-11)
(Please illustrate that the church on the negative side is a fighter to defeat God’s enemy—the Devil.)
T2: The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represent God’s will and Satan’s will respectively (Gen. 2:9)
(Please illustrate that through repentance, man can turn from Satan’s will to God’s will.)
