New Jerusalem, the Wife of the Lamb (4)

Both redemption by the Lord’s death and regeneration by His resurrection are important steps in the preparation of New Jerusalem as Christ’s bride. This is why the bride is mentioned in John 3:29-30 following the new birth at the start of chapter 3.

The marriage of the Lamb is the issue of the completion of God’s New Testament economy. God’s economy in the New Testament is to obtain for Christ a bride, the church, through His redemption and divine life. By the continual working of the Holy Spirit through all the centuries, this goal will be completed at the end of this age.*

Revelation 19:7 says, “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.” The wife here comes from the church in Ephesians 5. The made ready depends on the growth and building of the church as the Body of Christ in Ephesians 2 and 4.

The Lord accomplished redemption and we receive it. That step does not drag on. But growth takes time. We all need perfecting to arrive “at a full-grown man” (Eph. 4:12-13). Not many men but one corporate man built together in Christ. “Let us be brought on to maturity” (Heb. 6:1) to “make ourselves ready” for New Jerusalem.

* Life-Study of the New Testament, Conclusion Messages: The Church, the Kingdom, and the New Jerusalem, message 258, p. 2701, by Witness Lee. Published 1998 and © by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, California.

Photo courtesy of Good Free Photos.

Posted by Don on November 18, 2024

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2024/11/18/new-jerusalem-the-wife-of-the-lamb-4/

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