The Marriage of the Lamb

If you will, turn with me in your Bibles to the letter of Ephesians, chapter 5. Ephesians, chapter 5. I'm thankful today for God's word. We pray that the Lord will bless us as we study his word, that Christ will be honored and glorified. Beginning my reading in verse 21, submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and he is the savior of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it even as the Lord the church. For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall be joined unto his wife, and they too shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless, let every one of you, in particular, so love his wife even as himself. And the wife, see that she reverence her husband.

The scriptures, God's word, teaches us that there is a spiritual union between the Lord Jesus Christ And all who are born again, all who are made new creatures in Christ Jesus, all who are saved, there is a spiritual union which exists between Christ and his bride, his church.

Now this union we see is pictured in several ways in the scripture. It's pictured twice here in the passage I just read. It's pictured by the human body. Christ is ahead and all believers are members of his body. But it's also pictured here in the union that exists, the marriage union that exists between a man and a woman. Now, Paul calls this a great mystery, this union, a great mystery.

And we know from the word of God that the word mystery means it is a truth that could only be known by God revealing it to us. It's not anything new. We read the same thing in the Old Testament concerning Christ as a husband of his wife, the church. In Isaiah 54 and verse 5, we read this, for thy maker is thine husband. Well, who made us? God did. Who made us one of his children? God did. God does.

For thy maker is thy husband, the Lord of hosts is his name, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole earth shall he be called. So this was taught in the Old Testament as well as here in the New Testament. John the Baptist was a forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he referred to our Savior as the bridegroom. This is found in John chapter three. John, speaking, said, I'm not the Christ. You know, people came and asked him that. Are you the Christ? Are you the Christ? And John confessed that he wasn't in this passage. I'm not the Christ. but that I am sent before him." He was sent before the Lord Jesus Christ, as was common in those days, and still so, to a large degree. When a great person is, a king, or president, or someone like that is coming, there's always news ahead of time. He's coming. He's coming. Get ready. Stand on the street. to applaud when he passes by. Well, that's what John was. He was coming as a forerunner of Christ, but this is what he said, I'm not the Christ, but I am sent before him.

Now listen, he that hath the bride, he that hath the bride is the bridegroom. Well, the bride, of course, is the church. And when I say church here, I'm not talking about any particular denomination. I'm talking about believers of all ages in all places who have gone under different names as far as denominations are concerned. A person's not saved because he's a Baptist, he's not saved because he's a Roman Catholic, he's not saved because he's a Methodist or Presbyterian or anything else. A person's saved, as we saw earlier, who believes in Jesus Christ.

He is the way, the truth, and the life. Yes. Now, in different cultures, different cultures that I've read about, and I'm sure you have as well, marriages are managed and performed in various ways. Marriages in the Bible, as you read the Word of God, marriages in the Bible were not religious services. They were not religious services, they were civil services at most, And the marriages in the Bible were all patterned after the Hebrew marriages.

And a person must understand that or he probably will not understand the parable of the ten virgins, how that five of them went to sleep. Why? They were waiting for the bridegroom to come. They went to sleep. How would we understand that if we didn't realize how Hebrew marriages were conducted?

Now, marriages among them would always have three elements. They would always have these three elements. First, the betrothal. There would be a betrothal, first of all. Second, the groom, the bridegroom, would come to the bride's house to receive her. And third, the groom would take his bride to his house for the wedding celebration. So let's remember that. These three things, first of all, the betrothal. Second, the groom comes to the bride's house to receive her. And third, the groom takes the bride to his house for the celebration, the wedding celebration.

I'm going to use this this morning to show how this is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is a heavenly bridegroom, and his church, his bride. First of all, the betrothal. I want you to turn with me, if you will, to Hosea. The book of Hosea is one of the minor prophets. It follows Daniel in the list. But if you will, open your Bibles to Hosea chapter 2.

I remember marrying a couple several years ago, and someone who was in attendance, they told the father of the bride later, that was awfully archaic. That whole service, those words, archaic words. Well, betrothal is one of those words that is an archaic Bible term.

Today, we use the word engagement. But remember this, in the culture of Israel, a betrothal meant much more than an engagement means today. A betrothal was a binding contract. It was a formal proceeding and far more binding than engagements are today.

At the betrothal, the diary, There was always a diary given that was settled on at this period, at this point, at the betrothal, and usually paid. And there was oaths that were taken at that time. And from that time forward, even though they did not come together, they were not married civilly in any way, but from that point on, they would always be called the wife of or the husband of. You see what I'm saying? It was much more serious than an engagement between a man and a woman today is. And that must be kept in mind.

And I ask you to turn here to Hosea chapter 2. because I'm going to use God's words in verses 19 and 20 when he speaks about the betrothal, and we're going to use these as picturing or as being a type of the betrothal of the Lord Jesus Christ, the heavenly bridegroom, and his church. And I want you to notice it's found in verses 19 and 20, but I want you to notice it is the same as the everlasting covenant, as the eternal covenant of grace. And I say that because if you look at the last few words in verse 19, I'm sorry, verse 20, the last few words in verse 20, thou shalt know the Lord, and thou shalt know the Lord. Well, you know the new covenant as it is given in Jeremiah 31 and also repeated in Hebrews chapter 8 and chapter 10.

That's a very important part of that covenant. They shall all know the Lord. You shall not teach every man his neighbor saying, know the Lord for they shall all know me. And that's what this verse of scripture declares here, the last part of verse 20, and thou shalt know the Lord.

And I'm emphasizing this because I want us to see that this betrothal that we read about here between Christ, as a picture of the betrothal between Christ and His bride, was an eternal betrothal. This is something that took place from before the foundation of the world. Before there ever was a sinner, that is Adam, there was a Savior. There was a Savior and there was a church chosen, a bride chosen and given unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes.

Now, what we read here in these verses 19 and 20, and I will betroth thee unto me forever. Yay. I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving kindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness, and thou shalt know the Lord." Five things declared here by God about this betrothal. The first thing we see, it is forever. And I will betroth thee unto me forever.

God doesn't change his mind. No. Once, a betrothal was made even among the Israelites. This was an arranged marriage, obviously, but there was no going back. There was no changing. And God says, I will betroth thee unto me forever. The marriage union between the Savior between Christ and his people, his church. It will never end in divorce. In fact, in the book of Malachi, God says, I hate putting away. And he has reference there to divorce. No, this marriage, this betrothal is forever. If you were given unto him, To be his bride before you ever came into this world, it's not going to change. He's not going to divorce you. He's not going to change his mind.

No, God is faithful. I will betroth thee unto me forever. How a person can read the same Bible that you and I read and believe that a person may be saved today and lost tomorrow, I'll never understand. Because the scriptures are replete with examples and teachings that God's salvation, whatsoever the Lord doeth, it shall be forever. It's perfect. And this betrothal is forever. The second thing we read about it is, it is in righteousness. This betrothal, it is in righteousness. In other words, he furnishes the wedding garment. We're going to get married to the Lord.

We're going to need a beautiful garment. There cannot be a spot in it. There cannot be a stitch that's out of place. It must be perfect to be accepted. He provides the wedding garment and that wedding garment is his righteousness. Oh, don't you love that? Don't you love to think this morning that before God, not sometime in the future, but even now, before God, if you trust in Him, if you believe in Him, in union with Him, that you're accepted in the Beloved. Perfect. Perfect.

The third thing about this betrothal is it is in judgment. I looked at this, I thought about the fact that all the sins of His bride, all of my sins and all of your sins if you are one of His children this morning, all of our sins were judged at the cross.

When they were imputed to our Savior, our substitute, when He bore in His body the sins of his people. They were all judged in him and the payment was made so that the Apostle Paul could write in Romans chapter 8, who, it's a challenge, isn't it? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemneth?

It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen at the right hand of God, who maketh intercession for us. And fourth, this betrothal, it is in loving kindness and in mercies. It is his love, not our love. It is his love. that is the source of this betrothal. The mercies, notice it is in love and loving kindness and in mercies, the mercies are the many favors, the many favors that he bestows upon us, upon his bride. What will he give her? pardon of sin, everlasting life, justification, sanctification, glorification, peace with God. These are the mercies, some of them, that he will give to his bride.

And the last thing, the fifth thing about this betrothal is it is in faithfulness. He will never suffer his faithfulness to fail. This marriage, betrothal, or contract, it will never fail. The Apostle Paul could say, for I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God. which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. So that's the first thing that always took place in a Hebrew marriage, the betrothal.

The second thing, I said, was the groom comes to the bride's house to receive her. Now, I think of the bridegroom coming to the house of the bride as picturing to us the eternal son of God coming into this world. This is where the bride lives in this world. In this fallen world, this is where the bride lives. And this is where he had to come to seek and to find his bride.

Luke chapter 19 in verse 10, we read, for the son of man has come to seek and to save that which is lost. It thrills my heart to thank But maybe right now, in this service, if someone came into this building lost, away from God, estranged from God, and the good shepherd's going to find his sheep here today. No wonder there's rejoicing among the angels in heaven over one sinner that repents. The bridegroom. has found his bride.

He came to find her, to seek her, and to save her. The bride, his betrothed, fell in Adam's sin. But when she fell in Adam's sin, and we all did, and all of his bride did fall. Fall into sin, yes, but not fall out of the love of Christ. Not fall out of the love of Christ.

That's the reason I love that passage we read there in the book of Hosea. You know the story about Hosea and his wife who played the harlot after she had several children with him. And she went out and played the harlot. God told him to find her and marry her again.

And it's a picture of a new life, isn't it? Yes, of starting over. And all of us, by nature, Spiritual harlotry, we're all guilty of. We're all guilty of it. And yet, he marries us and we begin anew, a new creation in Christ Jesus. All things are passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

Yes, he came to the bride's house. We sing the hymn, sometimes the church's one foundation. Some of the words of that hymn go like this. From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride. With his own blood he bought her and for her life he died. Yes, he came. How did he come? By his incarnation.

That's what Christmas is all about, isn't it? People celebrate Christmas by giving gifts and never stop to think, many never stop to think that God gave his unspeakable gift. His dear darling son came into this world as a man in the fullness of the time, the scripture says. God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, that He might redeem us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.

How did He redeem His bride? Well, you know, it took His life's blood, didn't it? It took His death. Peter says this in his first letter, for as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold. That's what man chases after, isn't it? That's what has the attraction of most men in this world, silver, gold. More of it, more of it, more of it, never satisfied. More of it, more of it, more of it.

But all the gold in the world could not redeem a sinner. No, you're not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold. From your vain conversation received by tradition from your father's butt, How are we redeemed? With the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

In the Old Testament, this was pictured, wasn't it, in the Passover lamb. They'd take a lamb on the tenth day of the month. And they'd shut him up for four days. And they would observe that lamb, look at it, inspect it, make sure there was no spot, nothing to distract. Why? Because it's picturing the perfect holy son of God. And then on the 14th day, they would slay the lamb. Blood would be put upon the doorposts that first Passover, and they feasted on the lamb itself.

And that's what we're doing, isn't it? We're feasting today. We're feasting. Our Lord said, except you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you. How do we eat his flesh and drink his blood? By faith. That's what we're doing today. As we hear of Christ, we're feasting on him. We're believing in him. We're thanking God for him. We're praising him. for loving us so much that he would give his only son to redeem us.

The original betrothal in heaven and the spiritual betrothal takes place in time. The betrothal was given in old eternity, but we come into this world and then there is a union, a spiritual union. And we are in him by faith. Without faith, no man can please the Lord. How are we in him? By faith. And how is he in us? There's a union. We're in him by faith. He's in us by his Holy Spirit. Our bodies become the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Now the last thing, the third thing that always constituted a Hebrew marriage was the celebration would take place in the groom's house. I want you to look over to Revelation, the last book in the Bible, and let's turn to chapter 19. Revelation chapter 19. I said that this world pictured the bride's house. Well, heaven will picture the groom's house, his father's house. This is where the marriage celebration will take place, beginning in verse 6.

And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a mighty thundering, saying, Hallelujah. This voice is raised by all the inhabitants of heaven, a great voice. Hallelujah. Praise be unto God. All the enemies of God and of his people have been put down. Satan, men have all been put down. Hallelujah. For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him for the marriage, for the marriage of the lamb is come and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. For the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. The Lamb's wife is a glorious church. We saw that in Ephesians 5 because there's not a spot in her. There's not a wrinkle in her or any such thing.

You know, I heard someone, seems like recently, look at that verse 7, and they said, well, it says the wife hath made herself ready. That believers, we've got to make ourselves ready. How do we do that? By our good works. We make ourselves ready. Ready for a different place, you know.

Some people are going to have a higher place in heaven according to those people. Everyone, listen, everyone in heaven is going to be there because of Christ and Christ alone. No one's going to have a higher place than another. I think If we were still in this body, when we appear there, we'd all be looking for the lowest place.

No, she doesn't make herself ready. The next verse tells us clearly it was granted unto her. That word grant means given. It was given unto her. Salvation is not earned. Higher rewards in heaven is not earned unless it was earned by Christ, by His blood, by His righteousness. He earned heaven for us. We certainly do not earn our place in heaven.

You say, when will this marriage celebration take place? Well, we see that it is the bride. It's the bride who is made ready. When will the bride be made ready? When everyone that he betrothed from before the foundation of the world is saved, the bride will be ready. Oh, what is the response of his bride, his church, to these truths when the Lord said, surely I come quickly? What is our response? Come, oh Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen. We're going to sing

The Marriage of the Lamb

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