(1)
Scripture Reading: 2 Cor. 3:7-11, 18; John 17:1; Luke 24:26; Acts 3:15; Rom. 6:4
In foregoing messages I have pointed out that if we would touch the “meat” in the Bible, we must go beyond the “feathers” and the “skin.” Along with many other things, the Bible has both an outward appearance and an inward reality. For example, a human being has an outward appearance and also an inward reality. If you know a person merely according to his outward appearance, you actually do not know him at all. In order to know a person thoroughly, you need to know him according to his inner being. This requires that you spend much time with that person to know what he is like inwardly.
In 5:16 Paul says, “So that we, from now on, know no one according to flesh.” To know others according to the flesh means to know them merely according to the outward appearance. Paul’s desire was to know others according to the spirit, that is, according to the inner reality.
This was also the way Paul knew Christ: “Even if we have known Christ according to flesh, yet now we know Him so no longer.” This means that Paul knew Christ no longer according to the outward appearance, but according to the inward spirit. This principle applies also in our study of the Bible. If we would know the Bible, we must know not only the outward form of the Word, but also the inward reality.
I was born into Christianity and as a little child learned the song, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” This is a good song; however, the truth contained in it is only a feather truth. It is not even part of the skin in the Word. Many of the sermons given in today’s Christian circles are either in the category of feathers or in the category of skin. Few messages given among Christians take the listeners deeper than the skin and help them touch the genuine meat of the Word.
Prior to World War II, books were still being published that contained some weighty messages dealing with the meat of the Word. But in recent years it has been extremely difficult to find newly published books of this kind. Throughout the years, I have been observing the situation among Christians. I have been especially interested to see what kind of books and articles have been published concerning spiritual matters. According to my observation, since 1945 few books touching the meat of the Bible have been published. If others know of more books, I would appreciate knowing the titles and the authors. In 2 Corinthians 3 Paul speaks of the shining of the glory of the new covenant. This is part of the meat of the Word; it is not feathers or skin.
What is the glory of the new covenant? In answer to this question, some may say that the shining of the glory of the new covenant is the Spirit. Others may reply that it is resurrection, or Christ in resurrection. It is surely true to say that the glory of the new covenant is the Spirit. Second Corinthians 3:18 says, “And we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.” In this verse the preposition “from” is used twice. The first time is in the phrase “from glory to glory”; the second, in the phrase “from the Lord Spirit.” There is a connection between “from glory to glory” and “from the Lord Spirit.” This connection is made apparent by Paul’s use of the words “even as.” This indicates that the matter of being from glory to glory is a matter that is from the Spirit. This gives us the basis to say that glory is intimately related to the Spirit. In fact, in this verse the glory is equal to the Lord Spirit.
In 3:18 Paul says that we are being transformed into the same image. When we with unveiled face behold and reflect the glory of the Lord, He infuses us with the elements of what He is and what He has done. As a result, we are being transformed metabolically to have His life shape by His life power with His life essence, transfigured, mainly by the renewing of our mind (Rom. 12:2), into His image. Being transformed indicates that we are in the process of transformation. The phrase “from glory to glory” means from one degree of glory to another degree. This points to a continuing process in life in resurrection. Furthermore, the phrase “from the Lord Spirit” indicates that the process is proceeding from the Spirit.
The first use of a divine title in the Bible is in Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (lit.) This verse speaks of God. The word God in Hebrew is Elohim. But in the last chapter of the Bible, Revelation 22, we have another divine title. Revelation 22:17 says, “The Spirit and the bride say, Come!” Here we do not have God, Elohim; we have the Spirit. Furthermore, the Spirit and the bride speak together. How can this be, since the Spirit is divine and the bride is not? There is not this kind of utterance in Genesis 1. There is no verse which says, “In the beginning God and the angels created the heavens and the earth.” On the contrary, Genesis 1:1 speaks only of God; it does not say “God and....” But Revelation 22:17 speaks concerning the Spirit and the bride.
We need to notice two important aspects of Revelation 22:17. First, as we have seen, the Spirit is mentioned with the bride; that is, the Spirit is mentioned with something additional. Second, this verse is not a demand; instead, it contains a promise related to the water of life.
When a young brother gets married, he is no longer single, no longer a bachelor, for he gains a wife as an addition. Now instead of a single person, there is a couple. Before he is married, whatever a young brother says, he says by himself alone. But after he gets married, it is possible for him and his wife to speak as one. Then it can be written concerning this couple, “He and his wife say....”
The principle is the same in the Bible regarding the Spirit and the bride. The entire Bible tells us of a universal romance, the romance of a universal couple. This couple consists of God as the Husband and His chosen people as the bride. Therefore, at the end of the Bible we have the revelation of this universal couple.
When the Lord Jesus came, John the Baptist spoke of Him as the Lamb of God. According to John 1:29, John declared when he saw the Lord Jesus coming to him, “Behold, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!” According to the third chapter of the Gospel of John, John the Baptist later spoke of the Lord Jesus as the Bridegroom. Some of John’s disciples were jealous because of the fact that so many were coming to the Lord Jesus and following Him. They said to John, “Rabbi, He Who was with you across the Jordan, of Whom you testified, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him” (John 3:26). As part of his reply, John said, “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices with joy because of the bridegroom’s voice” (v. 29). By this we see that the Lord Jesus is not only the Lamb of God, but He is also the Bridegroom who deserves to have the bride.
The concept of a universal couple is found not only in the New Testament, but in the Old Testament as well. Even in the Old Testament we see that God desires to have a married life with His chosen people. For example, Isaiah 54:5 says, “For thy Maker is thine husband: The Lord of hosts is his name.” God loves His people as a bridegroom loves his bride. Thus, God’s desire is to marry His people, to have them as His addition.
The provision of Eve to be a counterpart for Adam also illustrates that marriage involves a man gaining a wife to be his addition. According to Genesis 2, Adam was created first. According to Genesis 2:18, the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.” God did not want Adam to remain single, that is, to remain a bachelor. Therefore, He caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, took one of his ribs, and fashioned it into a woman. Before the woman was made and presented to him, Adam could not find anything to match him. Genesis 2:20 says, “Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him.” But when God brought the woman to him, Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man” (v. 23). Eve was Adam’s increase, his addition. This illustrates the principle that marriage means addition.
We may also compare a husband and his wife to the two halves of a melon. The husband is the first half of the melon, and his wife is the second half. Only when the two halves are put together is there a whole, complete melon.
Just as it was not good for Adam to be alone, single, so it is not good for God to be alone, to be a “bachelor.” Without His chosen people as His bride, God is “single.” He is only half of the universal couple. I realize that this thought is frightening to the doctrinal or theological mind. When they hear this, some may say, “Are you teaching that God in Himself is not complete? How can you compare God to a bachelor or to one half of a melon? This is heresy! No one should follow such a false teaching! God is almighty, perfect, and complete. As the great One, the King, the Ruler in the heavens, He is the object of worship. We have been created by Him, and we must prostrate ourselves before Him in worship.” Of course, God in Himself is complete. However, many who use the truth of God’s completeness to argue against the revelation in the Bible concerning the universal couple see only the outward appearance of the Word. They know only the feathers and the skin. If we grasp the inward reality of the Word, we shall realize that God will never be satisfied with mere outward worship from His creatures. We shall know that, deep in His heart, He wants a bride.
A friend may do many things for a brother. Nevertheless, deep within, that brother may not be satisfied. Rather, he may say, “I’m not happy with any of these things. I only care for a wife. What I want is not my friends to buy things for me or do things for me. My unique desire is to enjoy a loving wife.” If we truly know the Bible, we shall realize that the Lord’s unique desire is for a bride. For this reason, one day, according to Revelation 19, there will be a proclamation: “The marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife has made herself ready” (Rev. 19:7). Ultimately, in Revelation 21 and 22, the Lord will have His bride for eternity. He will then be satisfied, and the Spirit and the bride together will say, “Come!”
In China it was the custom for announcements or invitations to be signed only by the husband. However, it is the custom in the West for both the husband and the wife to sign an invitation. This western practice illustrates the revelation in the Bible concerning the Spirit and the bride. In Revelation 22:17 we see that God is no longer single; He is coupled with His wife. For this reason, the Spirit and the bride say come. This means that God has a wife.
Those who regard it as heretical to speak of God having a wife know the Bible only in a superficial way. They have not touched the depths of the Word. In order to know anything, we must know the depths of that thing. This is also true, as we have indicated, of knowing a person. If you merely know my outward appearance, not the depths of my being, you do not actually know me.
Today few preach what is in the depths of the Bible. They only talk about what is on the surface, the feathers or the skin. They do not serve the meat of the Word to others. But if you are invited to someone’s home for a turkey dinner, do they serve you the feathers and the skin? Certainly not! You will be served with the meat of the turkey. However, many Christians today are not being served with meat. Only the feathers and the skin are being set before them.
We should not be fully satisfied with any kind of teaching or preaching that does not serve the meat of the Bible. Do not give too much credit to those who only present the feathers and the skin. What we urgently need is to touch the depths of the Bible.
The God revealed in Genesis 1:1 is a “bachelor” God. We may also say that He is the unprocessed God, the “raw” God. The sixty-six books of the Bible reveal the process through which the “single” God has passed. First He created the heavens and the earth as the environment for this process. One day God was incarnated; He was born of a virgin in Bethlehem. Certainly this was part of the process. If you do not regard this as a process, what would you call it? Through the process of incarnation, God became a little child. Isaiah 9:6 says that the name of the child born to us was the mighty God. The One who was born in a manger in Bethlehem and who grew up in the home of a carpenter in Nazareth was the very mighty God.
The Lord Jesus lived there in Nazareth, a small town, for thirty years. Then He came forth to minister. No one really understood Him. Those who thought they knew Him said, “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” (Matt. 13:55-56). They were not able to understand where He gained “this wisdom and these works of power” (Matt. 13:54).
Eventually, the Lord Jesus went to the cross. Apparently when He died on the cross, He alone died on that cross. But in the sight of God, the entire universe, the whole old creation, died with Him. Christ’s death was all-inclusive, for this death terminated everything. After the Lord Jesus was crucified, He was buried in a tomb. Then He took a tour of Hades, the realm of the dead. On the third day Christ resurrected bodily and spiritually. Now, in resurrection, He is the life-giving Spirit.
As the life-giving Spirit, Christ is all-inclusive. This Spirit includes divinity, humanity, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection. In this Spirit we have the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, even the seven Spirits. Because this Spirit contains the reality of every positive thing, we say that the Spirit is all-inclusive.
The compound ointment in Exodus 30 is a type of this all-inclusive Spirit. This ointment was composed of olive oil and four kinds of spices. The olive oil typifies the Spirit of God. The ointment, however, was constituted not only of oil; it was made of oil to which four spices had been added. These spices typify Christ in His humanity with His crucifixion and resurrection. The olive oil and the spices were mingled to produce an ointment. This ointment typifies the Spirit.
The olive oil was single; it was not all-inclusive. However, the ointment was all-inclusive, as signified by the fact that it was compounded of a number of elements. In Genesis 1 the Spirit of God likewise was single, but in Revelation 22 the Spirit is all-inclusive.
The Spirit is the ultimate expression of the Triune God. This Spirit includes all that Christ has achieved, attained, and obtained. This all-inclusive Spirit also includes all that Christ is. Furthermore, this Spirit has a counterpart, an increase, an addition. This means that the Spirit has something to match Him. God is no longer single, no longer a bachelor, for He has a bride to match Him. For this reason, the consummate revelation in the Bible is that of the all-inclusive Spirit with the bride.
The term “the Spirit” is short and simple, containing just two words. However, this simple title is all-inclusive. The Spirit comprises all that the Triune God is, all that He has accomplished, and all that He has achieved, obtained, and attained. This Spirit also includes the process through which the Triune God has passed. Because God has passed through a long process and because the Spirit is His ultimate expression, Revelation 22:17 does not say, “God and the church”; it says, “The Spirit and the bride.”
If we would be qualified to be the Lord’s bride, we must grow and pass through many things. Being the bride involves more than being the church. For example, a little girl is not qualified to be a bride. Before she can be a bride, she must grow to maturity. She must also attend school and learn many things. Then a man will choose her for his bride.
Different men may have different standards concerning whom they will consider for a wife. For example, someone with a doctoral degree may want a bride with a high education. He would regard anyone with less than a master’s degree as unqualified to be his bride. Likewise, the Spirit has very high requirements for His bride. Will the Spirit take a bride who is immature? Surely, the answer is no. The Lord will not come for His bride until she is mature and fully prepared for Him.
Do not think that as long as we are the church, we are qualified to be the bride. This is similar to saying that any female, regardless of age or maturity, is qualified to be married. No, certain requirements must be fulfilled in order for us to be the bride. It is easy for Christians to say that we are all the church. But when the Lord Jesus comes as the Bridegroom, will we be qualified to be His bride? The Lord may tell us at that time that we are not yet qualified, that we need further growth and maturity. This understanding of the Bridegroom and the bride is according to the revelation of the holy Word.
Many Christians have been cheated and even drugged by teachings that go no further than the feathers and skin in the Word. Oh, we must see the depths of the truths the Lord has revealed from His Word to His recovery! How I thank Him that He has opened His Word to reveal what is found in the depths! I praise the Lord for this. I can testify that I treasure the words, “the Spirit and the bride.” When I read of this in Revelation 22:17, I want to leap for joy. I can testify that I earnestly desire to be included as part of the Lord’s bride. Is this not your desire also?
But do you have the assurance that you will be included as part of the bride? Are you content merely to attend the church meetings as a so-called Sunday-goer? I do not believe that anyone who is merely a Sunday-goer can be part of the Lord’s bride. When the time comes for the Lord to take His bride, will you be ready? Will you be qualified and matured? Will it be necessary for the Lord to say to you, “I saved you, but you have not yet grown”? We all need to grow and mature so that we may be qualified at the Lord’s coming to be included as part of His bride.
