Message 55
(2)
Scripture Reading: Gen. 1:26; Jer. 31:3, 32; 2:2; John 3:29; Matt. 9:15; Eph. 5:25-27; 2 Cor. 11:2; Rev. 19:7; John 21:15-17; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; John 14:21, 23; S.S. 1:2-4
This message is a continuation of the foregoing message.
Throughout the centuries, God has had a romance with man. God created man with the purpose of having a counterpart (Gen. 1:26). His intention in creating man was not mainly to have servants. If we read the Bible in a pure way, without any preoccupations, we shall realize that God’s purpose in creating man was to gain a counterpart. God is not a fighter; He is a lover. He created man in the image of Himself as a lover. This means that He created man so that man would love Him. In eternity God was alone; we may even say that He was lonely. His desire for love could not be fulfilled by angels. Therefore, God created man according to His own being. God is loving, and He wants man to love Him. In this way there will be a mutual relationship of love between God and mankind, those created to be His counterpart.
The Old Testament indicates clearly that God came in to choose Israel to be His spouse. In Jeremiah 31:3 the Lord says, “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” When God appeared to His people, He “dated” them and later even courted them. According to Ezekiel 16, God loved Israel when He saw her in the wilderness. Verse 8 describes this love: “Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest mine.” By entering into a covenant with Israel, God betrothed her to Himself. Jeremiah 2:2 also speaks of this covenant, this engagement: “I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thy betrothals, how thou followedst after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown” (Heb.). This verse indicates that the covenant was enacted in the wilderness after God had brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. Chapters one through nineteen of Exodus were the time of Israel’s youth. The Lord remembered the kindness of Israel’s youth and the love of her betrothals. I have wondered how much Israel actually loved God in this way. Perhaps in this verse the Lord was comforting Himself as does a young man who tries to encourage himself when the one he loves fails to respond to his wooing. Such a young man might be encouraged if the one he loves even looks at him. Where in the first nineteen chapters of Exodus do we see the love of Israel’s betrothals to God? Where do we find such an espousing love? Although it is difficult for us to find, Jeremiah 2:2 nonetheless tells us that the Lord remembers the love of Israel’s betrothals and the kindness of her youth. It seems to me that Israel was not so kind, polite, or courteous to the Lord. Yet Jeremiah tells us that He remembered the kindness of Israel’s youth. The expressions used in Jeremiah 2:2 reveal how much God loved the children of Israel. In a sense, we might say that God was blinded by His love for His people. After creating man, He chose a people, the children of Israel, to be His spouse.
When the Lord Jesus came, He came as the Bridegroom for the bride. Many Christians are familiar with John the Baptist’s declaration: “Behold, the Lamb of God” (John 1:29). However, not so many realize that John also referred to the Lord Jesus as the Bridegroom. In John 3:29 he says, “He who has the bride is the bridegroom.” This word is included in a chapter on regeneration (John 3:3-6). The goal of regeneration is to produce and prepare the bride for the Bridegroom. Since Christ is the One who will have the bride, He is the Bridegroom. As God incarnate, Christ came not only to be our Redeemer and Savior; He also came to be our Bridegroom.
In Matthew 9:15 the Lord Jesus referred to Himself as the Bridegroom. To the blind religionists who were asking Him about fasting, the Lord said, “Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” In dealing with the question raised by the disciples of John, the Lord revealed Himself as the Bridegroom coming to receive the bride. In their blindness, the religionists could not see that Christ was the Bridegroom. It is crucial that our eyes be opened to see the Lord as our Bridegroom.
The Lord Jesus regenerates the church so that the church may be His bride (John 3:3, 5, 29-30). The Lord is the Bridegroom with the divine life and the divine nature. If we would become His bride, we must also have the divine life and the divine nature. For this, regeneration is necessary. Apart from possessing this life and nature, we could never become Christ’s counterpart. In John 3 we see that regeneration qualifies us to be Christ’s bride. Only after we have been regenerated with the divine life and have thereby received the divine nature can we, sinners, be taken by Christ to be His love. He is so high, possessing the divine life and nature, and we are so low. How can we become His counterpart? This is possible only by regeneration. Through regeneration we receive another life, the divine life. In this life and by this life we are qualified to become Christ’s counterpart and to match Him.
At the end of this age, Christ will come to marry His redeemed and to take her as His wife (Rev. 19:7). The present age is an age of “dating,” courtship, and engagement between God and His people. At the end of this dispensation, there will be a glorious wedding day, at which time Christ will marry His redeemed ones. This revelation of the marriage between Christ and His redeemed ones is a major revelation in the Bible.
At the very end of the Bible we see that God will enjoy a married life with His people in eternity and for eternity. For eternity in the new heaven and new earth, the New Jerusalem will be the wife of the Lamb (Rev. 21:9). This is the fulfillment of God’s romance revealed in the Scriptures.
The entire Bible is a divine romance. This means that the Bible is a very romantic book. This is true in particular of Song of Songs. Certain modernists doubt whether Song of Songs should be included in the Bible. Even some proper Christian teachers have had doubts about this book. When I was young, I also wondered why such a book is in the Bible, a book concerned with a romance between a man and a woman. This book is a portrait of the love relationship between us and Christ. According to Song of Songs, our relationship with the Lord should be very romantic. If there is no romance between us and the Lord Jesus, then we are religious Christians, not romantic Christians. If you wish to know what I mean by romance, I would encourage you to read and pray-read Song of Songs. Pray-reading this book of romance will cause you to become romantic with the Lord. You will be beside yourself with love for Him. The Bible is a divine romance, and our relationship with the Lord should become more and more romantic.
As a divine romance, the Bible is a full record of God’s wooing, even of His “dating,” of man. Again and again in the Scriptures, God comes to man in this way. Two examples are God’s coming to Jacob at Bethel the first time (Gen. 28:10-22) and also the second time (Gen. 35:9-15). Another example is God’s coming to Moses at Mount Horeb (Exo. 3:1-17).
The Bible is also full of God’s courting of man. As a young man wants to give constant attention to the woman he is courting, even to the point of bothering her, so the Lord “bothers” us by courting us. The Bible records God’s courtship of His people. In the New Testament we see that when the Lord Jesus called His disciples, He was courting them. Again and again, the Lord Jesus bothered Peter in this courting way. It is significant that it was not Peter who came to the Lord; it was the Lord who came to Peter. In John 21 the Lord inquired of Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” (v. 15). Twice more the Lord asked him, “Do you love Me?” (vv. 16, 17). By asking these questions of Peter, the Lord Jesus was courting him. He did not want Peter to love Him as a child honoring a parent, a friend caring for another friend, or a rich person pitying a poor person. Instead, the Lord wanted Peter to love Him with an affectionate love, with a love like that of a young woman for the man who loves her.
We should not read John 21 apart from John 3. The One who was asking Peter if he loved Him was the very Bridegroom who came to have the bride. Based upon the revelation of the Lord Jesus as the Bridegroom in John 3, we see that His conversation with Peter in chapter twenty-one was conducted in the way of courtship.
The same is true of the Lord’s word in John 14:21 and 23. In verse 21 the Lord says, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.” This is a word spoken by the Bridegroom to His bride. It is a word of “dating” and of courtship. In verse 23 the Lord continues, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him.” The Father and Son making an abode with the one who loves the Lord Jesus is a reference to living together in married life. To share the same abode with the Lord Jesus is to live with Him as His spouse.
Although the Lord often spoke as a Bridegroom conversing with His bride, not many Christians have realized this aspect of His word. The tendency has been to take the Lord’s word in an altogether different sense. Therefore, I hope that this word concerning God’s “dating” and courting of His people will revolutionize our concept. The Lord’s coming to us is His “dating” and courting of us.
In the foregoing message we pointed out that both the Old and New Covenants were espousal covenants, covenants of engagement.
As a whole, the Old Testament was spoken in the way of a covenant of engagement. This is the reason that Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Hosea all refer to God’s people as His wife. Even though His people wanted to divorce Him, the Lord would bring them back to Himself. He would betroth them to Him again. Consider how the word betroth is used in Hosea 2:19 and 20: “And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know Jehovah” (Heb.). In these verses the Lord uses the word betroth three times. The future tense indicates that this refers to the second betrothal of God’s people to Him, the betrothal in which the divorced wife is brought back to the Lord as her Husband. This indicates that the Old Covenant was a matter of espousal, of engagement.
As we have indicated, the law was given in the way of an engagement paper, of an engagement contract. When God gave the law to His people on the mountain, He was betrothing them to Himself. In giving them the law, He was seeking to stir them up to love Him and not to have any other beloved in addition to Him.
The entire New Testament was written in the way of romance and courtship. The Gospel of Matthew speaks of Christ as a Bridegroom, and the book of Revelation refers to the marriage of the Lamb and concludes with a revelation of the New Jerusalem as the Lamb’s wife. Furthermore, in 2 Corinthians 11:2 Paul expresses the same concept when he says, “For I am jealous over you with a jealousy of God; for I betrothed you to one Husband, to present a pure virgin to Christ.” Here we see that Paul realized that he had espoused the church to Christ, her Husband. Then in Ephesians Paul refers to Christ’s love for the church, charging husbands to love their wives “even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Eph. 5:25). Hence, the whole New Testament was written in an atmosphere of romance. The Lord is the One courting us, and we are His love, His spouse. Eventually, at the end of the New Testament, we have the marriage of Christ and His people.
The entire Bible is God’s courting word. In the Bible we see that God is seeking our love. When the Lord asked Peter if he loved Him, He was courting Peter, seeking his affectionate love. As a whole, the Bible is a word of such divine courtship.
If we would keep God’s courting word, we need a responsive, affectionate love for Him. Peter was asked to love the Lord in this way, and Paul was constrained to love the Lord with such a love (2 Cor. 5:14-15). All believers need to love the Lord in this way (John 14:21, 23). As we have seen, this kind of responsive, affectionate love is depicted in Song of Songs, where we have a portrait of the love between the Beloved and His love (S. S. 1:2-4).
In the foregoing message we pointed out that we keep the law of God by loving Him. Furthermore, we keep God’s law by becoming one with Him. Such oneness is related to the fact that the law was an engagement paper, a covenant of espousal. God’s goal in giving the law was to make His chosen people one with Him as a wife is one with her husband. The law would then impart God’s substance into them, usher them into God, and unite them with God in life and nature. This union of God with His people in life and nature is portrayed by the type of Adam and Eve in Genesis 2:18-24. All this indicates that God’s law can be kept only by those who love God and are one with Him in life, nature, and expression.
The Bible truly is a book of courtship, and our God is a courting God. Some people may disagree with the statement that God is a courting God. But unless we disregard the Bible, we must admit that this is the truth. The Bible clearly reveals that God is courting man.
A number of gospel songs speak of the Lord’s calling, and many preachers say that the believers are a people called by God. This, of course, is true. However, God’s calling of sinners to Himself is His way of courting them. His calling is His courting of His seeking people not only to be saved, but also to be His bride loving Him in an affectionate way.
It is of the Lord’s sovereignty that the Song of Songs is included in the Scriptures. However, some so-called Christians disagree with the inclusion of Song of Songs in the Bible, viewing it as a secular book, not as a sacred one. But in fact Song of Songs is the most sacred of books. In this book the seeker says, “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine” (6:3). If we did not have Song of Songs, we probably could not have such an expression regarding our relationship with the Lord. The hymn “Loved with everlasting love” has a line in the chorus which says, “I am His, and He is mine.” This is a reference to Song of Songs. To say that “I am my beloved’s” does not mean that He is the Master possessing us as His servants. It means that we are His love. This relationship is not that between master and slave, but the affectionate relationship between husband and wife. Song of Songs is the most romantic book ever written. Yet this book is concerned with the loving relationship between God and His chosen people. It presents a portrait of the married life of Christ and those who love Him.
I would remind you that the subject of this message is keeping the law of God by loving Him and His word and becoming one with Him. Keeping the law of God has very much to do with loving Him as a wife loves her husband. We have pointed out repeatedly that in giving the law God was wooing His people. Since the law was given as an engagement contract, we should not try to keep it apart from loving the Lord and being one with Him.
Some Christian teachers think that in the New Testament God has abandoned the law. This is far from the truth. The content of the law along with redemption may be considered an abstract of the entire Bible. Furthermore, concerning God’s law, the content of the New Testament is essentially the same as that of the Ten Commandments. For example, throughout the Bible we are told not to have a god other than the one true God. God is a jealous God, and we should not have any god in addition to Him. Paul refers to God’s jealousy in 2 Corinthians 11:2, where he indicates that we should be a chaste virgin to Christ. The Lord must be our unique Beloved. This is taught not only in the Ten Commandments, but throughout the Scriptures.
The whole Bible teaches that we should not worship idols. This charge is not limited to the Ten Commandments. Furthermore, the entire Bible teaches us to use the name of the Lord properly and never to take it in vain. Once again, this commandment is not limited to the law.
In principle, not even the fourth commandment, concerning keeping the Sabbath, is restricted to the law. Both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, God’s people were to have a memorial day as a sign that they belonged to the Lord. In the old creation this day was the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. But in the new creation it is the eighth day, the first day of the week, the day of Christ’s resurrection. As those living in the new creation in resurrection, our memorial day is the eighth day, no longer the seventh. Although the day has changed for us in the new creation, the principle has not changed. During the millennium, restored humanity will continue to observe the seventh day (Isa. 66:23). Based upon this fact, the Seventh-Day Adventists argue that believers in this age should continue to observe the Sabbath. However, in the coming millennium the Sabbath will be observed not by God’s regenerated people, but by restored and preserved, yet unregenerated, mankind. Although they will be restored to man’s state at the time of creation, they will not have the divine life in resurrection. Whereas they will be people of the seventh day, we are those of the eighth day. But in either case the Bible teaches that God’s people are to have a particular day as a sign of their separation unto the Lord.
We have seen that the first four commandments are upheld throughout the Scriptures. The same is true of the last six commandments concerning honoring parents, not murdering, not committing adultery, not stealing, not bearing false witness, and not coveting. If we abandon the law, we lay aside the whole Bible.
Although we must not abandon the law, we should be careful not to abuse it, nor to misuse it. Both the law in particular and the Bible as a whole should be used in a proper way. If we try to keep the law without contacting God, we shall abuse it. Likewise, if we approach the Bible without touching the Lord, we shall misuse the Scriptures. The Judaizers made the mistake of trying to fulfill the law without contacting God. Thus, they did not become His counterpart, those who keep His law by loving Him and being one with Him. In principle, many Christians are making the same mistake today. Although they read and study the Bible, they do so without contacting the Lord Himself. While they teach others the knowledge of the Bible, they do not encourage them to contact the Lord in the Word. Therefore, they become today’s Judaizers, abusing and misusing the Word of God.
We in the Lord’s recovery appreciate pray-reading the Word. We do not want to read the Bible without contacting the Lord in a living way. We must beware of reading the Bible apart from praying and touching the Lord. If we contact the Lord in the Word, we shall be one with Him in a practical way in our experience. Then we shall become His counterpart. By loving the Lord as our Beloved and becoming one with Him, even becoming His love, His word will become the life supply to us. The law is the condensation of His word. Whenever we contact the Lord in a direct, intimate way, becoming one with Him, His word supplies us with life. By this life we grow, become His expression, and live in a way which corresponds to what He is. Such a living corresponds to God’s law and to His word. This is the proper way to use the law of God and the Word of God.
