watchman F
Member
Last week we spoke on the righteousness of God, and the fact that He expects us as His Church/ Bride to live righteous lives as well. Tonight we are speaking on the love of God the unending, unmeasurable love Jesus has for us.Do you remember when you first fell in love how you thought about that person day and night, you couldn't think about anything else, and your greatest wish is that they would one day return that same love for you. Well that is how Jesus feels about us. He cannot get us off His mind He thinks about us day and night wanting us to love Him back. His deepish wish is for us to return His love, He longs for the day we will be together with Him, He longs for the day we He returns and receive us into Himself. To understand this love He has for us we need to change our entire perspective, we need to get a new conception of Jesus as His relationship to the church. I call this perspective the Bridal paradigm.
''Bridal Paradigm''
par·a·digm (p?r'?-d?m', -d?m')
n.
1.One that serves as a pattern or model.
2.A set or list of all the inflectional forms of a word or of one of its grammatical categories: the paradigm of an irregular verb.
3.A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline.
The bridal paradigm is not a percise theological term. Rather, it is a practical term that communicates a body of truth related to Jesus' heart as a Bridegroom God, and our experience as His cherished Bride.
Once we know who we are in Christ, the Bride of the King, betrothed to the God that has created all that is, we will remain stedfast, we will crucify our flesh, we will make manifest our Savior, work out our own salvation, purifying ourselves, cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, we will perfect holiness in the fear of God, we will make ourselves ready for our Bridegroom King. We will adorn ourselves with the righteousness of the saints, clean and white, pure before our God. Sinless, righteous, unblameable, unblemished, without spot nor wrinkle. We will shine like the sun, being salt and light to this world, we will walk in all the power, and authority God has always meant for us to walk in. We will happily give up our very lives to remain faithful to our relationship with Him. Once we get this revelation rooted deep in our hearts we will be able to keep God's great commandments to love Him with all our hearts, minds, souls and strength, and love our neighbors as ourselves. We will be set complete free from the bondage of self and sin, releasing us to fulfill the deepest most heartfelt longing of our hearts which is to stand before God truly pure, totally sinless, completely righteous, wholly holy, fully worthy, to be an equally yoke Bride for our Messiah.
''Bridal Paradigm''
par·a·digm (p?r'?-d?m', -d?m')
n.
1.One that serves as a pattern or model.
2.A set or list of all the inflectional forms of a word or of one of its grammatical categories: the paradigm of an irregular verb.
3.A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline.
The bridal paradigm is not a percise theological term. Rather, it is a practical term that communicates a body of truth related to Jesus' heart as a Bridegroom God, and our experience as His cherished Bride.
Once we know who we are in Christ, the Bride of the King, betrothed to the God that has created all that is, we will remain stedfast, we will crucify our flesh, we will make manifest our Savior, work out our own salvation, purifying ourselves, cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, we will perfect holiness in the fear of God, we will make ourselves ready for our Bridegroom King. We will adorn ourselves with the righteousness of the saints, clean and white, pure before our God. Sinless, righteous, unblameable, unblemished, without spot nor wrinkle. We will shine like the sun, being salt and light to this world, we will walk in all the power, and authority God has always meant for us to walk in. We will happily give up our very lives to remain faithful to our relationship with Him. Once we get this revelation rooted deep in our hearts we will be able to keep God's great commandments to love Him with all our hearts, minds, souls and strength, and love our neighbors as ourselves. We will be set complete free from the bondage of self and sin, releasing us to fulfill the deepest most heartfelt longing of our hearts which is to stand before God truly pure, totally sinless, completely righteous, wholly holy, fully worthy, to be an equally yoke Bride for our Messiah.