The Bride is a Priest 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.
-Ephesians 5:25-27
Just as the high priest went before Yahweh in the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16), preparing himself by "putting on" holy garments, so the Bride of Christ must put on holy garments.
"Without spot" and "blemish" are priestly terms. The Lord's bride will be a perfect bride, with no spot or blemish. We are to clothe ourselves with mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, forgiveness, good works, teaching and encouraging one another.
Colossians 3:12-16 tells us:
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also
do ye. And above all these things
put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Upon approaching the well, Eliezer believed he found the right one in Rebekah, but needed to see if she met all of his expectations. With kindness and generosity she responded, which demonstrated her heart. Freely giving of herself, she served a total stranger and his animals with no expectation of anything in return.
The Bride of Christ will also be found working and serving as Rebekah was in Genesis 24:15-16. Genesis 24:17-18 shows us:
And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.
The bride will be quick to respond to the
Ruach's (Spirit's) voice, and will go beyond the basic requirements of service. She will have an evident willingness and desire to be joined to her Heavenly Bridegroom.
During Old Testament times, priests were instructed to teach the
Torah of God (instruction of the law) to His people-and because all believers are called "priests of God" in the New Testament, God desires all believers to be priests before Him. Those who reject God's law (instruction, or
Torah) will not be priests unto Him and therefore, not be His bride. Knowledge is truth and the Word of God is truth and God's instructions are truth.
Hosea 4:6 tells us:
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
For more information about the Who is the Bride, visit our website at
http://www.ratw.org or purchase a copy of Rebecca's book, Who is the Bride online at bookstores everywhere.
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