We need to lay hold of the Lord Jesus not only as our Physician but also as our Bridegroom; Christ is our Bridegroom and we are in the process of becoming His bride, so we rejoice with Him and in Him, loving Him and being prepared to be His loving bride to match Him. Amen!
What a wonderful Christ we have!
He came to us not to condemn us or judge us but to save us, heal us, and love us.
He is our lovely Bridegroom. He is our Healer. He is our Physician.
Even after being saved by the Lord and having His life in our spirit, we are still full of sicknesses, and we still need the Lord’s healing.
In this age of grace, the Lord heals us by coming to us and speaking to us.
May we not be like the self-righteous Pharisees, who thought that it was abhorrent that the Lord ate and drank with the sinners and tax collectors, thinking that they were much better than these. Oh, Lord!
May we not be like the Pharisee who prayed to himself and praised God for what he has been doing for God and what he has been giving to God, not seeing that he was sick and sinful, in desperate need of a Savior.
May we come to the Lord again and again having the full realization that we need Him.
We need the Lord Jesus as our Physician and we need Him as our Savior.
As we spend time with the Lord in His word, on one hand, He supplies us, and on the other hand, we realize how much we need Him.
Even when everything goes well and there doesn’t seem to be any problems in us or around us, even when we don’t sin as much and our failures are not as bad as before, we still need the Lord as our Healer, our Physician, for only He can heal our sick condition.
Our mind is sick, our will is sick, and our emotions are sick; as we live in this world full of evil germs, we get sick all the time, and only the Lord as our Physician can heal us.
Day by day we need to come and enjoy Him, and He as the crucified One will be applied to our situation and to our being to heal our sickness and cause us to be the citizens of His heavenly kingdom.
When we exercise our spirit to contact the Lord, when we live a crucified life, Christ as the resurrected One becomes our healing power, and He becomes our Healer.
May we experience and enjoy Christ as our Healer and Physician day by day as we live our Christian life.
May we experience Him as our Physician in our married life, in our family life, and in the church life. What a wonderful Christ we have!
Christ is our Bridegroom and we’re the Sons of the Bridechamber Becoming His Bride
In Matt. 9:14-15 the Lord Jesus introduced Himself as the Bridegroom, His disciples being the sons of the bridechamber.
Some of the disciples of John came to the Lord and asked Him why don’t His disciples fast, even as John’s disciples did.
This seemed to be a question regarding the doctrine of fasting and the practice of fasting, which seems to be something quite good.
The Lord’s answer, however, was not according to human concept; instead of answering them in a doctrinal way concerning fasting, He pointed them to Himself, the Bridegroom.
All of the Lord’s answers are about a person, not a doctrine or a practice.
Christ is our Bridegroom, the most wonderful and lovely person, and as long as He is with us, we cannot fast, for we feast with Him.
The disciples could not fast while the Bridegroom was there with them; however, days would come when the bridegroom would be taken away from them, and then they would fast.
Both the Physician and the Bridegroom are lovely persons, persons who bring much joy to others.
Especially a bridegroom is a great cause of joy, for where the bridegroom is, there is a wedding, and there is a wedding feast with much joy, much feasting, and much enjoyment.
The disciples were the sons of the bridechamber; as they were in a transitional period of the Lord’s ministry on earth, they were the sons of the bridechamber who later became His bride (John 3:29; Rev. 19:7).
Praise the Lord, today we can enjoy Christ as our Bridegroom. He is the most lovely One.
When we spend time with the Lord in His word, we are attracted to Him, for He is like an immense magnet drawing all His seekers to Himself.
He doesn’t judge us or condemn us, even though He can; He simply shines on us, He infuses us with what He is, and He gives more of Himself to us.
He is truly the most wonderful Person, and He came to court us and woo us so that we may be His bride.
May we not be like the disciples of John who, though they were delivered from the old religion of Judaism, now had a new religion, and they were ready to argue about doctrines and practices.
May we focus on the most wonderful Person, Jesus Christ our Bridegroom, and may we enjoy Him!
May we lose sight of all things but Christ and just enjoy Him.
In our time with Him personally and in our meetings corporately, our focus is not this doctrine or that practice but the wonderful person of Jesus Christ our Bridegroom!
![Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright [and] clean; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints. And he said to me, Write, Blessed are they who are called to the marriage dinner of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true words of God. Rev. 19:7-9](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Let-us-rejoice-and-exult-and-let-us-give-the-glory-to-Him-for-the-marriage-of-the-Lamb-has-come-683x1024.jpg?resize=400%2C600&ssl=1 "Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright [and] clean; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints. And he said to me, Write, Blessed are they who are called to the marriage dinner of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true words of God. Rev. 19:7-9")
The Bridegroom is the most lovely person – at least for a day; the Lord Jesus is the most lovely person toward us in this age of grace.
He made His followers the sons of the bridechambers, and eventually He makes them His bride.
The sons of the bridechamber are the wedding guests or the companions of the bridegroom.
We believers in Christ are the sons of the bridechamber, the Bridegroom’s friends and companions and the wedding guests.
The sons of the bridechamber are the corporate best man of the Lord Jesus.
All of us are part of the corporate best man of the Lord Jesus.
On one hand, we are being made His bride to match Him for our wedding and live with Him in our eternal married life.
On the other hand, we are part of the wedding feast, being the guests invited to the wedding, even the best man at the wedding feast to be with the Bridegroom. Hallelujah!
May we lay hold of the Lord Jesus not only as our Physician so that our life might be recovered but also as our Bridegroom, so that we may have the enjoyment of living in His presence (Phil. 3:12-13). Amen!
Lord Jesus, You are our lovely Bridegroom and we love You! Hallelujah, Christ is our Bridegroom and we are being prepared to be His bride! We come to You day by day, dear Lord, to just enjoy You and love You. You are the most lovely One. We love to behold Your face. We love to be with You and to allow You to infuse us with all that You are. We are happy to be here with You, our dear Bridegroom, as the sons of the bridechamber. We love being the guests at the wedding feast, even being part of the corporate best man of Jesus Christ at His wedding! Amen, Lord, we love You! We leave all doctrines aside and we do not focus on any teachings or practices – we simply want to focus on You! Lord Jesus, You are the most wonderful One! You are our beloved Bridegroom and we love You! We want to lay hold of You as the Bridegroom. Prepare us to be Your bride. Grow in us. Perfect us. Beautify us. Make us the same as You are so that we may be Your perfect, spotless, beautiful bride to match You in every possible way!
The Spirit has been Sent by the Father to Beautify us with the Riches of Christ and Make us the Bride of Christ
Our Christian life revolves around the Lord Jesus; since we have been captivated by Him, captured by Him, and caught by Him, we have no other goal or purpose but Christ Himself.
Everything in our Christian life hinges on Christ and on our fellowship with Him. Nothing else matters and no one else is above the Lord Jesus.
However, there is the danger that we fall into religion, a new religion a bit more improved from the previous iteration of religion.
![Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her That He might sanctify her, cleansing [her] by the washing of the water in the word, That He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish. Eph. 5:25-27](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Husbands-love-your-wives-even-as-Christ-also-loved-the-church-and-gave-Himself-up-for-her-683x1024.jpg?resize=400%2C600&ssl=1 "Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her That He might sanctify her, cleansing [her] by the washing of the water in the word, That He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish. Eph. 5:25-27")
We may be like the disciples of John the Baptist, focusing on doctrines and practices instead of focusing on the lovely person of Jesus Christ our Bridegroom.
We need to realize that the Lord Jesus is our Bridegroom and we are the sons of the bridechamber becoming His bride.
The whole Bible shows us both in pictures and types (in the Old Testament) and in spiritual reality (in the New Testament) that the Spirit has been sent by the Father to gain a bride for Christ.
Gen. 24 is a good picture of this. Abraham wanted to gain a wife for his son Isaac, and he sent his servant Eliezer to do it.
He loaded his servant with many riches and sent him to his father’s land to get a wife from there for his son Isaac.
Isaac is a type of Christ, Abraham is a type of the Father, the servant is a type of the Spirit, and Rebekah is a type of the church, the believers in Christ.
The Spirit has been sent on an errand by the Father to gain and beautify us with the riches of Christ so that we may be the bride of Christ to return to Him and match Him for our marriage life together (Gen. 24; Eph. 5:25-27).
How lovely this is! Christ came not to judge us but even more, He came as a Bridegroom; He simply captivated people wherever He went not by anything of outward beauty but by expressing the bountiful God in His rich attributes through His aromatic human virtues.
Wherever He went, people were drawn to Him, and especially the sinners, the ones who were sick, and the ones who were genuine in their condition and situation – not the self-righteous Pharisees – were drawn to the Lord Jesus.
Then, as a supreme act of love and sacrifice for us, the Lord Jesus as our Bridegroom laid down His physical life for us to gain us, and He showed us how much He loves us by dying for us.
After His death and resurrection, Christ as the Spirit came to seek us out, enlighten us, and show us the riches of Christ.
When we heard the gospel, the Spirit brought to light some of the riches of Christ, the Bridegroom, and we were drawn to Him.
And day by day as we spend time with the Lord by exercising our spirit and turning our heart to Him when we are in His word, the Spirit does active research to bring to light the riches of Christ so that we may love Him, enjoy Him, and be prepared to be His bride. Hallelujah!
The whole New Testament is a record of the Triune God working together to gain a part of the human race to be the bride, the counterpart of the Son (John 3:29; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:25-32; Rev. 19:7-9; 21:2, 9-10).
The Spirit of reality is now with us to bring us into all the reality of what Christ is, what He has done, and what He has accomplished.
![In [the] account of the marriage of Isaac, Abraham typifies God the Father, the servant typifies God the Spirit, Isaac typifies God the Son, and Rebekah typifies the chosen people of God, who will marry the Son and become His counterpart. The entire New Testament is a record of the Triune God working together to gain a part of the human race to be the bride, the counterpart, of the Son (John 3:29; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:25-32; Rev. 19:7-9; 21:2, 9-10). Gen. 24:2, footnote 2, Recovery Version Bible](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/In-the-account-of-the-marriage-of-Isaac-Abraham-typifies-God-the-Father-the-servant-typifies-God-the-Spirit-Isaac-typifies-God-the-Son-683x1024.jpg?resize=400%2C600&ssl=1 "In [the] account of the marriage of Isaac, Abraham typifies God the Father, the servant typifies God the Spirit, Isaac typifies God the Son, and Rebekah typifies the chosen people of God, who will marry the Son and become His counterpart. The entire New Testament is a record of the Triune God working together to gain a part of the human race to be the bride, the counterpart, of the Son (John 3:29; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:25-32; Rev. 19:7-9; 21:2, 9-10). Gen. 24:2, footnote 2, Recovery Version Bible")
When we see the riches of Christ, when we enjoy Christ with all His riches, we love Him more, we are perfected and beautified, and we are being prepared to be the bride of Christ.
May we continue to open to the Lord in this process of being beautified by the Spirit with the riches of Christ so that we may be prepared to be the bride of Christ.
May we grow in life day by day as we enjoy Christ and let Him make His home in our heart so that we may be part of His bride.
And together, as the church, may we all apprehend with all the saints the unsearchably rich Christ, the universally vast Christ, so that we may be filled unto all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:16-20)!
May the Lord really gain what He is after, the bride that He desires, and may we be part of His bride!
When we see that the Spirit is on an errand, being sent by the Father with the riches of Christ to gain and beautify a bride for Christ, we will just open to Him and let Him do in us what He needs to do so that we may be His bride.
Amen, Christ must increase and we must decrease; He must increase in us for the bride, and we must decrease in all things.
Lord Jesus, we love You and we open to You as our lovely Bridegroom! We come to You in Your word with an exercised spirit and a heart turned to You. We open to You. May the Spirit bring to light all the riches of Christ for our enjoyment and experience today. We want to enjoy all Your riches so that we may be beautified and become Your bride. Amen, Lord, make Your home deep down in our heart and impart all the riches of Your being into us. Have Your way to beautify us to make us Your loving, beautiful, and spotless bride to match You for our wedding. Lord Jesus, You are our Bridegroom and our eyes are fixed on You! We just love You! We want to be with You. We open to Your courting of us; we open to Your beautifying us by the Spirit to make us Your bride. May we all cooperate with the Spirit’s work of transformation and beautifying so that we may be the bride of Christ. Amen, Lord Jesus, our lovely Bridegroom, we love to be Your bride! We love You!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ed Marks in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Matthew, msg. 27, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (2024 July Semiannual Training), week 1, Christ as the Great Light, the One Who Has Authority, the Physician, the Bridegroom, the Unfulled Cloth, and the New Wine.
- Similar articles on this topic:
– 7 Wonderful Aspects of the Church in Ephesians, via, Bibles for America blog.
– The bridegroom versus religious concept, a portion from, Christ versus Religion, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee.
– Jehovah as Husband and Jesus as Bridegroom, article via, Affirmation and Critique.
– The Bridegroom and the bride, a portion from, The Fulfillment of the Tabernacle and the Offerings in the Writings of John, Chapter 7, by Witness Lee.
– Christ Our Physician, Bridegroom, New Wine, and Shepherd, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
– A Satisfied Seeker of Christ, via, The Church in Anaheim.
– The increase of Christ and the immeasurable Christ, a portion from, Life-study of John, msg. 10.
– Jesus the Bridegroom, New Jerusalem the Bride (3), via, New Jerusalem blog.
– What is the bride of Christ? More via, Hearing of Faith newsletters.
– Taking Christ as my Person in my daily life, via, Living to Him.
– 4 – The Betrothing Ministry, From chapter four of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant, via, Shepherding words. - Hymns on this topic:
– Jesus is our lovely Bridegroom, / And our Bridegroom is with us! / Now our praying’s turned to praising / In His Presence glorious. / O our Bridegroom! O our Bridegroom! / Lord, Thou art our Bridegroom sweet! / How we treasure Thy dear presence— / O what bliss and joy complete! (Hymns #1160 stanza 1 and chorus)
– Lord, Thou art the lovely Bridegroom, / God appointed, dear to us; / Thy dear self is so attractive, / To our heart so beauteous! / Dear Beloved, we admire Thee, / Who can tell Thy preciousness; / All Thy love we deeply treasure / And Thine untold loveliness. (Hymns #170 stanzas 1-2)
– Now the blessed Holy Spirit, / From our Father God above, / Has come down to earth to find a worthy Bride. / For our Isaac over yonder / Has prepared His tents of love, / And He wants His fair Rebekah by His side. / We have left our kinfolk gladly; / We have bade the world goodbye. / We’ve been called to be His pure and spotless Bride; / Where we’ll soon behold our Jesus / In that blest eternity— / What a happy, happy wedding that will be! (Hymns #1318 stanzas 3-4)
