Not Living Luxuriously but Considering ourselves as a Widow, the Wife of Christ

The Lord wants to gain the church, His corporate expression, and in this age of the degradation of the church we need to see the principle of Babylon and be saved from it. The principle of Babylon is first man’s endeavour to build up something on earth to heaven by human ability, and then it is hypocrisy.

Furthermore, the principle of Babylon is that of not considering herself a widow but of glorifying herself and living luxuriously. Even more, the principle of Babylon is the principle of a harlot.

It is good to read the Bible and exercise to pray to the Lord that He would work in us what He wants to work, and He would remove from us the principle of Babylon, so that we would be a pure and genuine church for Him, His bride, His body.

We need to be saved from hypocrisy, that is, from pretending to be something that we are not.

Ananias and Sapphira pretended to be consecrated to the Lord, and they pretended to give all their money to His interest just like the others; however, by pretending in this way, they lied to the Holy Spirit, and the Lord intervened.

May the Lord save us from merely paying lip service to Him when we meet with the saints, even though our heart is far away from Him.

May the Lord make us His genuine worshippers, those who worship God in spirit and in truthfulness, being genuine men who enjoy God, experience God, express God, and are built together to be part of His genuine corporate expression on earth.

Whenever we put on a garment, a show, an act, that doesn’t match our inward actual condition, that is the principle of Babylon.

The cure for such a problem is the Lord’s word in Matt. 6:1-6, where He said that we should not be like the hypocrite Pharisees when we pray or give, but rather get into our private room and pray and give in secret, so that the heavenly Father, who sees in secret, would repay us.

Having a secret and private relationship and prayer with the Lord will save us from pretending, and doing things for His glory will save us from seeking our own glory. When we pretend to be someone who we are not, so that others may see us and appreciate us, we live in the principle of Babylon, which is also the principle of the harlot.

Oh Lord Jesus! May the Lord save us from any pretending and falsehood, and may we be what we are, experiencing and enjoying the Lord, so that He would gain His pure and glorious church, His corporate expression!

Considering Ourselves as a Widow because our Husband, Christ, is Absent from Us

As we see in Rev. 18:7, Babylon was not considering herself a widow but she glorified herself and lived luxuriously.

The principle of Babylon is that of not considering ourselves as a widow waiting for the Lord, our bridegroom, but glorifying ourselves and living luxuriously, not according to the principle of need.

The principle of Babylon is that she sits as a queen, lives luxuriously, avoiding sorrow, and enjoying herself. She has no feeling about the Lord Jesus being killed and crucified on the cross, but rather, she lost her faithfulness to Him, and she missed her proper goal.

This is the principle of Babylon, and this is what we see in many places in Christianity today.

What does it mean to consider ourselves a widow? In Matt. 9:14-15 the Lord Jesus told the disciples of John and the Pharisees that His disciples can’t fast while the Bridegroom (Christ Himself) is with them, but when He is no longer there, then they will fast.

When the Lord Jesus was on earth, the disciples rejoiced with Him, for He as the most wonderful and attractive God-man was with them. However, now that the Lord Jesus is not here with us, we as the church should fast toward the world, for we long for His presence, and we want to bring Him back.

We need to maintain the attitude of a widow toward the world; our pleasure and satisfaction is not here in this world, but with our Bridegroom, who is coming soon.

The earth is not our home, and we should not seek happiness here but rather, store our treasures in the heaven, set our eyes on Jesus, turn our heart to Him, appreciate Him, desire Him, and maintain the attitude of a widow here.

Only the believers who have fallen would consider themselves not a widow; in a sense, we the believers in Christ are a widow in the present age because our Husband, Christ, is absent from us (Luke 18:3).

Because our Beloved is not here in the world, our heart is not here.

This doesn’t mean that we should be gloomy and sad, not touching anything of this world because we’re just waiting for the Lord…rather, this means that, as we live here on earth, our heart is with the Lord and in the Lord, and we don’t enjoy the pleasures of this world but rather exercise our spirit, deny the self, and live one spirit with the Lord until we meet Him.

Lord Jesus, save us from being fallen believers who do not consider themselves to be a widow in this age for Christ. We love You, Lord, and our heart is Yours. Because You’re not here with us, we cannot enjoy this world but rather, we turn our heart to You, we behold You, we enjoy You, we find our delight in You, and we want to do what it takes to bring You back! Lord Jesus, You are our lovely Bridegroom, and we are here to be prepared as a bride for You to return and marry!

Not living Luxuriously but According to the Principle of the Need

The principle of Babylon is living luxuriously, having things in excess, and enjoying luxuries. Living luxuriously is living in the lusts of the flesh, according to the principle of Babylon. Paul spoke concerning using the world but not abusing it or using it in excess (1 Cor. 7:31).

There are many things that this world has to offer, and there are many advancements in technology and science that provide a level of luxury for man today. However, according to the Bible, we should live according to the principle of need and not having anything in excess.

Regarding of whether it is food, clothing, or housing, anything that we have in excess or beyond our need, it is luxury, and it is in the principle of Babylon.

We may say that material things don’t affect us, for we love the Lord and His word; however, the principle of Babylon is clear: living luxuriously is something that God hates in His people. Our treasures and pleasure is not here, and we are not here to indulge in the lusts of the flesh or provide an easy and luxurious life for ourselves.

Our living should be according to the principle of need, for this is what the Lord also encouraged us to pray, Give us today’s our daily bread…God knows what we need, but He doesn’t permit things that are beyond our necessity.

If we order our living according to the principle of need, God will bless us; however, if we live according to our own lust, we are in the principle of Babylon, and God will not bless us. This is a very practical application of living according to the principle of Babylon, something which God hates.

We need to realize that, toward the world today, we are like a widow who doesn’t have her Beloved here, and our living today should be according to the principle of need, and not in excess or luxuriously.

We need to check with the Lord concerning the things we own,

Lord, do I really need this tablet? Do I really need a bigger TV? Do I really need a car, or two cars? Show me what my need is. I want to live on earth according to the principle of need, and not in a luxurious way. Lord, You are my blessing, You are my supply, and everything I have is from You and unto You. Give us today our daily bread, and keep us living a life in oneness with You, taking care of our needs so that we may meet Your need and be Your pure bride, Your church, who is not entangled with the things of this world!

The Principle of Babylon is the Principle of a Harlot, but the Church is the Wife of Christ

Babylon is called “the great harlot” (Rev. 17:1) and “THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS” (v. 5). These are strong words, and they may not be that pleasant to speak of.

What is a harlot? A harlot is a woman who has contact with males without a governing principle, without the principle of one wife for one husband. The church is the wife of Christ, and the only Man, the only Husband, for the church is Christ.

However, in Christianity there are other husbands, and the so-called “churches” today take many other names besides the name of Christ. Many believers are “travelling believers”, travelling from one group to another, from one denomination to another.

There’s much confusion and division in Christianity, and the principle of a harlot is very clearly seen there.

We need to realize that there is only ONE CHRIST, there is only ONE CHURCH, there is only ONE HEAD, and there is only ONE BODY. Christ is the one Husband, and the church is the one wife.

There is only one church in this universe, and according to God’s principle in the Bible, there should be only one local church in one locality (see Acts 8:1; 13:1; Rev. 1:11). This is the governing principle of one wife with one husband.

However, the situation today is different: there’s one woman and there’s many men; the woman is Babylon, and there are many doctrines, teachings, spiritual men, and things that the so-called “church” takes as the husband and goes after.

The governing principle of one husband with one wife needs to be kept in regards to the church, otherwise we live in the principle of Babylon, the principle of a harlot.

May we be those who allow the Lord to limit and govern us according to His word and not our preferences, opinions, and inclinations, and may we be the bride, the church that He desires, who keeps the principle of One Wife for One Husband.

Hallelujah, Christ is our Husband, and we are His wife, the church! Lord Jesus, we want to keep the principle of one wife with one husband as seen in the Word. We reject the principle of Babylon, the principle of a harlot. We reject our natural man with its preferences and opinions, and we choose the deny the self with its inclinations and preferences. Lord, we take Your word as our guidance and principle, and we want to be a pure and faithful wife married to Christ, our Beloved Husband!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Ed Marks for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 18, pp. 405-410, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Recovery of the Church (2017 fall ITERO), week 3, The Degradation of the Church – the Principle of Babylon and the Way to Overcome it.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # The Church has waited long, / Her absent Lord to see, / And still in loneliness she waits, / A friendless stranger she. / Age after age has gone, / Sun after sun has set, / And still in weeds of widowhood, / She weeps a mourner yet. (Hymns #961)
  # Dear Lord Jesus, precious Jesus, / Can I tell it all to Thee? / Thou my love and satisfaction, / Thou my everlasting portion; / Thou art all that I desire, / Nothing else I would pursue. (Hymns #1158)
  # She’s the mother of the harlots, Myst’ry, Babylon the Great! / O how all her evil fornication we have learned to hate! / But our God has doubly judged her—this our spirits doth elate. / The victory is won! (Hymns #1101)