THE BRIDE

THE BRIDE

I am through the Lord’s goodness very much interested here. The subject I have before me is the formation and calling of the bride. As far as I see, no one can truly say, “Come”, that is, that Christ should come and reign, not the rapture merely, who is not in heart the bride. The value of the church — the bride — to Christ, as you see from all the types of her in the Old Testament is, that she is a comfort to Him, and His helpmeet now, in this — the time of His rejection. No one can understand Christ’s interests now who is not in conscious union with Him. There is an immense deal of service which is not in concert with His mind at the moment. This concert cannot be known but as He is known as Head, and He cannot be known as Head but as we are dead to the world....

I must make one more remark. We know Christ, whether as High Priest with relation to ourselves, as risen from the dead outside of man, or in the assembly with ^[p. 93] relation to Himself, as risen from the dead outside of man; but when you come to Him as Head you must be dead to the world; then you enter on His circle, the christian circle, and thus you begin to be in His tastes and His motives, for He is your life. He not merely gives you life, but Christ is your life, so His tastes and motives must be yours.

It is a much greater grace that He liveth in you, that He is your life, than that He gives you life; and you can at once see that if He is your life, you are, as a consequence in His circle of things, not only outside of man, but outside of the world.

I heartily desire that you may enjoy this blessed concert with the Lord. What I desire for myself I desire for you. I am not discouraged because I know so little of it, for I see that I am called to it by the grace of God. The Lord bless you much.