Those who regard it as heretical to speak of God having a wife know the Bible only in a superficial way. They have not touched the depths of the Word. In order to know anything, we must know the depths of that thing. This is also true, as we have indicated, of knowing a person. If you merely know my outward appearance, not the depths of my being, you do not actually know me.
Today few preach what is in the depths of the Bible. They only talk about what is on the surface, the feathers or the skin. They do not serve the meat of the Word to others. But if you are invited to someone’s home for a turkey dinner, do they serve you the feathers and the skin? Certainly not! You will be served with the meat of the turkey. However, many Christians today are not being served with meat. Only the feathers and the skin are being set before them.
We should not be fully satisfied with any kind of teaching or preaching that does not serve the meat of the Bible. Do not give too much credit to those who only present the feathers and the skin. What we urgently need is to touch the depths of the Bible.
The God revealed in Genesis 1:1 is a “bachelor” God. We may also say that He is the unprocessed God, the “raw” God. The sixty-six books of the Bible reveal the process through which the “single” God has passed. First He created the heavens and the earth as the environment for this process. One day God was incarnated; He was born of a virgin in Bethlehem. Certainly this was part of the process. If you do not regard this as a process, what would you call it? Through the process of incarnation, God became a little child. Isaiah 9:6 says that the name of the child born to us was the mighty God. The One who was born in a manger in Bethlehem and who grew up in the home of a carpenter in Nazareth was the very mighty God.
The Lord Jesus lived there in Nazareth, a small town, for thirty years. Then He came forth to minister. No one really understood Him. Those who thought they knew Him said, “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” (Matt. 13:55-56). They were not able to understand where He gained “this wisdom and these works of power” (Matt. 13:54).
Eventually, the Lord Jesus went to the cross. Apparently when He died on the cross, He alone died on that cross. But in the sight of God, the entire universe, the whole old creation, died with Him. Christ’s death was all-inclusive, for this death terminated everything. After the Lord Jesus was crucified, He was buried in a tomb. Then He took a tour of Hades, the realm of the dead. On the third day Christ resurrected bodily and spiritually. Now, in resurrection, He is the life-giving Spirit.
As the life-giving Spirit, Christ is all-inclusive. This Spirit includes divinity, humanity, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection. In this Spirit we have the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, even the seven Spirits. Because this Spirit contains the reality of every positive thing, we say that the Spirit is all-inclusive.
The compound ointment in Exodus 30 is a type of this all-inclusive Spirit. This ointment was composed of olive oil and four kinds of spices. The olive oil typifies the Spirit of God. The ointment, however, was constituted not only of oil; it was made of oil to which four spices had been added. These spices typify Christ in His humanity with His crucifixion and resurrection. The olive oil and the spices were mingled to produce an ointment. This ointment typifies the Spirit.
The olive oil was single; it was not all-inclusive. However, the ointment was all-inclusive, as signified by the fact that it was compounded of a number of elements. In Genesis 1 the Spirit of God likewise was single, but in Revelation 22 the Spirit is all-inclusive.
The Spirit is the ultimate expression of the Triune God. This Spirit includes all that Christ has achieved, attained, and obtained. This all-inclusive Spirit also includes all that Christ is. Furthermore, this Spirit has a counterpart, an increase, an addition. This means that the Spirit has something to match Him. God is no longer single, no longer a bachelor, for He has a bride to match Him. For this reason, the consummate revelation in the Bible is that of the all-inclusive Spirit with the bride.
The term “the Spirit” is short and simple, containing just two words. However, this simple title is all-inclusive. The Spirit comprises all that the Triune God is, all that He has accomplished, and all that He has achieved, obtained, and attained. This Spirit also includes the process through which the Triune God has passed. Because God has passed through a long process and because the Spirit is His ultimate expression, Revelation 22:17 does not say, “God and the church”; it says, “The Spirit and the bride.”
If we would be qualified to be the Lord’s bride, we must grow and pass through many things. Being the bride involves more than being the church. For example, a little girl is not qualified to be a bride. Before she can be a bride, she must grow to maturity. She must also attend school and learn many things. Then a man will choose her for his bride.
Different men may have different standards concerning whom they will consider for a wife. For example, someone with a doctoral degree may want a bride with a high education. He would regard anyone with less than a master’s degree as unqualified to be his bride. Likewise, the Spirit has very high requirements for His bride. Will the Spirit take a bride who is immature? Surely, the answer is no. The Lord will not come for His bride until she is mature and fully prepared for Him.
Do not think that as long as we are the church, we are qualified to be the bride. This is similar to saying that any female, regardless of age or maturity, is qualified to be married. No, certain requirements must be fulfilled in order for us to be the bride. It is easy for Christians to say that we are all the church. But when the Lord Jesus comes as the Bridegroom, will we be qualified to be His bride? The Lord may tell us at that time that we are not yet qualified, that we need further growth and maturity. This understanding of the Bridegroom and the bride is according to the revelation of the holy Word.
Many Christians have been cheated and even drugged by teachings that go no further than the feathers and skin in the Word. Oh, we must see the depths of the truths the Lord has revealed from His Word to His recovery! How I thank Him that He has opened His Word to reveal what is found in the depths! I praise the Lord for this. I can testify that I treasure the words, “the Spirit and the bride.” When I read of this in Revelation 22:17, I want to leap for joy. I can testify that I earnestly desire to be included as part of the Lord’s bride. Is this not your desire also?
But do you have the assurance that you will be included as part of the bride? Are you content merely to attend the church meetings as a so-called Sunday-goer? I do not believe that anyone who is merely a Sunday-goer can be part of the Lord’s bride. When the time comes for the Lord to take His bride, will you be ready? Will you be qualified and matured? Will it be necessary for the Lord to say to you, “I saved you, but you have not yet grown”? We all need to grow and mature so that we may be qualified at the Lord’s coming to be included as part of His bride.