In John 3:29 John the Baptist declared, “He who has the bride is the bridegroom.” Revelation 19:7 says, “His wife has made herself ready.” The readiness of the bride depends on the maturity in life of the overcomers. Furthermore, the overcomers are not separate individuals but a corporate bride. For this, building is needed. We need not only to mature in life but also to be built up together as one bride.
Revelation 19:8 says, “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.” The word righteousnesses in this verse is plural and can also be translated as “righteous acts.” These righteousnesses do not refer to Christ as our righteousness, whom we received for our salvation (1 Cor. 1:30). The righteousness we received for our salvation is objective and enables us to meet the requirement of the righteous God. The righteousnesses of the overcoming saints in Revelation 19:8 are subjective (Phil. 3:9) and enable them to meet the requirements of the overcoming Christ. Hence, the fine linen indicates our overcoming life, our overcoming living. The fine linen is the Christ whom we live out of our being.
The fine linen with which the overcoming believers are clothed is equal to the wedding garment in Matthew 22:11-12. According to the revelation of the Scriptures, the believers need two garments—one for their salvation and one for their reward. For our salvation we need a robe to cover us. This robe is the robe that was put on the prodigal son in Luke 15. Upon his return, the prodigal son said to his father, “I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (v. 21). But the father said to his slaves, “Bring out quickly the best robe and put it on him” (v. 22). This robe signifies Christ as our righteousness for us to be justified by God in His presence. All believers in Christ have this robe, the first robe, Christ as our righteousness, our justification, which enables us to stand before the righteous God.
However, we also need the second garment, which is the wedding garment in Matthew 22:11-12 and the fine linen in Revelation 19:8. This garment is not for our salvation; rather, it is for our reward and qualifies us to attend the wedding feast of the Lamb. The first garment qualifies us to meet God for our salvation; the second garment qualifies us to meet Christ for our reward. The second garment is the work of the Holy Spirit within us. It is the very Christ whom we live and who is expressed through us in our daily living. This is the righteousnesses of the saints (v. 8).
The second garment is also the surpassing righteousness in Matthew 5:20. In this verse the Lord Jesus said, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens.” This righteousness is not objective righteousness, the Christ whom we receive as our robe for our salvation. It is subjective righteousness, the Christ whom we live out as our daily living. In Christ, who is our righteousness, we have been justified and saved. But after receiving Christ, we need to live Him out. We need to live by Christ so that He becomes our subjective righteousness. This subjective righteousness qualifies us to participate in the marriage dinner of the Lamb.
Revelation 3:4-5 and 18 speak of white garments. In verses 4 and 5 the Lord said to the church in Sardis that those “who have not defiled their garments...will walk with Me in white” and that the overcomers will be clothed in “white garments.” This refers to the garment for the wedding feast. In verse 18 the Lord advised the church in Laodicea to buy from Him “white garments.” These verses show that the second garment is emphasized in the book of Revelation. If we do not have this garment—the fine linen, bright and clean—we will miss the marriage dinner of the Lamb.
Revelation 19:9 says, “Blessed are they who are called to the marriage dinner of the Lamb.” The marriage dinner of the Lamb is the wedding feast in Matthew 22:2. Only the overcomers will be called to the marriage dinner as a reward to them; not all the saved ones will participate in it. The five foolish virgins in Matthew 25:8-13 will miss the marriage dinner. However, after being dealt with by the Lord in the kingdom age, they will participate in the New Jerusalem for eternity. Hence, to be called, invited to the marriage dinner of Christ, which will usher the overcoming believers into the enjoyment of the millennium, is to be blessed. The overcoming believers, those who will be called to the marriage dinner of the Lamb, will also be the bride of the Lamb. This means that the bride and the guests will be the same persons. Therefore, at His coming back Christ will marry the overcoming believers as His bride.
In the completing stage of God’s full salvation the overcoming believers will be called to the marriage dinner of the Lamb and will be the bride of Christ. The marriage of the Lamb is the issue of the completion of God’s New Testament economy. God’s economy in the New Testament is to obtain for Christ a bride, the church, through the redemption of Christ and the divine life. By the continual working of the Holy Spirit through all the centuries, this goal will surely be attained at the end of this age.
The overcoming believers, those who have made themselves ready, will be called to the marriage dinner of the Lamb and will be His bride. The readiness of the bride depends on the maturity in life of the overcomers. These overcoming saints will be clothed with Christ as the “fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints” (Rev. 19:8). The fine linen indicates our overcoming life, our overcoming living, which is the Christ whom we live out of our being. The fine linen with which the overcoming believers are clothed is equal to the wedding garment in Matthew 22:11-12. According to the revelation of the Scriptures, the believers need two garments—one for salvation and one for reward. For salvation, we need a robe to cover us. This robe is signified by the robe put on the prodigal son in Luke 15. However, we also need the second garment, which is the wedding garment in Matthew 22:11-12 and the fine linen in Revelation 19:8, for our reward. This second garment qualifies us to attend the marriage dinner of the Lamb. The second garment is the work of the Holy Spirit within us. It is the very Christ whom we live and who is expressed through us in our daily living. This garment is the righteousnesses of the saints in Revelation 19:8, the surpassing righteousness in Matthew 5:20, and the white garments in Revelation 3:4-5 and 18. If we do not have this second garment—the fine linen, bright and clean—we will miss the marriage dinner of the Lamb. Blessed are those who are called to the marriage dinner, the wedding feast, of the Lamb. Only the overcomers, not all the saved ones, will be invited to the wedding feast as a reward to them. Furthermore, the marriage dinner will usher the overcoming believers into the enjoyment of the millennium.