His Inheritance Ministries

REV 19:8 And to her [the Bride of Christ] it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.  

In the Scriptures, “fine linen” symbolizes purity and holiness.

RIGHTEOUS ACTS

What are these righteous acts?  Anything born out of the fruit of the Spirit!

GAL 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Fine linen was used in the garments of the Old Testament priests who were there to intercede for the people of God.  That should be our role as well for now true Christians are priests!  

REV 5:10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”

Intercession is love in action!

FIne linen is the righteous acts.

We are righteous by the the blood of the Lamb:

2 COR 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

However, the “acts” is a plural form. This most likely means more than faith in Christ Jesus, but that is the start. The acts are what we do for Christ!

ROM 8:16 (KJV) The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.

A husband and bride share, somewhat like joint-heirs, but there’s an “IF” there! “… if so be that we suffer with Him…” Everyone suffers in this life, but suffering with Him is suffering for the cause of Christ!

Who has suffered for the cause of Christ? People who make a confession of faith on their death bed? Do they have time to “suffer for Him”?

The ones whose soil was on “rocky ground” receive the word with joy. But “when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.” Has he suffered for Christ? This passage says he does not.

In this “Parable of the Sower”, all but the first one (Matt 13:19) receive eternal life. However, the last “good soil” (Matt 13:23) one was fruitful!

God is merciful to grant us eternal life to all “who call on the name of the LORD”.

But I don’t think every one who has faith in the Messiah is necessarily the Bride of Christ!

BELIEVERS & THE BRIDE

The above Scripture, Romans 8:16, is the one that caused me to think. There are other students of Scripture that have drawn this same conclusion: that every believer is NOT the Bride of Christ.

Maybe I’m not right about this. Maybe every believer is the Bride of Christ. But maybe some believers would try to draw closer to the LORD through this article!

The Scriptures that seem to support the idea that every believer is the bride may have been written to encourage Christians in that relationship. Believers may all have the same opportunity to be the Bride of Christ. The potential to move into this loving relationship with our Messiah, one of spiritual intimacy as portrayed in the Song of Solomon, is what we should all seek! I pray you will be one!

WHO ARE THE GUESTS?

There do seem to be other Scriptures to support this idea that every believer is not the Bride of Christ.

First, there is the idea that there is the Bride and there are the guests!

REV 19:9a Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” 

Everyone who attends the wedding is blessed to be there!

Another wedding parable that the LORD taught when He was here on earth also seems to show that there is a difference between the Bride and the guests:

MATT 22:1 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. 4 Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ’ … 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ 10 So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.

The LORD is calling people to this magnificent wedding – the wedding of all time! These people are being called out from all over the globe. These people you would never expect to be called to such a beautiful wedding! Witches, murderers, drug addicts, prostitutes, even terrorists are professing faith in Christ!

Yet the guests need to be dressed for a wedding! (Matthew 22:11-12) It was generally the father (signifying God) of the bride or groom that supplied the wedding garments! How appropriate! The Father graciously provides the garments!

Speaking spiritually, the wedding garment signifies salvation in Christ. One must be born of the Spirit for no one enters the kingdom of God without a heavenly birth from above! The king (God) has or is inviting all to the wedding feast, but any man refusing to wear the appropriate garment symbolizes the rejection of salvation!

JOHN 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Saved, yet so as through fire

This is another Scripture that seems to support the idea that every believer is not the Bride of Christ.

1 COR 3:11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.


This person who will suffer loss but is saved does not sound like a joint-heir with Christ!  This does not sound like it represents the Bride!

FINALE

We take our precious lives and squander them away through incidentals – things that do not have a lasting impact; things that have no eternal value to them.

There is a poem written by a missionary, and the bottom line of every verse reads:

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

I urge you to draw close to the LORD for it is He who is our truest friend and our Redeemer who died in our place. Hopefully, we will be clothed in fine linen as we approach Him as His Bride!

And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”

REV 22:17a

Be Still, My Soul

Be still, my soul, be now renewed
Refreshing comes down as morning dew
Be still, my soul, communion is sweet
Precious the time at my Savior’s feet.

Be still, my soul, drink in His pure love
Refreshing new wine from heaven above
Be still, my soul, in Him is your rest
In His sweet Presence, oh, how I am blessed!

Lead me, dear Shepherd, to that Holy Place
Seat of your mercy, the throne of Your grace
There, and there only, Your beauty unfolds
My soul cries, “Holy! Be still here, my soul!

© 1993 HIM/CAVenable

This song and other Christian music by Carolyn Anne Venable may be heard on Spotify, Pandora, Apple and other music apps. 

Scriptures mostly using New King James Version unless noted.

NOTE: Old Testament saints as the Bride of Christ: The Mysterious Bride

NOTE: We also see “linen” in an earthly context. This is seen in Rev 18:12 but according to the context is just earthly, as this is the whore of Babylon. The whore of Babylon has earthly wealth but the Bride of Christ has spiritual wealth in heavenly places.