Betrothed to Christ

“I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.” (2 Corinthians 11:1-4 ESV)

Now, first of all I want to talk just a little bit about the Jewish marriage of the Bible, which could have changed since then. From what I understand, the parents of the potential bride and groom got together and agreed on the marriage between their children and then the bride and groom signed a covenant of marriage, which was not to be consummated until the groom first prepared a place for him and his bride to live. Then he came and got her and they had the wedding ceremony and feast, the marriage was then consummated, and now they lived together until one of them died.

And this parallels over to our faith relationship with Jesus Christ. For when we believe in Jesus with God-given faith, and we are crucified with him in death to sin, and we are reborn of the Spirit of God, and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness, we then enter into a covenant of marriage with Jesus Christ. He becomes our husband and we become his bride, but our marriage won’t be consummated to him spiritually speaking until he finishes preparing a place for us and he returns for us, his bride.

So, when Paul said that he betrothed these Christians to Christ, he, in essence, served as the minister who performed the marriage ceremony. He was the one who married them to Christ via his sharing of the gospel with them and them believing in Christ to be Lord and Savior of their lives. And so he was jealous for them with a godly jealousy, for he was concerned that they were in danger of or that they literally were already committing spiritual adultery against the Lord Jesus by the mere fact that they were tolerating the teaching of a false gospel and a false Jesus.

And this is what we are being faced with in America today, too. For so many people in America who profess Jesus as their Lord and Savior are indeed putting up with and are accepting of a half-truth (lie) false gospel and a half-truth (false) Jesus. For the gospel message that the Scriptures teach and the divine character of Jesus Christ are both being altered and diluted and misrepresented today to make Jesus and his gospel more socially acceptable and appealing to human flesh and to the ungodly. And Jesus and his gospel are being misrepresented much via movies and TV shows and cartoons.

So, what we have are many people who are teaching that we can believe (not usually biblically defined) in Jesus, have all our sins forgiven (past, present, and future), and have heaven guaranteed us when we die, but regardless of how we live. Therefore we have many people professing faith in Christ who have not been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and who have not been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer living as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. So, they are still living in deliberate and habitual slavery to sin and are not free.

But Jesus taught that if anyone would come after him that he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self we will lose them for eternity. But if for the sake of Jesus we die with him to sin that we might live to him and to his righteousness, then we have eternal life. And Jesus said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the ones DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23; Romans 6:1-23).

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

Betrothed to Christ

Video Talk

June 5, 2023

https://youtu.be/BaCeR7cDvr4 

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What the Lord Says  

An Original Work / February 24, 2014 

Based off Isaiah 43:1-44:5

This is what the Lord says to you:

Fear not, for I have chosen you.

I have summoned you by your name.

You are mine. I died, you to save.

When you go through your trials, so deep,

I will be with you; you will not sink.

You are so precious always to me.

Trust in your Lord, Savior and King.

This is what the Lord says to you:

He who gave salvation to you;

Who delivered you from your sin;

Takes your burdens now upon Him:

Forget the former things of your life.

Give of your heart not now up to strife.

See all the new things I have for you.

Walk in vict’ry. Trust in what’s true.

This is what the Lord says to you:

He who made you; who will help you:

Do not fear what humans may do.

Walk in freedom. Follow what’s true.

Drink of my Spirit given for you.

Trust in my mercy, for I love you.

I have a plan for all of your life.

Follow my ways. Do what is right. 

https://vimeo.com/87634334