The Bridegroom Grooms the Bride

In Rev. 21:2 John wrote, "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Then in verses 9 and 10 we read, "And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God." In the next several verses John describes what he saw and that was the beauty and preciousness of the church's adornment.

When God gave unto Ezekiel the prophet to describe natural Jerusalem and her condition when the Lord entered into covenant with her, it was somewhat typical of the condition of God's bride, the church, new Jerusalem. In Ezek. 16:2 5 we read, "Son of man cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, and say, Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and they mother an Hittite. And as for thy nativity, in the day that thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out into the open field, to the loathing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born." Likewise we who comprise the bride, the Lamb's wife were similarly loathsome. We were dead in trespasses and sins. We walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. We all had our conversation in the lusts of the flesh and we went about fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. We had no righteousness, we did no good, we feared not God nor sought him. We had no understanding nor desire for Spiritual things. We were altogether filthy, and had gone astray. We certainly wouldn't have been considered as being fit to be the bride of the great King. Yet God looked down thru time and looked upon us and it was the time of love. He loved us when we were unlovable and Jesus died for us when we were without strength. The beauty the church has today as the bride of Christ is the beauty her bridegroom gave unto her. In Eph. 5:25 27 we read, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."

Christ loved the church even when she was filthy and polluted and dead in trespasses and sins. Christ loved the church so much that he died for her to redeem her from her sins. As spots in the old testament are a figure of sin, so Christ died to redeem his people from their sins that they might be sinless (spotless) before him. Furthermore, there is no wrinkle in Christ's bride. A wrinkle is caused when there is more skin than area to cover. Yet when we consider the covenant of redemption we see that those Christ foreknew are the same ones he predestinated and the same ones he called and the same ones he justified and the same ones he glorified. There is not the loss of one as he said in John 6:37, "For I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me, and this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but raise it up again the last day." Jesus gives eternal life to as many as the Father gave him. Thus there is no wrinkle. All that God intended to save are saved.

Furthermore, Christ sanctifies and cleans the church. The word,  sanctify, means to set apart. God set us apart in covenant when he  chose us to be his before the foundation of the world. The Holy Spirit sets us apart in regeneration as He quickens us when we were dead in trespasses and sins. Christ set us apart from our sins when he died on the cross to redeem us. His death also cleansed us from our sins and regeneration washes us and give us a clean nature. Also when we follow the teaching of his word we set ourselves apart and cleanse ourselves from an unholy lifestyle. God's election of a people before the foundation of the world had in view those people finally standing before God, holy and without blame before him in love. All of this is brought to pass in accordance with God's covenant of redemption and our end is to be glorified before God.

The Lord has adorned us with his grace, he has washed our robes in his blood and we stand before him as we are complete and perfect thru his making in every detail. The very light of God shines upon us to radiate the bride's beauty. In conclusion, all the bride's glorious beauty comes from the bridegroom who has made her so.