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NORTHERN STYLE
CREDO
` I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present
you as a pure virgin to Him.' 2 Corinthians 11:2
The theme of this Credo comes from the writings of one of England's foremost poets, T.S.Elliot, who although born in America early `adopted' England as his home. The full sentence sets the basis for what follows in this Credo:
" The past is a distant country;
they do things differently there. "
Over the past 40 years there has been, and increasingly so in the past decade of the 21st century, a massive change in the low culture of the Western European nations (although here we would limit our words to these Brittanic Isles). A modern expression, `social engineering', captures this understanding - from the clerics in their pulpits to the politicians in Parliament, through the whole gambit of `the arts' in its many forms of literature, theatre, films, music and song - this social engineering has permeated every aspect of the `recent past' low in popular culture of these Isles, to the point where it can be said that a `social revolution' has taken place.
A predominant feature of this social revolution is in the torrent of `words' that flood the airways of modern life, but we need not fill space here in describing the many vehicles of those words. Who can escape the mobile phone, the computer, Twitter and Face Book and the IPod, with minds conditioned by endless music and yet more words as people go through the day-to-day task of shopping? In this continuous flood of words there has been a subtle change of the meaning of many words, as once understood in `the past, a distant country'. Such subtlety has to be used if the people are to continuously accept the social engineering that has taken place. The word `subtlety' has a meaning of `an evasive, mysterious charm and perception, a cleverness of mind not generally found in people concerned with their daily round of life'. Once the core meaning of a word is destroyed, it can then be opened and widened beyond its original meaning and so enter into low or popular culture - thus enabling the politicians to enshrine the change in law.
We have written in a previous Credo of these changes, and in particular the commonly held, but incorrect, view that the culture of the Western nations has become secularised, setting out the correct understanding of `the Sacred and the Secular', the two pillars which uphold all communities. The one was to hold in tension the other, but the change that has taken place is to remove the sacred from the culture of Western civilisation. Once the Sacred, once God, has been removed, there is no check . . no restraint . . on the morality of the people, leading to the destruction of the civilisation. Western civilisation, and in particular that of these Brittanic Isles, is now in that situation - and within the context of this Credo, nowhere is this destruction of a civilisation, through the subtle change of a word, more clearly seen than in the word `marriage'!
In an earlier Credo `A Tale of Two Cities', we drew upon the writings of Edmund Burke, a polemic writer of the 18th century. Fearful of what he saw in the French Revolution, and concerned that it would spread into England, he reminded the British people in his `Reflection on the Revolution in France' of the core beliefs of English culture:
" We begin our public affection in our families . . . we pass on to our neighbourhood and our habitiual provincial communities. These are inns and resting places. Such divisions of our country, as have been formed by habit and not by sudden jerk of authority, were so many little images of the great country in which the heart found something which it could fill. "
Burke understood the tension between the sacred and the secular; one needed the other for stability, and he saw this clearly within the Scriptural understanding of a marriage union':
" For this reason a man will leave his father and
mother and be united to his wife . . . . "
In the secular sense, a marriage between a man and a woman was seen as a sight of the sacred, intended by God to reveal His intention of a union with Christ Jesus. The marriage, once consummated, would bring forth children who, once brought up and prepared, would be finally released by their own marriage into the community, eventuallly expanding into a nation, thus revealing God's intention of forming the Family of God - the Sacred and the Secular held in tension and revealing God's intent and purpose indeed in the past decade:
" The past is a distant country;
they do things differently there. "
The word `marriage', with its core meaning of `a union between a man and a woman before God, a reflection of the sacred and the secular', has been debased, and this is seen not only in the popular culture of the people but has also entered `Church life'. In the Church's desire to `serve the people' there is the danger of it increasingly becoming the religious extention of State Social Services! With this background in place we can (as we regularly say) `at last turn to Scripture'.
Perhaps the most beautiful recording of a Betrothal is seen in Genesis 24 with the account of Abraham sending his un-named servant back to his country to find a wife for his son Isaac from amongst his own people, and in verse 50 we find Laban and Bethuel agreeing to send Rebekah back with him. Historical custom confirms that a Betrothal was an occasion for a feast and a time when legal agreements concerning a dowry and other such things would be made. This can be seen in Genesis 29 verses 22-27 where we find the marriage of Jacob and Leah recorded, and earlier in Genesis 2 verses 20-25 we see recorded the foundation for such a custom: There was a time of waiting only for the consummation of that Betrothal, then the man would have asked (and agreed with her father or the male head of her family) for this woman in marriage. When permission was given this would have been an occasion for joy. There would be a Covenant meal, a public declaration of the terms of the Covenant, and then the sealing of the Covenant by blood to make it permanent in man's and God's sight.
Such Scriptures as these give us the understanding of what constitutes a marriage - a Covenant between a man and a woman before God, a joining of the sacred and the secular into a one-flesh relationship. As Paul, writing to the Ephesians, said: (Ephesians 5:31-32)
" For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and be united
with his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound
mystery - but I am talking about Christ and the Church. "
Paul was of course drawing from Scripture what was in the first instance referring to Israel, God's Treasured Possession, and in his Letter to the Ephesians he was extending this `mystery' to His Treasured Possession in the Church - but not to the exclusion of His earlier Treasured Possession!
As we have said previously, this is most beautifully recorded in the Book of Deuteronomy, which has been called `the Gospel of Love', and in its pages we san see how God feels for the nation of people He called out of Egypt. In the first four Books of Torah we see God choosing a nation for His purposes, but here in Deuteronomy (the fifth Book of Torah) we see God setting before them what He has done for them, asking Israel to chose Him as their God, with all that that expression conveys. No longer is it to be a one-way directional leading - God is now requiring a people who will be obedient, who will respond to what He has revealed to them because of their love for Him. God is looking for a relationship with a chosen people - a communicating people who know Him as their Protector and Provider. To fully understand the message of this book it needs to be read through in a continuous reading, keeping in mind all that has preceded it and been recorded in the earlier Books of the Law of Moses. This was a new generation with a new leader, and Moses was reminding them of all that had gone before, pointing back to God's faithfulness in all those years in order to give assurance to those assembled of the total fulfillment of all He has covenanted with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. If we can see the Book of Deuteronomy as a Gospel of Love we shall more easily be able to pick up the message contained in this most beautiful of the Books of Torah, for it expresses a relationship God has with the nation of Israel which resounds through all the following Books of the Bible. It also explains much of what at times might seem to be God's harsh treatment of the Hebrew nation!
To see this we would look briefly at the framework of the Book of Deuteronomy and then we shall be able to understand more fully the words of Deuteronomy 10:12-13:
" And now, O Israel, what does the LORD our God ask of you but to fear the
LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD
your God with all your heart and all your soul, and to observe the
LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good. "
The framework of Deuteronomy is based upon a form of the treaty in common use between a victorious king and his subjugated people in Mosaic times. The purpose of the treaty used in this way was to secure the people's total and continuous allegiance, grouped under the headship of a vassal king to a more powerful king who had at his disposal all the power and authority to maintain the treaty. The wording of the treaty was often flambuoyant and colourful, portraying a superior authority which had the power to ensure obedience whilst yet preferring a respectful obedience through reverence, fear and awe. The treaty would commonly take the form of an introductory preamble, bringing out the name and authority of the superior king who was expecting unconditional obedience. Then would come the setting out of how the two parties to the treaty came into contact, and the record would include the developing relationship which had brought them to the point of making the treaty, this being read out to the vassal king and his people. There would be a listing of the conditions both parties would be expected to keep in order to receive and maintain the beneficial provisions contained in the treaty - and as these treaties were made between pagan nations there would now follow a list of gods and deities who would be invoked to witness the treaty being set out before them. There would then follow a listing of the blessings that would flow to the vassal king and his people if the terms and conditions were met, but of special importance would be the list of curses (or, in more understandable terms, the calamities) that would come upon the vassal king and his subjects if they did not fulfil the terms of the treaty. The vassal king would therefore be ever watchful, knowing that the superior king had all the power and authority to enforce the terms of the treaty!
If we look with this understanding at the Covenant of God contained in the Books of the Law we shall find that most of these treaty conditions are set out - but this time the superior King is God Himself, the other parties being such people as Abraham. In this Book there is seen the framework of a classical treaty historically used amongst the nations surrounding the area of Biblical history. However, in the amazing Book of Deuteronomy we find one other ingredient - that of God's love for His vassal people! God had chosen His people, not subjugated them by war . . . He had forged them into a nation . . . He had allowed the generation of unbelief to die in the wilderness . . . He had now led them to the very borders of His Promised Land . . . and He asked only for their love! `Love the LORD your God and keep His requirements, His decrees, His laws and HIs commands always' (11:1). But the additional ingredients of love and respectful obedience in the Book of Deuteronomy reveals this to be more than a treaty between a vassal king and a superior King! It reveals the deep abiding love of a God who is entering into a conditional Contract or Covenant, based on mutual love between the two parties - to be seen in the marriage contracts or covenants that were in use in the nations of that area at that time. As such, it shows the relationship that God was establishing here with His chosen people, the nation of Israel. These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel `on this side of the Jordan', and this is the Covenant the people of Israel entered into with their God: (Deuteronomy 26:17-19 and 27:9)
" You have declared this day that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in His ways, that you will keep His decrees, commands and laws, and that you will obey Him. And the LORD has declared this day that you are His people, His treasured possession as He promised, and that you are to keep all His commands. He has declared that He will set you in praise, fame and honour high above all the nations He has made and that you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as He promised . . . . . Then Moses and the priests, who are Levites, said to all the people: `Be silent, O Israel, and listen! You have now become the people of the LORD your God'. "
This is the message of the Book of Deuteronomy! It is a love relationsip springing from a marriage relationship between God and the nation of Israel! This, then is `the past (which) is a distant country' which formed the understanding of the Covenant of Marriage and is the `core' of our English word `marriage'.
God talks of a `one-flesh' relationship, two becoming one and yet each one retaining their own personality, loving and receiving together in mutual love and respect. This relationship is not a co-habitation but a union! This is the relationship between God and His people that the Holy Spirit is outworking! In Hebrew thought - and it must be understood that the Bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit through Hebrew scribes - marriage was not a co-habitation, nor a casual journey to the local church for a ceremony. The bride was chosen and a betrothal (or to use the more familiar term, an engagement) was announced. There would be a betrothal feast (engagement party) and rings would be exchanged as a sign of an unbroken relatonship from that time forward. (Most people today will not know that until only a short time ago, under English law a broken engagement could result in a Court action in which the rejected betrothed sought an award in cash or property as compensation.) The betrothal feast would be followed by a period in which the bride prepared herself for the forthcoming marriage and the `bottom drawer' was prepared. Finally, the bridegroom would come for his wife, vows to God would be made before the assembled people, a marriage feast would follow and then would come the consummation of the marriage.
However, in Scriptural thought, and in God's sight, marriage begins upon betrothal. Legally (and we have just seen that that was so until very recently in English law) the bridegroom and his bride were considered to be married from the time of the betrothal - yet not fully married until the consummation. So it is with the Bride of the Lamb! The Bride is chosen . . . the Betrothal arranged . . . the Marriage Covenant entered into . . . and so we find ourselves waiting for the Consummation.
And so we now turn our thoughts from the Betrothal to the Covenant of Marriage.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
` For this reason a man will leave his father and mother
and be united to his wife, and the two will become one '
Ephesians 5:31
The apostle Paul, writing in his Letter to the Romans, in his concluding remarks alludes to ` . . my Gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past . .' (16:25). He then reveals the fulness of this `mystery' in his great doctrinal Epistle to the Ephesians, which is our `standing' in Christ Jesus as His Body, which is the Church. In the closing words of chapter 5 Paul reveals the intimacy of these words - writing of the relationship between `wives and husbands': (5:31-32)
" For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united
to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound
mystery - but I am talking about Christ and the Church. "
No mature believer today can consider such clear words as `type' or `allegory', for to do so would leave such a mystery open to relative interpretations. Such words are meant to be understood and outworked as a representation of a fact. Marriage between two believers in Christ - a covenanted relationship made unto God and, as with all covenanted relationships, sealed by blood - is a living reality, of the sacred and the secular, of the unbreakable covenanted relationship between Christ and His Church. Therefore, divorce between believers is a `tearing apart' of that living representation between Christ and His Church - unthinkable and impossible! A separation may well come about through sin - as we know only too well when we tangibly feel a separation from God following personal sin - but that separation always works to bring about a complete restoration of a one-flesh relationship, for who can tear his own body apart, which is the standing of a one-flesh relationship found in marriage.
Such acts, when they occur, weaken the Body of Christ and reveal scant regard for and belief in the Truth of Scripture - that `all Scripture is God-breathed'. If we are truly `buried in Christ through baptism into His death and raised to new life through the glory of the Father' (our paraphrase of part of Romans 6) then within the covenanted act of marriage there is the reality of the fact of the mystery of the Body of Christ. If Christians through divorce seek to destroy that representation of the fact, they show by their actions that they no longer believe in the fact that they are part of the Body of Christ and consequently turn fact into allegory, with the danger that they no longer accept that they are buried with Christ and raised to new life thorugh the glory of the Father! Selah!
An old song goes: `You can't have one without the other', and the three great doctrinal
Epistles reveal this truth:
Our position in Christ (Romans) . . our standing in Christ (Ephesians) . . that we are forever in Christ (Thessalonians). Those who seek `relative interpretations' of Scripture must surely `pause and consider' (Selah) very carefully such thoughts.
In this Credo we are of course considering the subtle changing of the core meaning of words over a long period of time, leading to the debasing of the culture of a community of people which has crept into the `life of the Church', assimilated as it is into `the world'. Within this understanding of a subtle change in the core meaning of words, and in particular the marriage covenant, we would mention the increasing use of a Civil Registrar in marriage ceremonies, sometimes followed by a `blessing' in a Church Fellowship or Assembly. The formalising of a marriage by a Civil Registrar must by law have no religious or spiritual content in the wording of the marriage act. This omission turns a Marriage Covenant between a man and a woman before God into a Marriage Contract before Civil Law. A following `blessing' in Church merely `blesses' a Marriage Contract - and in legal terms a contract can be broken if either one of the partners breaks the terms of the contract. Divorce in these terms is but the breaking of a Contract, and as seen in Civil Law is of little consequence is therefore easily accepted by Civil Courts. If marriage now becomes a `contract', legally such a contract can be made by people of either or the same sex - and without wishing to cause our readers offense, between even humans and animals! (In fact, as perhaps might be expected, a London theatre recently staged a play, to much acclaim, of an emotional relationship between a man and a goat.) Indeed `the past is a distant country'!
As we have said, by removing the Sacred and leaving only the Secular in the culture of Western civilizations, the Marriage Covenant is being replaced by a Marriage Contract, easily broken by divorce if the terms of the contract are broken. Sadly this `subtle change' has crept into the Family of God, leaving us no option at this point but to bring into this Credo the contentious matter of Divorce, the breaking of a Marriage Contract. This is particularly seen when true believers, faced with personal circumstances within the Covenanted Bond of Marriage, immediately turn to the passage of Scripture in Matthew 5 (and again in Mark and Luke) where the so-called `exception clause' is set out - with the inevitable onward march into interpreting that `clause' to suit the purpose of their own Contract. Matthew 5 is set within the so-called Beatitudes, and in verse 17 Jesus is recorded as saying: `Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law and the Prophets . . . I have come not to abolish but to fulfil them'. Such words should give us the immediate understanding of the `attitudes' of which He was speaking. The setting of Matthew 5 is clear: (v1)
" Now when He saw the crowds, He went up on a mountain and sat down.
His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them, saying . . . "
Then for those who saw in Him the long-awaited Messiah who was promised to the people of the Law, the gathered of Israel, it is revealed in the opening verses: `Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven'. As we have said, Jesus clearly stated that He came not to abolish the Law but fulfil it' - and we need to look at the word `fulfil', which has the simple meaning of `to accomplish all the objectives (of the Law)'. The Gospels as such are the fulfillment of the promises spoken to the Jewish nation, as seen in Genesis 3: `He will crush your head and you will strike His heel'. The Law (of Moses) and the Prophets all testify to the Person of Promise, the One who will bear the sins of many and make intercession for transgressions. In the Gospels Jesus was speaking to Jews who were under the Law of Moses until the time when He became `the sacrifice for many'. He was not speaking to those who would later be `buried in Christ and raised to new life in Him', as Paul records in his Letter to the Romans. The `exception clause' of Matthew 5 (and others) must therefore be understood within that context, for it is spoken only to those under the Mosaic Law. Christians who take such words as found in the Gospels and apply them to the `doctrinal life in the Spirit' are placing themselves under the Mosaic Law (and that was never intended for Gentiles). By doing so they are, without understanding it, denying their new life in the Risen Glorified Lord Jesus - in effect they are saying that they are needing and still waiting for salvation!
One of the greatest problems for the Church over the centuries is that of placing the Gospels in a section of the Bible called `the New Testament'. The page headed in that way was inserted by man, and as such was not inspired and should be ripped out of every believer's Bible, for by being there it has brought the Mosaic Law into the Life of the Church of the Redeemed, with `Church teaching' thus attempting to combine the Law with the Spirit. An impossibility! Little wonder, then, there is weakness and conflict within the Church! But we move on to Matthew 19 where the words of Jesus are stated again . . and extended. The setting is once again one of crowds following Him, with the addition of `some Pharisees (who) came to Him to test Him (trick Him). They asked: Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason . . .' This was not a genuine question of curiosity. The Pharisees had come to test Him in matters of the Mosaic Law, for they, as Pharisees, were very zealous in matters of Mosaic Law - as we read in this passage of Scripture. You will find no mention of the so-called `exception clause' in this question, only of divorce for any and every cause, for the Pharisees knew that according to the Law adultery and fornication were punishable by stoning, not by divorce! Jesus replied: `Moses permitted divorce because of the hardness of your heart, but it was not so in the beginning'. Knowing the Pharisees' attempt to trick Him over the matters of the Law He answered their unspoken `trick' question and extended His answer beyond the Mosaic Law to that which was intended by God in the beginning:
" I tell you the truth, that anyone who divorces his wife except for `porneria',
and marries another woman commits adultery. "
The disciples knew what was spoken here by Jesus - as can be seen by their reaction: `If this is the situation . . . it is best not to marry'.
And so we come to the word `porneria' which, as we have already said, did not mean `adultery' within the context of the test question of the Pharisees. Porneria has a meaning of `any unclean sexual act', and within the context of the reply of Jesus refers to an unclean sexual act between two people within a marriage relationship - a direct reference to the Leviticalincest Law. The `testing' of the Pharisees was therefore to trick Jesus into saying that divorce was not permissable at all, but allowed only because of the hardness of heart, as allowed by Moses - which would have led to Jesus advocating the breaking of the Mosaic Law, but Jesus not only knew the Law . . He wrote it . . and so He went to the heart of the matter and was saying: `If you divorce through hardness of heart and remarry you commit adultery'. But we need to keep in mind that these words of the Pharisees and of Jesus were spoken concerning people under the Mosaic Law and do not in any way concern the redeemed people of Jesus Christ, whether Jew or Gentile!
However we need to further confirm this, and we use the principle of the words of Festus, when speaking to the apostle Paul (in Acts): `You have appealed to Scripture . . to Scripture you will go'. For that we turn to Acts 15, to the Council at Jerusalem and the meeting between Paul (in defense of his Gospel) and James and the other apostles. First we need to understand the setting of the Acts of the Apostles. This covered an historical period of 40 years (a Scriptural Probation Period) which commenced with Peter standing up in the Temple compound at the Feast of Pentecost and proclaiming: `Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem . . '. It culminated with the refusal of the Jewish leadership, seen in Acts 28, to accept Paul's message - which led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Roman armies. The setting of `Acts' is not primarily doctrinal for the life of the Church, for it was a time of testing for the Jewish nation following the cry of Jesus on the cross: `Father, forgive them . .' and the beginning of Paul's reaching out with the Good News for the Gentiles in obedience to Jesus' command: `You will be My witnesses'! Now, at the Council of Jerusalem, James, after hearing Paul give his judgement, and accepting the revelation given to Paul, said: (Acts 15:15-20 in part)
" The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written . . . It is my judgement, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from . . . idols (sacrifices) . . porneria (incest) . . things strangled, and from blood, (four unacceptable things found in the Levitical laws). "
When the decree was formally issued, it was then arranged as found in the Book of Leviticus. We pick up on the word `porneria', and whilst it can refer to every kind of unclean sexual intercourse, the context of the word always determines the specific meaning intended. As we have previously said, porneria could not have referred here in `Acts' (and earlier in Matthew) to unfaithfulness or adultery, and the word `moicheia' would have been used instead of the word `porneria' (which denotes unclean sexual acts). In this case, within a marriage relationship, it referred to an incestuous relationship - which is a non-marriage in God's sight. James, at the Council of Jerusalem, at a time of great historical and institutional change, was attempting to grapple with the momentous changes taking place within Jerusalem following the revelation given by Jesus to Paul concerning the Good News to Jews and Gentiles alike!
In his Epistles Paul did not override these four exceptions. Instead he gave them a deeper meaning which the Law could not give. That deeper meaning is perhaps summed up in such a passage of Scripture as 1 Corinthians 10:23-31 (in part):
" Everything is permissible - but not everything is beneficial. Everything is
permissible, but not everything is constructive . . . . So whether you eat or
drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone
to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the Church of God . . . "
For disciples of Jesus in this Dispensation of Grace separation within marriage is unfortunately possible, because of sin, but it should always be with the intention of full restoration following repentance. Divorce is impossible for it tears the Body of Christ apart and denies the reality of our new life in Christ Jesus in our flesh relationship for ever! This is seen in the representation of the fact that we are buried in Christ and raised to new life in Him to the glory of the Father.
And so, thankfully, we can turn to our sure and certain hope, the Consummation of the Marriage of the Lamb.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
` Come, I will show you the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb '
Revelation 21:9
That there is a Consummation is clearly revealed in the traditions and customs of the Jewish people, who turn to Scripture for the foundation of their personal and communal life. These traditions continue to this day as they, as the people of God, still wait expectantly for their Messiah - seen throughout Scripture as their Husband. As we have seen, first comes the Betrothal - the seeking and finding the Bride, the dowry price paid - which from that point on is considered to be a Marriage Covenant, unbreakable and inviolate. The waiting leads to the inevitable fetching of the Bride to the Marriage Ceremony, witnessed by friends of the Bridegroom. A time apart of seven days is set, during which the Marriage is consummated, followed by their return on the eighth day for the Wedding Feast. Believers in the Lord Jesus know the reality of that Betrothal and the cost of that Dowry, and stand in that Marriage Covenant waiting only for the Consummation and the Wedding Feast.
We need not add to the words recorded in the Book of Revelation:
" The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him
to show His servants what must soon take place. "
Revelation 19:5-9
" Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
Halleluia!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give Him the glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and His Bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints).
Then the angel said to me, `Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb!' And he added, `These are the true words of God'. "
This, then is the Consummation that all who trust in God's Word (and that Word made Flesh in the Person of Jesus) wait for in our sure and certain hope! Blessed indeed are those who are invited to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb! Then we shall see God in everything as He outworks His purposes through what we call history, firstly in His people in the land of Israel, and secondly in His Church, the Body of Christ. And as it begins with the Word, so it will end with the Word! Genesis 1 reveals that `God said', and the Book of Revelation reveals the ultimate outworking of what was said: (Revelation 21:1-3)
" Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the Throne saying:
Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He
will live with them. They will be His people,
and God Himself will be with them and be their God. "
This is God's purpose! Seeing the beauty of the end result will enable us to understand the processes in all that God allows in order to bring about His purpose. Only at the end can we who are `flesh people', although called to walk in the Spirit, look up and see the bigness of our God and His glorious creation - `the Bride beautifully dressed for her Husband'!
But we rush ahead of ourselves! The sub-title of The Betrothal, which opened this Credo used the words of the apostle Paul when writing to the Corinthian Church:
" I promised you to one Husband, to Christ, so that I might
present you as a pure virgin to Him. " 2 Corinthians 11:2
There are many, many condemnatory words spoken in the Church today and also, we are sure, have been spoken over the long centuries since Paul wrote those words of rebuke and encouragement to the believers in Corinth - and dare we extend that comment to the many, many self-righteous condemnatory words already spoken.
With that in mind we would turn to the Word of the LORD . . God's Covenanted Name to His people, spoken through the prophet Amos. In chapter 5 of the Book of Amos we hear the Word of the LORD spoken through him: (verses 1-2)
" Hear this word, O house of Israel, this lament I take up concerning you:
Fallen is Virgin Israel, never to rise again;
deserted in her own land, with no-one to lift her up. "
As we opened this Credo expressing our concern over the subtle change in the meaning of words - and in that context, the word `marriage' - we turn once again to our trusty dictionary and to the word `lament'. It has a secondary meaning of `a dirge . . a song sang at the burial of the dead', with `lament' also meaning `a passionate expression of grief, usually demonstrated at death'. The two meanings, together with the following words in verse 2, which talks of Virgin Israel's demise, give us an understanding which then seems to be contradictory to the concluding chapter which foretells a final consummation of God's Covenanted promise to His beloved people: (Amos 9:15)
" `I will plant Israel in their own land,
never again to be uprooted
from the land I have given them,'
says the LORD your God. "
This apparent contradiction comes in the form of a `metonamy' - a literary word giving a change of name to another name but in which the person still stands. We may well read here of the demise of Israel: `Fallen . . . never to rise again. . .', but the LORD sees her as His Virgin Bride, one with whom He has entered into a Covenanted Marriage Relationship - Israel, who is dead in her sins and idolatry, but who is alive as His Virgin Israel, pure and unsullied!
We have always avoided bringing personal experiences into our Credos, but here we would mention one that gives depth to our understanding of the Marriage Covenant, a reflection of the Virgin Bride of Christ. Many years ago, while working in the Church amongst some very old people who were unable to attend meetings, we arranged to take one old woman to hospital for a short period, leaving her husband alone in the house. The time arrived for her return and we duly picked her up and brought her to the family home. As we opened the gate to the driveway, the door to the house opened and there stood her very old fragile husband. We often recall his words: He stopped still, and looking at her where she stood he said, `O my, but you're bonny'. He did not see a stooped, fragile old woman, whom we knew to have a very short temper and often used unkind language. He saw his `Virgin Israel' . . . and she was bonny. A metonamy indeed!
This, then, is the reality of God's Marriage Covenant with His people Israel and with His people in the Church of the Redeemed - a secular joining of the sacred in the Covenant of Marriage, awaiting a Consumation: `This is a profound mystery, but I am talking about Christ and the Church.' Do we perhaps need to remember:
" The past is a distant country;
(the Word of God, where)
they do things differently there. "
1 Corinthians 2:6-10
" We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written:
No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
no mind conceived
what God has prepared for those who love Him -
but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit. "
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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You may E-mail us at: derek@northernstyletrust.com or Telephone (01493) 444494 (UK)
Our Web Address: www.northernstyletrust.com
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