The Beauty of the Bride
So I decided since I’m spending more time studying for times where I’m speaking and not getting a lot of time to write, that I would just post my notes. Hopefully they make sense. This is my notes from a teaching I did last week on “The Beauty of the Bride”. Our beauty as the bride of Christ comes from faith that is built through the word, and through the word we are purified, and through purification we are converted into the image of Christ, and are made beautiful and pleasing to the eyes of our bridegroom. Enjoy.
Psalm 45:11
“…..the king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for He is your lord.”
*Not only is the bride enthralled with the beauty of the Lord, but the Lord is enthralled by the beauty of the bride.
God is the standard of true beauty
Psalms 50:1-2
The Mighty One, God, the LORD, has spoken, and summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shone forth.
Jesus is!!!!!!!!!!!! In it’s simplest form, Jesus is the picture and fullness of the beauty of the Lord – the revelation of Jesus is the revelation of the beauty of the Lord
Ps. 45:1-2
My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer. You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever,”
Col. 1:15;2:2,3
“He is the image of the invisible God.” ………”the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
What is beauty?
Beauty - the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind – this is viewed through the eyes of our understanding
Faith is essential to becoming beautiful in His sight
But without faith it is impossible to please (or give pleasure) and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].
How is faith built?
Consequently, faith comes from the hearing of the word, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
The word then removes the blemishes making us holy and blameless
Eph. 5:26 - 27
“….to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
Revelation brought through the cleansing of the word produces in us a full conversion into beauty
Conversion – a change of attitude, emotion, or viewpoint from one of indifference, disbelief, or antagonism to one of acceptance, faith, or enthusiastic support, especially such a change in a person of religion.
o Essentially revelation is the door to beauty
o Without the revelation of the word our fleshly and first glance at the Lord is all we have to work with, leading us into deception that produces doubt, fear, pride, striving, jealousy, hatred, etc.
o Revelation at work in us allows us to see not only the beauty of the Lord but allows us to see the beauty and worth of the pursuit of the Lord. We are willing to run a race but only if the reward is clearly seen. Most don’t run simply because they can not see.
Beauty is refined by steady faith that does not fear the fire of testing
1 Peter 1:7
So that [the genuineness] of your faith may be tested, [your faith] which is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold which is tested and purified by fire. [This proving of your faith is intended] to redound to [your] praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) is revealed.
o Steady faith through trial results in refining us into something even more beautiful than before the trial began. The fire removes impurities. Faith is what keeps us from removing ourselves from the flame before the process is done.
He gives peace to those who stay the course to seek out His beauty
You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.
