The Love of God (Part 5) – Jesus Christ and His Bride

Can I help this at all? I think I can. Have you read the Song of Solomon? (Chapter 7) You’ve heard the words of the king as He looks upon this beautiful girl. What does He say of her? He speaks of his love for her, and he speaks of his love for her, and he speaks of his love for the girl, and he speaks of his love for every element of her being. He even describes her forehead. He describes her eyes; he speaks so incredibly of the beauty of her cheeks. He notes her neck, and he has no words to describe it. He says, “Her neck is so majestic, so beautiful, it looks like an ivory tower.” He even describes her fingers, saying they are beautiful beyond words.

What is he doing? He is describing his love, not for the whole, but for the parts. God loved his bride corporately, but He has the ability to love her individually…love for you. You are a member. You are a member…of the bride…of the Lord Jesus Christ. He stepped out that day, and that love of this species stood there and cracked open as He began being the One who would make us His bride. He loved them, and in three and a half years, those would be His bride. But time was no problem for the God part of Him. He could see them as what they would be then: not just a member but a whole, not fallen but redeemed, and not as man but as God, who designed her. He could see His counterpart.

We know nothing of Jesus Christ as an individual or anything else before the day He was baptized; that day He was completed, other than that small little word He said to Mary on the road home to Nazareth. We don’t know anything about Jesus Christ. Not yet. What’s the very first thing we know about Jesus Christ? What is the very first thing you know about Him? The first thing…I mean of Christ Himself. What are His first words after He was baptized? John baptized Him, and as the Lord is walking to the crowd, John says to His disciples, “Look, the Lamb of God.”

Are they interested in the Lamb of God? I said, are they interested in the Lamb of God? They better be interested in the Lamb of God. They thought of following him. He’s never preached a message yet; He hasn’t done anything. He’s just been baptized and then found them. He turns around and spots two chosen by His Father. I want you to know that the Father chose His bride. So, how do you like that? But they were in perfect agreement. They always love the same ones.

He looked at them. They were following Him. He hadn’t even spoken, and yet, they had heard His voice. I want you to know that this Man went out looking for His wife. God, looking for His wife. He could see what we, in our limited ways, cannot even comprehend. He turned around, but do not think for one moment there was not excitement in every bit of His being. He looked back, anxiously and eagerly, and said, “What do you want?”

They were amazed. “This is the Lamb of God, and He is interested in us!” They weren’t prepared for that. But it made them bold. One of them said, “Can we get your address? Where do you live?” The implication was, “Some time, somewhere, someday, we might, if you wouldn’t mind, we would like…maybe to just, sometime, come by and maybe visit you?” I want you to know – He was in love with them. He didn’t waste any time; He said, “Come and see!” And they spent the whole day together with Him.

I believe the Lord was more excited that day than anyone. Do you realize that day marked the first time that He sat down and met with two parts of what would one day be His counterpart? God got His first look at His counterpart.

I want you to know that this One was missing nothing. He was on this earth, and He wasn’t missing anything. I want you to know that there was passion in the One, and He was missing nothing. The memory of Israel’s harlotry still beat in Him, and He was after a bride. He was after a pure woman. The harlotry would end, and He was looking over this earth for anything that was the enemy that would keep Him from that woman. He was looking at everything that had ever stood in the way of Israel, the picture; He had seen what had attracted the type. He raged with anger and jealousy against anything that would prevent Him from having His counterpart; His perfect woman. He had a simple plan: He would destroy all rivals; anything that attracted or distracted Israel would simply be destroyed. He came to destroy. He had come to ruthlessly tear down anything that would prevent Him from having His wife.

He looked at her, and He was so in love with her daily, but He also looked at everything else that was an obstacle between Him and His counterpart. And what happened? Do you know what? Immediately the Spirit touched Him, and He was swept away into the wilderness by the Spirit. He went there and fasted because the Spirit told Him to. And there, He met His arch-rival, whom He planned to destroy.