In The Feminine Aspect of the Holy Trinity blog, we discussed that it was the bride of Christ that embodied this principle, that is to say, the soul filled with the Holy Spirit, becomes the physical embodiment of the feminine aspect of the Holy Trinity, just as the Son Jesus Christ filled with the Holy Spirit embodies the male aspect, the Son. The bride abides in Jesus Christ, the bridegroom, just as Eve came from Adam. All two abide in God as represented in the nesting Russian dolls example.
We also discussed how the union of the soul with Christ, from courtship to marriage in every way mirrors the Jewish marriage customs in biblical times.
HOW CAN A BRIDE OR A SOUL GET READY?
The Word of God indicates that there are no good works that can be done to earn our way into Heaven:
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
With that in mind, we know that whatever good works we do after we are born again and are guided by the Holy Spirit, we do in line with God’s plan from the beginning and for His glory. We are simply led to walk in the path which was laid out beforehand in the event we had chosen to be reborn. The works done as a born-again soul are for the glory of God, His Son and the Kingdom and not for our own.
That being said, how does a bride, a born-again soul prepare herself for the return of Jesus-Christ, her bridegroom?
While faith in Christ is what saves us, there is work that must be carried out by the Holy Spirit once the soul is born again. This work involves the sifting and purification of the soul through wilderness experiences.
The bride’s part in this process is to accept correction and to be teachable. This process of purification is an ongoing process and we never attain perfection until we leave and at that point again, the Holy Spirit must finish the work as it is beyond our capacity to do so.
1 Corinthians 15:51-53
“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.“
To prepare oneself for the return of Christ is therefore to accept correction and be teachable. It is to pay attention to what the Spirit is trying to help you understand and what may need some work. The Holy Spirit can show you what needs to change but some effort on our part is required to change. This is a collaborative process. Free will was involved when the soul made its decision to be born again – a work of faith. Effort in following the guidance of the Holy Spirit and learning is also a work of faith.
There is a difference between doing good works to be seen by God and the World with a view to puffing ourselves up and, letting the Holy Spirit do its work on our soul in order to purify it and free it from its tethers to the World.
Simply pray about what needs to change, ask for help and when God tries to change you through experiences and lessons, accept it. Let the Holy Spirit in, that is the only way to grow. If we want to build a strong relationship with God and we welcome correction and knowledge from God, we become active participants in this God-given learning program.
Zechariah 13: 8-9 “In the whole land, declares the Lord, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
Hebrews 12:6-7: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?
Proverbs 3:5-7
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.
Proverbs 15: 31-33
The ear that hears the rebukes of life will abide among the wise.
He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, but he who heeds rebuke gets understanding.
The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is humility.
As discussed in the Atonement for Sins – The Two Goats in Leviticus 16 blog, the bride is always sent into the wilderness to be sifted and so each soul goes through this eventually in order to be sifted. We see this in Exodus when the Hebrews (a Bride) were liberated from slavery in Egypt and then spent 40 years in the desert before entering the Promised Land (40 being representative of a testing period in the Bible). Many of them fell during the wilderness trials and such is the process of purification of the souls. Further, after being baptized and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, Jesus spent 40 days in the desert fasting during which time Satan sought to lead Him astray.
Going through persecution is also a way to view ourselves realistically and not only as we want to see ourselves. We may imagine ourselves to be much stronger and braver than we actually are if we only live in our imagination but the only way to become braver and stronger is by overcoming obstacles, learning from our failures and picking ourselves up again.
Luke 22: 31-34 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
Another wilderness experience can be seen in the story of Joseph (a bride) who was mistreated by his brothers who were jealous of him. They plotted against him, threw him in an empty well and later sold him as a slave to traveling Midianites. He became a slave in Egypt and moved up the ranks through God’s helping hand until he was second-in-command in charge of the Pharaoh’s grain reserves just in time to help God’s People during a 7-year famine. His response to his repentant brothers when they sought his help is completely aligned with a soul that is working in collaboration with God on its transformation:
Genesis 50: 18-20 Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”
Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
In summary, our own good works which if not ordained by God only serve to elevate us and result in puffing up the ego. This is why they do not grow the soul; they only strengthen the attachments of the soul to the world through pride and ego. There is however work that must be carried out on the soul in collaboration with the Holy Spirit in order to obtain our wedding garment, our white unblemished robe, the Oikētērion. It will be given by God, but we must also be able to wear it.
The Wedding Garment
What is the wedding garment exactly? The wedding garment is the light covering Adam and Eve had in the Garden when they dwelt with God before the fall. It is akin to the garment angels have.
Matthew 22: 30 “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.”
While our union with Christ is described as a wedding, our transformation will lead to obtaining a new body (our clean robe) just like Christ demonstrated through His resurrection.
John 2:19 “Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days”
In this verse, the word used in Greek here for temple is NAOS which according to Strong’s concordance G3485 means a metaphorical temple or spiritual temple. This verse was used in the context of the human body meant to be a habitation for the Holy Spirit while on earth.
In Jude 1:6 “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day,
First estate refers to an angel’s place in terms of its position or order in the angelic hierarchy, whereas the word habitation in Greek when used in the context of angels is, Oikētērion (G3613) which signifies the “dwelling-place of the spirit” (i.e.: the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit).
2 Corinthians 5:1-5: “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
The intent in the above verses is to clearly differentiate between the earthly flesh vessel and the heavenly body to come (the angelic vessel) referring to it as “our heavenly dwelling.” Strong’s concordance for the word dwelling in 2 Corinthians 5:2 which refers to the new dwelling we are to acquire is the angelic dwelling place for the spirit, the Oikētērion (G3613).
From the above we can see that while the flesh body or NAOS refers to a spiritual temple and not a building for example, it is not the same as the angelic body to come, the Oikētērion.
The first body requires our free will choice to invite the Holy Spirit to dwell therein and grow the soul while the other must accommodate even more of the presence of the Holy Spirit, which explain the need for the soul to be purified.
Both vessels are dwelling places for the Holy Spirit but perhaps not in the same intensity or concentration of energy.
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