An Equally-Yoked Bride
Excerpts from book: End Times Simplified by David Sliker
Excerpts from book: End Times Simplified by David Sliker
"Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved?..." - Song of Songs 8:5a ESV
The Bride of Christ refers to the Church as a whole, the Body of Christ. The Bride is meant to be and will be the equally-yoked companion of Jesus, and she will intimately partner with Him to rule in justice and righteousness. The Bride of Christ in her fullness will be meek and lowly, simple yet lovely, and possess a passion and power that comes from voluntary weakness and God-given purity. To know Jesus fully, she must first drink from the cup of hardship and suffering to learn self-denial and sacrificial love.
"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church."- Ephesians 5:25-32 ESV
Everything God is doing and will do has to do with His desire to present the Church to His Son, Jesus, as a pure, spotless Bride. Jesus, for His part, is working diligently to sanctify and cleanse His Bride through God's Word, which, when internalized, changes our desires, emotions, and thoughts... Jesus will have a Bride equally yoked to Him. To be equally yoked with Jesus, we must be transformed to think, act, and love as Jesus does. "Equally yoked" is another way of saying mature love. As Paul spoke of this:
"Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?" - 2 Corinthians 6:14 ESV
The Lord's desire is for deep fellowship and intimate friendship with us. Our future involves full OBEDIENCE, full AGREEMENT, and full PARTICIPATION with the plans of God.
Intimate partnership with mankind is the highest delight of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit... The glorious and unbelievable destiny of all believers is to have intimacy with God, to partner with Jesus as His Bride, and to gain access to deepest places of God's heart.
Being equally yoked means bearing a burden together, like two oxen under a yoke, helping one another pull the weight by sharing the burden equally... We will be like-minded and like-hearted to go with Him where He goes...
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30 NIV
Sharing Jesus' burdens as we share His heart and His thoughts is what makes us equally-yoked for Him... The idea is that true intimacy develops when those who love one another share the deepest places of their hearts with each other and are like-minded in their values, desires, and priorities. Passion runs deep when the same amount of love given is also received.
The journey of becoming equally yoked in love and partnership with Jesus moves us from a place of fundamental disagreement with His leadership to a place of fundamental agreement and affection as we submit to His leadership in our lives. The Father's desire has always been to orchestrate the events of history to produce a Bride worthy of Jesus who is full of glory, honor, and praise. All the pressures of history, combined with the greatest of pressure to come, will produce a people—a Bride—worthy of the One to whom they will be given and the glorious inheritance they will receive as a reward...
Intimate friendship with God and union with Christ is our primary and greatest reward for knowing and loving Jesus in this age...
According to Paul, there are two ways to lay hold of the knowledge of Jesus and become like Him. The first is by entering into the "fellowship of His suffering." The second is by experiencing the "power of the resurrection."
"that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death." - Philippians 3:10 ESV
Jesus knows that the best way for us to experience the deepest love and rise to the highest level of obedience is for us to experience shaking, discomfort, and struggles. This is how we learn to successfully overcome obstacles. He knows that the ones who love the most intensely will fight the hardest to win, and so He has ordered our lives accordingly...
Through the manifestation of His glory and power in our lives, as well as the fire of tribulation, we are perfectly conformed to His likeness. It will be through an unprecedented outpouring in both dimensions—tribulation and glory—that what can be called the "beauty preparations of the Bride" will be completed (similar to Esther's beauty preparations—see Esther 2:9-12)... These preparations will reach maximum intensity at the end of the age...
God never forces any of us to take the journey. It is a voluntary journey that produces a voluntary, pure, unreserved love of Jesus...
It is impossible to love God wholeheartedly without help, but He helps us by His grace. God uses many means to help us. One proven method is allowing us to endure trouble or difficulty. Through the fire of tribulation and the journey of preparation, God lovingly stabilizes our minds, hearts, emotions, and wills. When we fully understand His perfect plan, our love for Him will be intense, fiery, and eternal... The Church will emerge from the fire of trouble and hardship as a fully mature and stable Bride, totally dependent on Jesus and trusting Him completely.
Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him 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 God’s holy people.) Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” - Revelation 19:6-9 NIV
Walking through the fire of tribulation will also produce tenderness and humility in those who refuse to be offended by God's leadership. In addition to changing the way we love God, the fire will change the way we love and relate to one another...
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." - John 15:12 ESV
Sacrificial love flows out of a heart tenderized by this divine process, and is the highest form of love. It only comes from someone who has experienced death to self, self-preservation, and selfish ambition...
When love is perfected in us, we will relate to one another like Jesus relates to us, with holy and pure love. We will have no ambition, envy, or pride; nor will we compare ourselves with others. Those who currently struggle to relate to others will be enabled to develop true relationships and know others intimately. Our love will be sincere and meaningful because our love and the love of others will have been perfected... We will love and serve sacrificially and selflessly, putting the interest of others above our own for the sake of love...
- David Sliker
END TIME SONG: Your Beloved Is Ready (A song of the equally-yoked Bride)