35.What is Christ doing for His Bride?

He is sanctifying her, cleansing her, washing her, making her pure. His first step was to shed His blood on the cross so she may be received of God through His blood.

The purification of Queen Esther is a type of the purification of the Bride of the Lamb.

Now when every maid’s turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women;) (Esther 2:12). The Bride of the Lamb washes her robes in the blood of the Lamb.

And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14).

Notice that Christ cleanses His Church with His holy blood and also with the washing of water by the Word: Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you (John 15:3).

The solid-bronze Laver of the Tabernacle of the Congregation is a type of the Word of God in cleansing. The Word of God cleanses our thoughts, our speech, our actions.

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word (Psalms 119:9). Each Christian is to keep himself, if at all possible, in the position where he is hearing the preaching of the Word of Christ frequently. He is to read the Word, meditating on its sayings. He also is to gather together regularly with fervent believers.

The hearing of the Word, that is, hearing it with the intention of understanding it and obeying it, has a cleansing effect on the human personality.

Believers who neglect the regular, consistent hearing of the Scriptures, the Words of Christ, soon become "dirty." Their behavior falls further and further from the holiness that the Lord loves.

The Word of Christ has a pruning effect on us. As we hear it and do what it says, the works of the flesh drop from us. Every time we gather together with the saints and hear the Word of Christ taught and preached under the anointing of the Holy Spirit we leave the assembly clean and refreshed. We do not enjoy leaving the holy atmosphere of the assembly and going back into the filthiness of the world; but that may be necessary for a season while we are being perfected and while we are serving the Lord in our appointed tasks.

Let us hear the Word! Hear the Word! Hear the Word! Then we will be pure and holy so we can be received of our holy Lord, Christ.

When we determine to do what the Word of God commands, the blood of Jesus helps us by forgiving our sins and the Holy Spirit assists us by providing the power and wisdom whereby we can turn away from our sins. We wash our robes in the blood of the Lamb by confessing and turning away from our sins, continuing to resist them by the help of the Holy Spirit of God.