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''That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.'' (Ephesians 5:27)

Would there appear before Him the treasure for which He has been waiting for so many thousands of years; for the touch of whose hand the creation waits in its chains of futility?

Or would He be facing the typical assortment of unchanged believers who serve Him when it is convenient for them to do so, whose understanding of Jesus is that He is their servant and their "ticket" to everything they want?

The Wife of the Lamb will be formed by the Lord God until she is perfect-without spot or wrinkle. She will not be formed in righteousness at the last minute, according to the Scriptures. When the Lord is ready to appear with her in glory, the Bride will be clothed in the "white raiment" of righteous works.

The white raiment of the Bride is formed from the continuing process of death and resurrection she experiences throughout her pilgrimage (II Corinthians 4:17, Revelation 19:7,8). The Bride makes herself ready for the marriage by cooperating with the Holy Spirit as He delivers her from the lusts of the flesh, love for the world, and self-centeredness and personal ambition.

The formation stage of the marriage of the Lamb is of the greatest importance. It is during this stage that the Wife is created from the eternal Substance of the Lamb.

We stated before that it was not possible for Eve to choose not to marry, or to marry anyone other than Adam, because she was formed with the purpose of being the fullness of Adam.

The forming of Christ in us changes us from an individual who remains free to choose his own destiny into a person who has only one possible destiny. We no longer are individuals who roam about the universe according to our "free will." Rather, we are moving toward only one goal-that of being the completion, the fullness of the Son of God.

''Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.'' (Ephesians 1:23)

It may be true that many contemporary Christians never will accept the formation stage of the marriage of the Lamb because the supreme virtue in the eyes of the "Laodicean" believer is his right to remain an individual and continue to make his own decisions. If receiving Christ cannot be a means of realizing one's potential, of bringing personal fulfillment and satisfaction, then Christianity is not a religion that has as its goal the "welfare of people." Therefore, (according to the Laodiceans) it is not in the best interests of people to embrace it-at least not to the degree of fervency Jesus advocated.

The preceding concept, that an acceptable religion or philosophy must have as its supreme goal the personal fulfillment and satisfaction of human beings, is the position of the humanistic believer of our day. It is an attitude that will increase until all that is of the Spirit of God is driven from the Christian churches.

In these days we must be listening carefully to hear what the Spirit of God is saying to the churches.

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