«　WEEK 2　DAY 1　»

　　Rev. 19:7-8 Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints.

　　14 And the armies which are in heaven followed Him on white horses, dressed in fine linen, white and clean.

　　In Ephesians 5 and 6 we see two...aspects of the church: the bride to satisfy the desire of Christ and the warrior to defeat God's enemy. As the bride, the church needs love and light. As the warrior, the church needs might and the whole armor of God.

　　Of the twelve aspects of the church covered in Ephesians, the main aspects are the new man, the bride, and the warrior. The new man includes the aspect of the Body, and the Body includes the fullness and the dwelling place. Therefore, the first ten aspects of the church are all included in the new man who fulfills God's eternal purpose and carries out His economy. This new man is used by the Triune God to accomplish what He planned in eternity past for eternity future. Nevertheless, although God's plan is fulfilled with the new man, Christ's desire still needs to be satisfied, and God's enemy still must be defeated. (Life-study of Ephesians, p. 526)

　　In one sense, the church is the new man who needs growth, function, and a proper daily living. In another sense, the church is the bride who must be beautified in order to be presented to Christ at His coming. With the church as the bride, the problem is not with ordinances, doctrine, or the old man. The problem is with the spots and wrinkles, defects that are organic and that ruin the beauty of the church. In order to be free from such defects, the church must be sanctified, purified, nourished, and cherished by having the element of Christ wrought into her metabolically. This element will cause the spots and wrinkles to disappear, and it will beautify the bride for her presentation to Christ. Eventually, through this process of metabolic transformation the church will become glorious.

　　[In Ephesians 6] the church is God's warrior. The church should be not only the Body to express Christ, the dwelling place for God's habitation, and the new man for the fulfillment of God's economy; the church must also be a warrior, a soldier, to defeat God's enemy.

　　According to Revelation 19, the church is both the bride who is presented to Christ and the warrior who fights with Him against God's enemy. At His coming again, the Lord Jesus first will meet His bride. After receiving the bride, Christ and the overcomers will enter into battle against the enemy. According to Revelation 19:11, the Lord will ride on a white horse, and the armies which are in heaven will follow Him on white horses, dressed in fine linen, white and clean (v. 14). Revelation 17:14 also refers to this: "These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and they who are with Him, the called and chosen and faithful, will also overcome them."

　　In Revelation 19:7 and 8 we see that the bride is clothed in "fine linen, bright and clean." Then in verse 14 we see that the armies which follow the Lord into battle are "dressed in fine linen, white and clean." These verses indicate that the bride's wedding garment will also be the uniform she wears as God's army to fight against His enemy. Therefore, to have the wedding garment is also to have the uniform.

　　In Ephesians 5 and 6 we see the church as the bride and as the warrior. In Revelation 19 we also have these two aspects of the church. As the church, we are not only the Body, the dwelling place of God, the kingdom of God, the family of God, and the new man; we are also the bride and the warrior. As the bride, we must be beautiful, without spot or wrinkle, and be clothed in fine linen. As the warrior, we must be equipped to fight against God's enemy. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 813-815)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 97