Outline
Ⅱ
We need to see and understand the maturity of the bride—2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 8:29; Eph. 4:13, 15; Heb. 6:1; Rev. 19:7b; 21:2, 9:
A
Revelation 19:7b says, "His wife has made herself ready."
B
In the maturity of the divine life, the lover of Christ becomes the Shulammite (the feminine form of Solomon), indicating that she has become the reproduction and duplication of Christ to match Him for their marriage—S. S. 6:13; Rev. 21:2, 9-10.
C
The meaning of the word mature in Greek is "at the end point":
１
To be transformed is to be metabolically changed in our natural life; to be mature is to be filled with the divine life that changes us—Heb. 6:1; Col. 4:12; Rom. 12:2; 2 Pet. 1:3.
２
The last stage of transformation is maturity, the fullness of life—vv. 4-8.
３
A mature believer knows and cares for the Body of Christ, being Body-conscious and Body-centered—1 Cor. 12:16, 18-19, 21, 24.
D
As used in the New Testament, the word mature refers to the believers' being full-grown and perfected in the life of Christ, which they received at the time of regeneration—Titus 3:5; 1 Pet. 1:3, 23; Matt. 5:48:
１
We should never be content with ourselves but pursue growth and maturity in the life of Christ—Phil. 3:12, 14.
２
We need to go on, to be brought on to maturity by forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, pursuing toward the fullest enjoyment and gaining of Christ for the uttermost enjoyment of Christ in the millennial kingdom—vv. 12-15.
３
The prerequisite for maturity in the spiritual life is to grow continually in the divine life—Eph. 4:15.
４
The ultimate issue of the believers' growth and maturity in the life of Christ is the full-grown man—the church as the Body of Christ growing into a mature man—v. 13.
Morning Nourishment
2 Cor. 3:18 But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.Heb. 6:1 Therefore leaving the word of the beginning of Christ, let us be brought on to maturity…
To be transformed is to be changed in our natural life, whereas to be matured is to be filled with the divine life that changes us. We may be transformed in our natural life yet not be filled with the divine life. Genesis 37 through 45 are a record of the process of Jacob’s maturity…In these chapters we have the dealings in the last stage of Jacob’s life. The sufferings he underwent here deeply touched his personal feelings. After these chapters Jacob had no further dealings. Rather, he was fully matured, he was filled with the divine life, and he had the expression of God and the dominion of God. (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 1176-1177)
Today’s Reading
Regarding the coming of the Bridegroom and our awaiting His return, the first requirement is life…Christ’s coming is life because Christ’s life makes us His bride. Without having Christ as our life, we can never be a part of His bride as His counterpart and His increase. What we need in order to meet Christ as the Bridegroom is not the doctrine of Christ’s second coming but the life of Christ. We need Christ as our life, and we need this life to grow in us all the time.All genuine believers have Christ as their life (Col. 3:4), but many have Him only in the initial stage. This life needs to increase in us, and the increase of this life is the growth in life. The Song of Songs portrays the gradual growth in life of the Lord’s lovers and their transformation in life. The seeker in Song of Songs is transformed stage by stage by the growth in life from a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots to a lily, a dove, pillars of smoke, a couch, a palanquin, a crown, and a garden that produces Christ in all His rich aspects (1:9; 2:1, 14; 3:6-7, 9, 11; 4:12; 5:1). The garden becomes a city as God’s dwelling place, which is beautiful toward God yet terrible as an army with banners toward the enemy. Eventually, the city becomes the heavenly bodies full of light and the Shulammite (6:4, 10, 13).
The word Shulammite is the feminine form of Solomon, derived from the root meaning “peace.” In this book Solomon is a type of Christ. The use of the name Shulammite indicates that in the maturity of Christ’s life the lover of Christ becomes His duplication, His counterpart, the same as He is in life, nature, expression, and function (but not in the Godhead) to match Him for their marriage (2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 8:29). Christ as life grows in the seeker and transforms her from a wild horse that pulls Pharaoh’s chariot to the wonderful Shulammite. Such a transformation can be accomplished not by doctrine but only by the growth and increase of Christ as life. This shows that life with its growth and increase is for the Lord’s return.
To know Christ as the Bridegroom is more intimate and personal than to know Him as the King or the Judge. Christ as the Bridegroom is our Lover who comes not to judge us but to love us. Christ will return as the Bridegroom to obtain His bride…As the Shulammite, the mature seeker is the increase of Christ…We all need to be transformed into the Shulammite as the increase of Christ, His reproduction. Transformation is not an instantaneous occurrence but a gradual process. Thus, even though we may not be the Shulammite today, as long as we remain under the Spirit’s work of transformation, we will become the corporate Shulammite. In order to be qualified to wait for the Lord’s return, we need life, including the growth in life, the transformation by life, and the maturity of life. As believers, we have life; however, this life needs to increase within us all the time. (CWWL, 1972, vol. 1, “Preparing for the Lord’s Return,” pp. 401-402)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1972, vol. 1, “Preparing for the Lord’s Return,”
pp. 399-404; Life-study of Genesis, msgs. 92—94, 97—99