Baptist Bride Refutation (Part 2)

Watch the video of this sermon on YouTube: Baptist Bride Refutation (Part 2) For the outline and the rest of the sermons in this series, click here: Baptist Bride Refutation To listen to or watch the previous sermon in the series, click here: (Part 1) To listen to or watch the next sermon in the series, click here: (Part 3) D. The bride in Rev 19, 21, and 22 are all the same bride. E. The bride is identified as the great city, new Jerusalem, in Rev 21:2,9-10. i. This is Jerusalem which is above that is the mother of us all (Gal 4:26). ii. The new Jerusalem is the "heavenly Jerusalem" which is "the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven" (Heb 12:22-23). iii. The bride of Christ in Rev 19, 21, and 22 is therefore the "general assembly and the church of the firstborn." a. General adj. - 1. a. Including, participated in by, involving, or affecting, all, or nearly all, the parts of a specified whole, or the persons or things to which there is an implied reference; completely or approximately universal within implied limits; opposed to partial or particular. b. The "general assembly" in heaven is therefore the universal church of all of God's elect. iv. This "church of the firstborn" are "written in heaven" (Heb 12:22-23). a. These are all of the elect whose names are written in the book of life (Rev 20:12, 15; Rev 21:27). b. The elects' names were written in the book of life from the foundation of the world when God chose to save them (Rev 17:8 c/w Eph 1:4). c. The wicked are not written in the book of life (Rev 13:8). d. The general assembly and church of the firstborn who are written in heaven are therefore all of the elect. e. Therefore, the new Jerusalem which is the general assembly and the bride of Christ are all of the elect. v. The bride is the Lamb's wife (Rev 21:9) who is arrayed in clean, white, fine linen (Rev 19:7-9). a. The bride is Christ's wife which He died for to make her clean and without spot, wrinkle, or blemish (Eph 5:25-27). b. Those whom Christ made holy and without blame are the elect (Eph 1:4). c. Therefore, the church, which is the bride of Christ, is the general assembly of all of God's elect for whom Christ died. F. The bride of Christ in Rev 19, 21, and 22 are the same group as the innumerable multitude that John saw in Rev 7:9-17. i. The multitude which no man could number is of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues (Rev 7:9). a. This is clearly referring to all of the blood-bought, redeemed elect, not merely those that were members of Baptist churches. b. This multitude are "they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Rev 7:14) c. This is the multitude of God's elect redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and cannot be limited to only members of true Baptist churches. ii. Let's compare this multitude of all the elect in Rev 7 with the bride in Rev 19, 21, and 22 and see that they are the same group. a. Their clothing. (i) The elect are "clothed with white robes" (Rev 7:9). (ii) The bride is "arrayed in fine linen, clean and white" (Rev 19:8). b. Their righteousness. (i) The elect have "washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev 7:14). (ii) The "fine linen" that the bride is clothed in "is the righteousness of saints" (Rev 19:8). c. The temple. (i) The elect "before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them" (Rev 7:15). (ii) In the new Jerusalem (the bride), "the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God" (Rev 21:3), and "the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it" (Rev 21:22). d. No more hunger, thirst, sun, or tears. (i) The elect "shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat (Rev 7:16), and "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes" (Rev 7:17). (ii) In the new Jerusalem (the bride), "the city had no need of the sun" (Rev 21:23) and "there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun" (Rev 22:5), and "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain" (Rev 21:4), and "there shall be no more curse" (Rev 22:3). e. Their needs are provided for by the Lamb. (i) It was said of the elect that "the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters" (Rev 7:17). (ii) In the new Jerusalem (the bride), "in the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations" (Rev 22:2). f. They will serve God. (i) All the elect in heaven are "before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them" (Rev 7:15). (ii) In the new Jerusalem, "his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face" (Rev 22:3-4). iii. Therefore, the bride is the innumerable multitude of God's elect. 2. Baptist Briders also use 2Co 11:2 to try to prove that the local church alone is the bride of Christ. A. 2Co 11:2 refers to individual Christians being espoused to Christ. B. This espousal refers to our relationship to Christ in the local church on earth for two reasons: i. It was Paul, not God, that espoused the believers in Corinth to Christ. ii. It was Paul, not Jesus Christ, that labored to present them as a chaste virgin unto Christ. C. This espousal is not the same espousal that God alone accomplished when he wed all of His elect to Christ through election and redemption (Eph 5:25-27 c/w Eph 1:4). i. Consider the difference. ii. Paul wishes to present the Corinthian saints, whom he has espoused to one husband, as a chaste virgin to Christ. iii. Paul will present to Christ only those saints whom he espoused. iv. Jesus will present unto Himself all the saints. D. All the elect for whom Christ gave Himself will be presented in glory “holy and without blame (blemish)”, but such is not the case with Paul in 2Co 11:2. i. On one hand, Eph 5:25-27 presents a certain chain of events: Christ gave Himself for it (the church); Christ sanctifies and cleanses it; Christ presents it to Himself holy and without blemish. ii. Whereas the presentation that Paul wanted to make of the Corinthian saints was in jeopardy. iii. Hence, he was jealous over them with godly jealously. He feared their being drawn away and corrupted from Christ, the one husband to whom he had espoused them, unto another Jesus (2Co 11:3-4). iv. It should be obvious from these contrasts that the presentation of Eph 5:27 and the presentation of 2Co 11:2 are two different presentations. v. Remember, things different are not the same.