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Divine Expression, Divine RepresentationA Bride Made Ready

by Stephen Gola
09/27/23
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Divine Expression, Divine Representation—A Bride Made Ready

By: Stephen Gola

God’s thought and design for every person conceived is for one purpose and one purpose only “Divine expression” and “Divine representation”.  All else comes out of this.

Our focus will be on what Divine expression and Divine representation is, and what method the devil is using to pervert it.

What is Divine expression? Divine expression has to do with the nature of God. Doesn’t Galatians 5:19-21 speak of a person who does not Divinely express God’s nature live in the flesh doing things like “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like…?”  The remedy is for us to express God’s nature as in Galatians 5:22-23 which tells us that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” along with being merciful.  

Divine representation has to do with the thoughts, ways, laws, instructions and authority given by God to man. Doesn’t Isaiah 55:7-8 speak regarding a person who is not Divinely representing God as being wicked and having forsaken God’s ways and thoughts and pleading for them to return to His way of thinking and His thoughts and doing His ways? Let’s Read: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.” Returning to the Lord is returning to His thoughts and ways.

Divine expression has to do with the interchange and transformation being expressed through a person’s personality and actions.  Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are what people see in us as we interact with them on a daily basis.  Divine expression also includes the crushing and annihilating of the self-nature, the independent spirit and replace it with God’s nature. This is an ongoing process as we spend time with God asking Him to reveal Himself through His written Word on a daily basis.

Divine representation has to do with our submitting our will, goals and the desires of our heart to God in exchange for His plans, purposes, pursuits and doing them in His timing.  Divine representation is an act of faith, and faith is an act of worship.

As we align ourselves to wholeheartedly pursue it to express and represent God as He desires, a deep work of transformation from within will pursue.  Many who claim to be Christians do not have the testimony of Christ working in and through their life.  The testimony of Christ is that His life is being Divinely expressed and Divinely represented through us.  The Scripture calls this “…the perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (see Eph 4:13).

Therefore, what is God the Father after?  Why does He want us to express His nature and represent Him as He is?  Why does God tell us to “be holy for I am holy” in multiple places in the scriptures (see Lev 11:44, 1Ptr 1:16, 1Thes 4:7)?  Because God cannot inhabit anything unlike Himself.  The Father wants a bride for his Son—a people to inhabit.  A “bride made ready” is what will bring Jesus’ return to earth.  We see the bride of Christ has made herself ready in Revelations 19:7 which causes great gladness in Heaven.

The bride of Christ made ready is made up of believers, both male and female, all over the world who have given themselves to the deep transforming work of the holy spirit, and are the only ones that will be part of this great company.  Jesus is coming back for a bride “that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Gal 5:27).  He is not coming back for a transgender wife, not a drag queen nor an LGBTQ+ wife.  Jesus is coming back for a wife—a woman—that gender that He created in the garden of Eden—pure and holy.

The current plan that is being executed right now by satan is to pervert the man/woman, husband/wife, parent/child relationship through the LGBTQ+ movement.  The plan’s objective is to hinder and even stop the Lord from returning for his bride. The devil has had many such plans since the resurrection of Jesus wanting to return for His bride in the first century.

Every generation of believers to this time had the opportunity to hasten the Lord’s return for His bride but has failed.  Why?  Because she, the bride-part of the church has not made herself ready. 2 Peter 3:11-12 reads, “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?”

The marriage union that Jesus wants, and will have, will be based on His original design that He created in the book of Genesis in the garden of Eden—one man and one woman in marriage.  Jesus is the express image of God the Father, His exact representation.  The bride of Christ will be the express image of God the Son, His exact representation (see Hebrews 1:3, Galatians 5:27).

We do not “all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” by having the same doctrine or believing the same thing which is only a “form of godliness.”  It is accomplished by yielding our will, our desires, our hopes, dreams, purposes, plans and their timings on a daily basis to the Holy Spirit to work God’s will into our daily lives. 

Regarding our will, the Lord woke me up at 3:49AM one morning many years ago and said to me, “I did not give man a free-will. I gave him a will-of-choice.” I immediately understood that the only “choice” we have with our will is either life or death, blessing or cursing, His way or our way, His thoughts or our thoughts, to satisfy self or satisfy God.

As we choose Christ, the nature of God is expressed, and our representation of God is seen.  As it is written in Isaiah 1:19, “if you are willing an obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.”  Being willing and obedient to God will bring transformation; one without the other will disqualify us.

What is the bride’s main objective?  To be a comparable helper to her husband in order for him to be all that God has destined him to be.  That is not to say that it is her only objective, but it is the main one. You can see this in Proverbs 31:10-31 “the Proverbs 31 woman” as some would call her. Her main focus is her husband, the children, her household and then her business activities. This type of marriage relationship is Gods original intent and designed for the man and woman who are both sold-out to God. Otherwise, self will use each other for what he or she can get of the relationship.

The saying, “behind every great man is a great woman” is true.  This is why the perversion and destruction of the family through the LGBTQ+ movement is so important to the devil. Perverting the husband/wife relationship is not only the root to destroying society, but primarily to delay the coming of the Lord for His bride. The longer we delay the coming of the Lord for His bride, hell is being filled with people who should have never gone there but should have been born in Christ’s earthly reign.

The image of Christ/church relationship is depicted as the husband/wife relationship in Ephesians 5. In verse 23 it reads, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and He is the savior of the body.”

Why does Christ Jesus need a bride?  He tells us why in what He said regarding the first man Adam, that He made in Genesis 2:18, “it is not good that man should be alone.”  And what is the purpose of the man having a wife and Jesus having a wife?  The Lord finishes his statement to Adam by saying, “I will make him a helper comparable to him.”  The reason the man needs a helper comparable to him is obviously clear— the man is lacking something that only the woman can provide him in order to fulfill Gods purpose.

Developing and maturing each other in Divine expression and Divine representation is goal number two. Goal number one is each marriage partner developing their own relationship with God. All else comes out of these.

Therefore, the bride of Christ first must become comparable to Jesus through the Holy Spirit’s process of sanctification producing Divine expression which is God’s nature, and Divine representation which is God’s thoughts, ways and purposes through our life. Thereby Christ will not be alone, but have a comparable partner—holy as He is holy—His bride/wife a special treasure throughout eternity.

Remember the Parable of the Marriage Feast in Matthew 22? The Marriage Feast was made up of the bridegroom, the bride, the bridle company, the servants, the guests and of course, the Father. The church is made up of all these people-groups. All these plus an innumerable company of angels will be part of Heaven’s company. Therefore, all of the church will not be the bride. Some will be guests and servants according to their relationship to Christ.

The bride of Christ’s main function is to be a true testimony of His character and nature in the earth which will bring back the Lord Himself to rein over the earth as King.  This was the plan Jesus laid out in Genesis, and this is His plan now.

Regarding the word comparable in Genesis 2:18, “I will make him a helper comparable to him,” doesn’t what Jesus said when He made man in Genesis sound the same as what He required in the New Testament to “not be unequal yoked together with unbelievers.  For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness?  And what communion has light with darkness?  Or what accord has Christ with Belial?  Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?” (See 2 Corinthians 6:14-15).  The Lord Jesus will not and cannot have a bride with any expression and representation other than His own; and will not accept any Christian as part of His bride who expresses and represents the characteristics and fallen-nature we are born with—period!

The marriage order as outlined in Ephesians 5:22-32 is designed to produce God’s nature, culture and expression in and through the marriage partners. Let’s walk through those Scriptures to understand God’s plan on how to accomplish all this. Remember, it takes our cooperation and participation. Without it, we will never express or represent God as He is.

This section of Ephesians specifically and pointedly references that the Christ/bride and the husband/wife relationships are developed the same way; which also means they can be damaged, broken and dissolved by not doing what Ephesians requires.

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord” (v22). Both wife and bride are to submit their lives to the head of the relationship; the bride to Christ, and the wife to her husband—as unto the Lord. Because there is a difference between the submission of the bride-to-Christ (who is the Lord), and the wife-to-the-husband (who is not the Lord), a specific instruction is added to the wife to point her allegiance to God first—"as unto the Lord.” Otherwise, her husband would be an idol. This reveals that the wife must have her own committed relationship to the Lord in order to know what is Holy and what is profane regarding submission to her husband. The wife of the husband will be submitting to and imperfect man. The bride of Christ will be submitting to a perfect Man.

“For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the savior of the body” (v23). Notice that Christ is the only perfect one in these relationships and He is the head of both if we give Him that right. How can the husband as the head be the “savior” of his body (his wife) if he is not submitted to God himself?

“Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything [godly]” (v24). I added the word “godly” at the end of that verse because God commands and demands that we be holy for He is holy and to resist the devil no matter what form or person he comes in.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of the water by the word, that He might present her to himself a glorious church, hot having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (v25-27). In order for the husband’s comparable-helper to fully be the helper the husband needs, he must nurture and grow his wife in the Lord with that same love the Lord shows to his church. The husband is imperfect; the wife is imperfect. The road of maturing in Christ is an imperfect one lead by a perfect God.

Therefore, “So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church” (v28-29). How does the husband know if his wife truly feels his love toward her as Christ loved the church if he doesn’t ask? What a scary thought! The husband my find that he needs to work on some things. For the husband to self-evaluate his relation to his wife is to first measure himself against what the Bible says. He can ask his wife a few questions like: Am I kind and patient with you? Do I have outburst of anger or rage toward you? Do you see me as a man who truly loves you? Do I spend the time needed in order to understand you so our relationship can grow deeper? Ask yourself, do I seek God on her behalf and pray daily for her development in the Lord? Does she see me as a man of righteousness, integrity and truth? Do I ask her for forgiveness when I blow it and then seek God to transform me into His image where I lack? If we lacking some of these basics in our marriage relationship, we are lacking them with our relationship with Christ. Remember, all these attributes are to bring Christ’s bride to readiness.

“For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones” (v30). Oneness, unity and functioning as a unit is vital to sustain the life of the body—whether it be the body of Christ to Christ, or the body of the husband/wife marriage to Christ.

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church” (v31-32). In all these verses of Scripture the apostle Paul emphasizes emphatically that both the husband/wife and the Christ/bride relationships must follow the same path unto spiritual maturity ending with “not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (v27). Divine expression and Divine representation are the goal of both relationships. We, as mere human beings are unable to accomplish any of this on our own. Submission to Christ, allowing Him to live His life through us, is the only path leading to this goal. The Lord told Solomon regarding marrying the ungodly, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely, they will turn away your hearts after their gods” (1Kings 11:2). Therefore, if an ungodly woman can turn her husband’s heart away from God, surely, a godly woman can turn her husband’s heart toward God.

Christ is the head of His body the church; those whose names are written in the Book of Life. Those who transitioned to Heaven and those of us who have not, are members of His body. Those worthy of being called His bride in Heaven, and those worthy of being called His bride on earth are one bride. And one day they will be called out of the whole body of Christ and be separated to Christ in and eternal union apart from everyone else—a special relationship as a husband and wife should be.

So, before Jesus physically comes the second time to earth, He will first come to earth fully possessing a people He calls, His bride. The world will unequivocally and unmistakably see Jesus come in a people just as the people of Jesus day saw that God the Father came to earth in Jesus His Son. Jesus verified this by saying, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (see John 14:9). The bride will be able to say the same thing— “If you have seen me, you have seen the Lord Jesus.” This is why Jesus said that “this gospel (a personal message to each individual) will be preached throughout the whole world as a witness (undisputable evidence) and then the end will come” and not until. Therefore, if people reject Jesus when He comes in a people He fully possesses, they will surely morn when He physically comes the second time (see Matthew 24:30).

Jesus is not after our sins though He will convict us of such to repent.  No, He is after our old sin-nature which is the root of our desire to be independent of God—"I did it my way.”  As we legally yield our independent nature to God, this will give Him freedom to deal with our sin-nature bringing it to death in order for life—His life—to become our new nature.  This happens on a daily basis if we will yield, giving Jesus the legal right, and then cooperating with the Holy Spirit’s inward leading.  This is the order of the coming of the Lord, first through a people that will be in his exact image and likeness, then physically.  Those who miss His first coming in a people, will not want to meet Him when He comes physically.