Article of the Month
June
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Becoming
an Overcomer The
third confession of the Bride in the Song of Songs reveals the complete
change that has taken place within her.
In her first confession, she had said, “He is mine (Song of Solomon 2:16a).” Now she can say: “I am my Beloved’s and His desire
is toward me.” Song of Solomon 7:10 She
has come to the place in her experience where she makes no demands on
the Lord. Instead, she has
made herself totally available to Him.
Her self-life has been dealt with, and is no longer an obstacle
or hindrance to their relationship. The
Bride is in direct communion with the Bridegroom and willingly responds
to His every desire, as when He comes and knocks on the door of her heart,
inviting her to be with Him. “Come, My beloved, let us go forth
into the field; let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early to the
vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear,
and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give you My loves.” Song of Solomon 7:11-12 The
Bridegroom and Bride have become “one” in heart and purpose. The Bridegroom is in direct communion
with the Bride and is willing to respond to her every desire. Their relationship has developed into
a beautifully productive communion together.
She can come at any time and ask of Him wisdom concerning the one
for whom she is burdened. “We have a little sister, and she
has no breasts (spiritually immature): what shall we do for our sister in the
day when she shall be spoken for?”
Song of Solomon 8:8 No
longer need she testify: “My mother’s children were angry
with me, they made me the keeper of the vineyard.” Song of Solomon 1:6 The
burden of the Bridegroom and of the Bride have
merged into a single desire and interest.
They have become one, and together are concerned for one who is
immature. The
Lord quickly answered her question and gave clear guidelines on how to
minister to this need. “If she be a wall, we will build
upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will enclose her
in boards of cedar.” Song of Solomon 8:9 His
answer includes His Bride in the outworking of ministry. No longer is she working “for” the Lord. Instead, they are ministering together
in a beautiful relationship of cooperative fellowship. A
wall speaks of strength and stability in our salvation experience, as
a result of our understanding the foundational doctrines upon which we
stand. As these become clear in our understanding,
and are established in our life experience, the Lord will be able to lead
us through further experiences, which will result in our spiritual growth. These
will bring us toward the spiritual maturity which will make us conformable
to His image and likeness. The
foundation upon which our spiritual growth is built is extremely important. However, if we are unstable and
appear to be as a door that is mounted with double swing hinges, which
opens first one way, and then suddenly the opposite, then we must be watched
and protected until stability can be developed in our spiritual experience. The
boards of cedar speak of protection and careful watching, until this little
sister will be able to dig down through the accumulated rubble in her
life, to the solid Rock that is beneath. The
Bride has direct access to the Throne, and is in the same position as
the “Overcomer.” “To him that overcomes will I grant
to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame,
and am set down with My Father in His Throne.” “After this I looked, and, behold,
a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as
it were a trumpet talking with me: which said, Come up here, and I will
show you things which must be hereafter.” Revelation 3:21; 4:1 The
Bride had gradually learned to recognize His presence and to promptly
respond as the Lord continued from time to time, to come and knock upon
the door of her heart. The
time came when an open door was established, through which He could come
and invite her to “rise up and come away” with Him. The
“Overcomer” also has an open
door set before him through which he can come into the presence of the
Lord in His Throne. This
reveals to us that the Bride and the Overcomer can be seen as two sides
of the same relationship. Our
relationship to the Lord as a Bride, speaks of our submission to, our
dependence upon, and our communion with, the Lord in His Chambers. Our relationship to the Lord as an Overcomer,
speaks of our being in the Throne with Him, in the position of authority
and rulership in the heavenlies. There
is a sense of completion that comes to us in our experience of intimate
communion with the Lord as His Bride, within His chambers. Also, there is a sense of fulfillment
that comes to us through our being brought into a relationship with the
Lord in His Throne as an Overcomer. In
order to better understand these two positional relationships that are
available to those who qualify for them, we should also understand the
relationship to the Lord that those who have not qualified to be either
a Bride or an Overcomer have with the Lord. This
can be seen as we consider the difference of perspective, and spiritual
experience that existed concerning the position of the Bride and the Daughters
of Jerusalem, in relation to the Lord. The
Bride relates to the Lord, and is able to describe her intimate relationship
to Him. She gave a very personal
and complete description of His person along with His qualities and desirability. The
Daughters of Jerusalem relate to the Bride. The only “description” that they are able to give,
is that of the Bride, whom they clearly see and clearly affect. The only “knowledge” they have of the Lord, is that
which they receive from the Bride.
These contrasting views resulted in a very noticeable difference
in their relationship to the Lord, and to their position in relation to
His Throne. In
Revelation, two descriptions are given that will help us to understand
this difference of position that exists between the Bride and the Daughters
of Jerusalem. The first description
can be related to the Bride. “And round about the throne were
four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders
sitting clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of
gold ... And before the throne there was a sea of
glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about
the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.” Revelation 4:4, 6 Seen as a sea of pure glass, which
speaks of the purity, or transparency of their being, are twenty-four
elders and four living creatures who are seated in the midst of the Throne. This corresponds with the promise that
is given to those who overcome. “To him that overcomes will I grant to sit
with me in my Throne (Revelation
3:21a).” The
first twelve of these elders speaks of the twelve patriarchs of the Old
Testament. Jesus said that
the twelve apostles would sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes
of The
four living creatures each have four faces. “And the first beast was like a
lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third had a face as a
man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.” Revelation 4:7 This
speaks of the four sides, or aspects of a balanced life as an Overcomer. The
face of a “lion” speaks of
rulership, or authority. Next,
is the face of a “calf” which
speaks of sacrifice, or the potential for service.
The third is the face of a “man”
which speaks of fellowship and communication with the Lord. Last is the flying “eagle,” which represents spirituality
or elevation into the throne with Him.
These types represent those who have overcome throughout the entire
Biblical ages, and are seen in the midst of the Throne of God. This group of Overcomers are
“singing” their testimony, which reflects
their position with the Lord. “And they sung a new song, saying,
You are worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for You
were slain, and has redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every kindred,
and tongue, and people, and nation;
And has made us to our God kings and priests: and we shall reign
on the earth.” Revelation 5:9-10 This
testimony of their having qualified to reign on the earth can be related
to a promise that is given to those who overcome. “And he that overcomes, and keeps
My works to the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron;
as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I
received of My Father.” Revelation 2:26-27 Within
the Church in our day, are two groups who are different from each other,
as were the Bride and the Daughters of Jerusalem.
There are those who are being prepared as a Bride to be caught
up to the Lord. These are
Overcomers who have risen above each test as a victor. The
second group in this vision represents those who were not willing to become
Overcomers. These are the
Body of Christians who are content to remain in the memory of their past
experiences. They are only
able to see the Lord through those who are so close to Him that their
life has become as a mirror and reflects His person and presence for them
to see. These who, as the “Daughters of Jerusalem,” feed upon the
Bride and greatly affect her life and walk, provide her with much to overcome. “After this I beheld, and lo, a
great multitude, which no man could number of all nations, and kindreds,
and people, and tongues, stood before the Throne, and before the Lamb,
clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.” Revelation 7:9 The
first group was “seated in the
midst of the throne,” singing that they had been made “kings and priests.” The second group are standing before the
throne, and have a palm in their hand. This
second group speaks of the Daughters of Jerusalem. These are crying with a loud voice saying: “Salvation to our God which sits
upon the throne, and to the Lamb.” Revelation 7:10b Remember the principle that our
testimony is the expression of our relationship to the Lord. We cannot testify beyond our own personal
experience in God. This group
is saved; they are the Daughters of Jerusalem, but they had said to the
Bride: “What is He more than another?” Their
testimony expresses the salvation that was freely given to them, but from
which they had not grown, as they choose their own ways, and had not submitted
their lives to the processing or discipline of the Lord, as the Bride
had done. The
first group is seen to be in the midst of the throne singing, “You have made us to our God kings and priests:
and we shall reign on the earth.” These are Overcomers. The
second group were “clothed with
white robes, and had palms in their hands.”
The “palm” speaks of
salvation. The first group
is in the midst of the throne, and are “reigning” (Revelation 5:10). The second group are before the throne,
and serve Him day and night forever (Revelation 7:15). These
two relationships to the throne are vastly different and reflect the difference
of relationship between the Bride and the Daughters of Jerusalem. “For the Lamb which is in the midst
of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains
of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” These
Daughters are weeping because they realize that they missed the opportunity
to be as the Bride is. However,
the Lord will wipe away these tears and will lead them on. They spent their lifetime accumulating
riches in this world, but failed to purchase eternal things. The
time that we have here on earth is the most important time of all eternity. We are making our decisions for eternity
now. This
is the reason why the Daughters of Jerusalem shed bitter tears. They are to serve day and night forever,
while the overcoming Bride is ruling and reigning in the presence of the
Lord. Paul said: “I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14 Paul
saw the difference in these groups and he sought the higher level. May
we also seek this place of being seated with Jesus in His throne. |
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