For I am zealous for you with a godly eagerness
and divine jealousy;
for I betrothed you to one husband,
to present you as a chaste virgin
to Christ.
II Cor. 11:2 Amplified Bible

Jesus called Himself
the Good Shepherd
the Bread of Life
the Light
the Way, the Truth and the Life
Many names He gave Himself.

John the Baptist referred to Jesus ever as "the Christ."
By a rare understanding
John had one other name,
precious and shocking for a Sovereign Creator.
He called Him
bridegroom.

John named himself "the voice" and never presumed
even his legitimate title of "elijah"
called so by the Master Himself.

The sole explanation of his purpose and goal was
"friend of the bridegroom."
        
In the Gospels, John alone knows the name of Jesus
in terms of the Ultimate Wedding.       

Paul, revealer of the Husband

In the Epistles, Paul the Apostle, as the only writer,
takes up the great subject of the Husband God.

This Jewish convert, this one who spent years in
the Arabian Desert taught by the Lord Jesus in person,
took forward to the newly born Church,
the claims of the Divine Husband.

In discipling the Gentile believers,
Paul's goal and direction,
his stated purpose was
preparing the Bride in purity and
single focus for the Holy Groom.

Decrying loyalties to human leaders, yet he
claimed loyalty to himself, a paradox only
the Spirit of God could author.
Only one whose purpose was God Himself
could be trusted to demand such
a personal place of authority.

Paul used the power of his position to
gain Christ's end
and not his own.

2 Cor. 11:13; 11:21-29

Paul's passion and direction, as was John's:
the desire of the Bridegroom
for a companion of resemblance.

Fighting and contending for the Corinthian loyalty
not to himself nor to anyone
save the One Only who merited it.
His travail and focus, his labor and heart anguish,
his entire energy and passion, living for
the place of Christ as Divine Husband.

But now I am fearful lest that even as   
the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning,
your minds may be corrupted and seduced
from wholehearted and sincere and
pure devotion to Christ.
II Cor. 11:3 Amplified Bible

Exhorting and opposing for their loyalty,
throwing all his power of spiritual persuasion
into an impassioned and ordered appeal,
Paul fights for the rightful place of the Husband God,
center and master of every believer. 

The believer who knows the intimate heart of the
Father and His purpose for the Son
enters the great Quest for the Bride
and the lowly service of her holy preparation.

Copyright © 2003 Martha Kilpatrick