And the
Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” (Rev. 22:17a).
It is imperative that the church
enter into the “bridal” identity designed for her by the Father on behalf of
the Son. It has been the Father’s
intention, from all eternity, to have the Son’s desire for an eternal companion
fulfilled. (John 17:22-26.) The theme is
continuous from Genesis through Revelation, and all throughout human history,
that the purpose of humanity is to be the eternal companion of the Son of God.
The “bridal identity” of the
church, by default, means entering into our identity as intimate, passionate
lovers and partners of the Lord Jesus, in His Person and His work. The bridal identity of the church is summed up
in the reality of becoming a kingdom of priests. (1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10;
20:6.) Priestly ministry primarily
involves worship and intercession. The principle ministry of the Lord Jesus,
right now, is as the great Intercessor. (Heb. 7:25.) It is imperative that the bride enter into
the fullness of her priestly identity before her “kingly” authority can be fully
released. Jesus is the King-Priest after
the order of Melchizedek. (Psalm 110:4; Heb. 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:15.) Therefore it follows that we, the bride of
Christ, are made of the same royal priesthood, called to exercise authority and
dominion. This is first and foremost
expressed through agreement with who God is (worship) and what
God wants to do (intercession).
From this place of unwavering agreement in worship and intercession, the
authority, power, grace, mercy and justice of the Lord are released from heaven
to earth. This happens as the bride of
Christ faithfully agrees with the Lord in worship and intercession. This bridal agreement creates an opening
between heaven and earth, and the kingdom
of God invades earth
bringing transformation and harvest.
