The Daily Word of Righteousness

Suffering and Glory, #4

Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness [righteous deeds] of saints. (Revelation 19:7,8)

When we are robed in righteousness, holiness, and obedience to God, all the glory and blessing of the Kingdom of God will become ours because we are righteous, holy, and obedient. The robe of righteousness finally includes the glorified body, the house from Heaven.

In this life we must learn to fear, love, and trust the Lord. We must acquire the habit of leaning on Him for every detail of thought, word, and action. We must obey Him in all matters. We shall be tested!—tested!—tested!

If we are willing and obedient to learn the lessons life in the world is designed to teach, God will transform our personality, removing our old adamic robe and giving us a new robe of righteousness—in part now, and in fullness at the coming of the Lord.

Notice the changing of robes, in the following passage:

And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by. And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, thus saith the Lord of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the Branch (Zechariah 3:1-8).

It was not the guilt of Joshua that passed from him, it was the filthy garments of iniquity. This passage is not speaking of the forgiveness of sins but of that which is possible only under the new covenant—the actual removal of the sin itself.

The Lord did not require of Joshua that he remove his iniquity by himself, because only God can do that. Rather, Joshua was required only to walk in the Lord's ways and to keep His charge.

Then the "Branch" is mentioned. The Branch is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Branch is emphasized because the "change of raiment" speaks of the righteous Nature of Christ, which God brings forth in us. The "fair mitre" [turban] portrays the mind of Christ which is given to the faithful saint.

To be continued.