Ephesians 5:25-29 NASB [25] Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, [26] so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, [27] that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. [28] So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; [29] for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, …
In this beautiful analogy of the love of Christ for His church, I wanted you to see the destiny of us His bride, whom He has cleansed by the washing the water of the word. Our sanctification, (being the manifest set apart ones to His heart) is our destiny. He desires to present us as a glorious bride without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that we would be holy and blameless. He wants us to be holy; that is, as set apart experientially, as we already are positionally. He wants us to reveal His glory.
Simply, He wants us to be radiantly Christlike. How does He accomplish that? He has a twofold approach. He nourishes us, and He does that by being the banqueting table of God’s provision in us as our very lives,. Secondly, He cherishes us with His unconditional and relentless love breaking over us wave after wave. One of the most important words for love used in the Old Testament that speaks of God’s unconditional, passionate, relentless, and always pursuing love is the word “dodi”. It is used 61 times in the Old Testament and 39 of those times it is used in the Song of Solomon, which is the greatest book in the Bible about God’s cherishing and nourishing heart for the bride of Christ.
Thirty nine is an interesting number isn’t it? By his stripes of love we are healed in many ways, but the most important way is that our deepest need for cherishing is met in Jesus and His finished work. Have you discovered Jesus as the banqueting table of God spread out in you? Do you experience the continual cherishing ministry of Jesus as He affirms you in perfect love again and again?