Most brides take great care and expense in picking their wedding dress. In the past, the bridal dresses for royal weddings or weddings of other extremely wealthy people have had pearls, diamonds, and other gems sewn into them. The bridegrooms in royal weddings will often be wearing their military dress uniforms with their military awards all attached. No bride or groom would ever want to appear dressed in poor, tattered, or dirty clothes. In our Scripture for today, we’ll see how God will clothe those who come to Him for salvation.
In several places of Scripture, God refers to the Church as His bride, the Bride of Christ. The Church is made up of all born-again believers, including you if you're saved. How will we be dressed when we appear before the Lord God, as the Bride for His Son, Jesus? Every sin that we have ever committed are terrible stains upon us. No amount of good works that we can do will ever be able to cleanse those sin stains. As the prophet Isaiah said later in his writings, all of our righteousness are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). How can we possibly go to our own wedding ceremony as the Bride of Christ dressed in sin-stained and tattered rags?!
As the prophet testifies here in our Scripture, God will provide us with new garments! (vs. 10). When we become a child of God, He clothes us with salvation and righteousness. As we have seen, our own righteousness is like filthy, dirty, tattered rags, something that if seen dressed in out in public, we would be ashamed and embarrassed. However, God gives us the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God. Instead of filthy rags, we are given a royal robe, just like Jesus has. This Scripture is a picture of imputed righteousness. When a penitent sinner recognizes that he cannot achieve his own righteousness by works, he needs to call on God’s mercy. God then covers that sinner with His own divine righteousness by grace through faith. We can now stand unashamed, as our garments are like those of a royal wedding, with ornaments and jewels.
Isaiah continues by telling believers that we are a crown of glory and a royal diadem in God’s hand (vs. 3). A diadem is like a tiara, a smaller royal headpiece. Crowns are larger, and are usually worn for state functions, whereas the diadem or tiara are worn for more social functions. Both, though, have diamonds and other precious gems, and are very beautiful. Crowns are meant to be worn, not carried. So if God is carrying a crown, it is because He will be giving it to someone to wear, to place upon their head. The Bible states that we believers are the crown and royal diadem, and God is carrying this crown to place it upon the head of the Lord Jesus. We, His redeemed children, are Jesus’ crown of glory.
Jesus told a parable of a royal wedding feast. Many people were invited to come and attend. When the king was mingling with the guests, he saw one who did not have on the proper attire. Because of that he was cast out from being able to attend the wedding festivities (Matthew 22:11-13). Was this just a tale told about a mean king? No, it was to show that we need to be clothed in the spotless righteousness that only God can give us to be able to enter heaven and to partake in the marriage supper of the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot come in our own garments, our own righteousness. We must have on the garments that the Lord provides.
Our Scripture describes the righteousness that believers have, the robe of righteousness that we have been given, as shining in brightness (vs. 1). This speaks of just how glorious the garments we have been given are. They are so adorned with jewels and ornaments that they really shine with brilliance. The light of our testimony, of the salvation and redemption we received from the Lord Jesus, will shine out for others, for the lost to see. We are like a lighthouse that sends out a light warning those in danger of eternal destruction, and leading them to the Savior.
Are you clothed in the garment of salvation and the robe of righteousness that the Lord gives to those who have accepted Jesus as Savior? Are you a crown of glory for Jesus? Are you burning brightly like a lamp, leading others to find salvation in the Son of God? What a wonderful way to start the New Year, by accepting Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as your personal Savior!
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