And the Bride Has Made Herself Ready – Pt.4

Being Adorned

In Revelation 21 John had a vision of new Jerusalem and described it like this:

“And I saw the holy city – the new Jerusalem – descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband.” (v.2)

He saw the city as “made ready like a bride adorned for her husband.” This speaks of two things – the new Jerusalem and the bride made ready and adorned. We will pay close attention to the word “adorned.” The Greek word is kosmeō. It is derived from the word kosmos (a harmonious arrangement or order, the world) and means “to put in order, arrange, make ready, prepare.” It can also mean to ornament or adorn. I like to think of the word as meaning divine order.

We find a strong connection between kosmeō and submission. And this makes sense since the divine order is Christ as the head (top of divine order) and us below Him. We are to submit to Him as Lord.

In the following verses Peter was talking to women but we can also glean something with our relationship to Jesus.

“Do not let your adornment (kosmeō) be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned (kosmeō) themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.” (1 Peter 3:4-6)

You see, God is looking for His bride to have an inner adornment, not just an outward form of religion. But look at the qualities: “incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit.” Jesus is looking for a bride that is gentle and has a quiet spirit. Quiet in the sense of being one who quiets her spirit in order to hear the heavenly whispers.

Now see how adornment and submission are connected. I will even say they are intertwined.

“the holy women who trusted in God also adorned (kosmeō) themselves, being submissive to their own husbands.”

Here Peter is forever connecting adornment and submission. You cannot have one without the other. In other words, as we submit to Jesus as the head we are adorning ourselves with inner beauty that attracts Jesus. It is what appeals to Him. If you are not convinced and think this passage only speaks to women in relation to their husbands, lets head over to Ephesians 5.

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.” (vv.22-24)

Paul made it clear that these passages we first and foremost talking about Jesus and the church. “This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” (v.32)

As being betrothed to Jesus we are to submit to Him as the head. We are not to go out and do our own thing. Have you ever seen a body walking around without a head? We are to be subject to Him in all things. I am aware that this word “submission” can be touchy for some because of past experiences where authority was abused. But be assured, Jesus is a loving Bridegroom. We must find ourselves properly aligned to Jesus, with Him being the head and us the body.

A wonderful example of of this is found in the account of Mary, who was at her sister Martha’s house.

“And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.” (Luke 10:39) She was sitting at His feet, which was a sign of submission. She was properly aligning herself. Mary also “heard His word.” The bride of Christ is one who hears. She is intent of hearing the voice of the Bridegroom.

In conclusion, Jesus is looking for a bride who is adorned with a submissive and quiet spirit. She is aligned under the head. She is content with sitting at His feet and hearing His Word. She is adorning herself only for the pleasure of Jesus. She is not concerned if others don’t understand her choices of adornement. She loves Jesus and Jesus loves her.