Called, Chosen, and Faithful
“Many are called, but few are chosen,” the Lord said. We are the Church. The Greek word in Scripture is ekklesia, literally “the called out.” Guests to a wedding are called out, they receive an invitation. But a bride is chosen; she receives a covenant.

Revelation 17:14
These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

The armies that come out of heaven with the Lord are called, chosen, and faithful. Martin Luther rediscovered the salient truth in Romans that “the just shall live by faith.”[1] The Apostle Paul was quoting from Habakkuk 2:4. In the Hebrew it is literally “the just shall live by His faithfulness.” After instructing His disciples that they should pray and never give up, Jesus said, “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”[2] Will He find His disciples faithfully persevering in prayer? As the wedding guest and the foolish virgins found out, being invited isn’t enough; one must be found faithful. Like the bride, the chosen and faithful ones in the army of the Lord have a distinctive uniform.

Fine Linen, White and Clean
Revelation 19:14
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

White linen is standard issue BDU[3] for the soldiers of the Lord. They cannot be had at any religious surplus store; the Lord is the sole supplier of them. Like Joshua the high priest, we were all clothed in the filthy rags of our iniquity.[4] But when we called out to Him in faith, He clothed us with salvation.

Isaiah 1:18
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

By His blood our crimson sin is turned white as snow. He has removed our iniquity from us and replaced it with His own righteousness.

Isaiah 61:10
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.[5]

The garments of salvation are our wedding dress. He has given it to us, but we must keep it undefiled.[6] He clothed us with salvation and righteousness, but we must adorn ourselves with the jewels of faithfulness and purity. In the natural, a bride has both an unclean and a pure blood flow. Isaiah refers to the first when he calls self-righteous deeds, those done in the power of our own flesh, filthy rags.[7] But the second flow of blood was desired and required of a bride—the token of her virginity. It was proof of her purity. Without this jewel, her marriage didn’t end in divorce—it ended in death.[8]

When we are unfaithful to the Lord, our garments become spotted by the flesh.[9] The canker of sin begins to eat away at our cloak of righteousness. And if we are not attentive, we stand in jeopardy of being found naked. If this is our condition, we need to be zealous and repent and receive from Him renewed raiment.[10]

Revelation 7:13-14
¹³ And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
¹⁴ And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Only the blood of the Lamb can wash our robes and make them white! Only under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit can we accomplish righteous deeds that will bring rewards and not rebuke. The Living Word desires to wash us and present us to Himself, a Bride without spot or blemish. Will we prepare ourselves by standing beneath His loving flow?

Revelation 19:6-9
⁶ And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
⁷ 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.
⁸ And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
⁹ And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

“His wife hath made herself ready.” The Lord’s Bride will be chosen from those of His body who have made themselves ready—those blood-washed saints who have walked in righteousness and are arrayed in fine linen, white and clean. The dress of the Bride is the uniform of the army. If we feast with Him, we are assured to fight by His side. Surely we are blessed to be called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. But how shall we be arrayed when we arrive? And will our lamps still be burning bright? It is not our salvation that is being called into question. It is our faithfulness. Salvation we have by grace, but the faithful shall find their reward.

Revelation 22:12-17
¹² And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
¹³ I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
¹⁴ Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
¹⁵ For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
¹⁶ I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
¹⁷ And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

As the espoused of the Lord, let us behave as the Bride should. Let us labor in preparation to enter into His rest. As His called, chosen, and faithful ones, let us say with the Spirit of God, “Come!” Let us say to the lost, “Come!” Let us say to the defiled, “Come!” Let us say to those who are not discipled, “Come!” Let us cry out to those not walking in lordship, “Come!” Let us say to them all, “Come! Come and drink freely of the water of life and be washed in the blood of the Lamb. Come be dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Come, be bone of His bones and flesh of His flesh. Come and be the Bride at the wedding feast of the Lamb!”

[This post completes the series of posts from my book, The Blood of Jesus Christ, which was originally published in 2005 by Xulon Press. The full text of the book will remain freely available through the blog posts on this site. If you have enjoyed the insights presented and would like it in book format, it is available in both print and Kindle versions on Amazon.com. Both can be found on my Amazon author page.]

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[1] Rom 1:17
[2] Luke 18:8
[3] Military acronym: Battle Dress Uniform
[4] Zech 3:1-7
[5] The word for “jewels” is also translated “armor” and is used of the “vessels” in the temple.
[6] Rev 16:15; 3:4-5
[7] Is 64:6
[8] Deut 22:13-21
[9] Jude 1:23
[10] Rev 3:17-19