"They Are Virgins"
Revelation 14:4
Don Fortner
By nature God's elect are
as corrupt as any of Adam's offspring. There is nothing good, noble, holy, or
virtuous in any believer by nature. And we, being sinners, cannot do anything
virtuous before God. Yet, when viewed from heaven's vantage point, as God sees
us in Christ and as we shall be eternally, every believer is a chaste virgin.
Grace has made us chaste, pure, holy and undefiled in the sight of God! Christ
has removed all our sins and all the consequences of sin from us. This is what
God says of all believers: "They are virgins" (I Cor. 6:9-11; Hos.
2:18-20; Song 2:10; 5:1-2; 6:4,9; Ezek. 16:6-14).
God's saints are compared to virgins for many reasons.
1. WE ARE BETROTHED TO CHRIST AS OUR HUSBAND BY OUR VOLUNTARY
PROFESSION OF FAITH IN HIM. Just as the Lord Jesus willingly espoused himself
to us in the covenant of grace, we willingly gave, and continue to give, our
hearts to him in conversion. In our profession of faith by baptism we publicly
avowed that we belong to Christ.
2. LIKE CHASTE VIRGINS, ALL BELIEVERS LOVE CHRIST AND CLEAVE ONLY
TO HIM. With singleness of heart we love Christ, because he first loved us. And
with the devotion of sincere love we adhere to Christ alone, because he holds
our hearts by his grace.
3. LIKE VIRGINS ADORNED FOR THEIR WEDDING, GOD'S SAINTS ARE
CLOTHED FROM HEAD TO FOOT WITH THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST. Our beauty and
comeliness is his beauty and comeliness. Our happy attire is the garments of
his salvation, that fine linen, clean and white, which Christ Jesus made for us
by his life of obedience to God as our Representative and put upon us by his
grace.
4. AND, LIKE VIRGINS, GOD'S ELECT ARE CHASTE AND PURE. Grace has
made us so. Grace has given believers a holy heart and nature. Our doctrine is
the pure doctrine of Christ, our worship is the chaste worship of Christ, our life is molded after the holy example of Christ. This is
what grace has done for us! Grace takes the filthy and makes it pure. Grace
takes the wretched and makes it lovely. Grace takes the defiled and makes
chaste virgins.