The Color of Worship - White

Revelation 3:5

Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels. 

Romans 13:14

Instead, clothe yourselves with The Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.

CHRIST OUR COVERING

    White is the color of righteousness, for Christ Jesus is our righteousness. We are made right with God through the atoning power of the blood of God's Lamb. And when we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, we are taking upon ourselves Hisself. We are choosing to be His own people. Therefore, His righteousness is the white spiritual covering with which we are covered. 

    Galatians 3:27

For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

    Colossians 3:9-11

Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices, and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all. 

    Ephesians 4:17-32 speaks of how we are to be changed once the covering of Christ is upon us. For the purpose of this study, we go to verse 24 (Amplified Bible) "And put on the new self [the regenerated and renewed nature], created in God’s image, [godlike] in the righteousness and holiness of The Truth [living in a way that expresses to God your gratitude for your salvation]."

CHANGED FROM GLORY TO GLORY

    2 Corinthians 3:18

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of The Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from The Lord, Who is The Spirit. 

    2 Corinthians 4:6

For God, Who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His Light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

    Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

    1 John 3:2

Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.

THE ANOINTING

Matthew 26:7, 8

While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, which she poured on His head as He reclined at the table. 

From Topical Lexicon:

“The alabastron was a slender, long-necked flask carved from translucent calcite (commonly called alabaster). Originating in Egypt and prized throughout the Greek and Roman worlds, such vessels were designed to store precious ointments that were sealed until use. Breaking the narrow neck released the fragrance in a single, irrevocable act, making each alabastron a symbol of costly, wholehearted commitment.” 

White in our worship represents the costly, wholehearted commitment we have made in believing and following Jesus Christ wherever He leads us. It is our obedience and our faithfulness to The Word of God. 

Translucent means “shining through”. White represents Jesus shining through the believer. As He said earlier, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16.

    

The Necessity of Total Commitment

 Matthew 10:38 " And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me."

Mark 8:34 "And when He had called His people unto Him with His disciples, H said unto them, 'Whosoever will come after Me let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.'"

John 19:17 "And He bearing His cross went forth into a place called the place of the skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha."

==To 'take up one's cross' is to be fully surrendered to God's will for our life. 

==To 'come after Jesus' is to follow God's Word in our lifetime. 

==To come to the place of death, where the cross leads us, is to live a committed, fulltime life of ministry according to God's Way. 

On the one hand this appears to be an easy task. If life didn't get in the way and cause us to make choices/decisions that interfere with being a fully committed servant of God. We can't live in a box and not interface with other people. That's not living.

We must interact with other people in order for us to fulfill God's purpose not only in our lives but in theirs.

We sing I Surrender All. but do we? We sing I Have Decided To Follow Jesus, but have we? We sing There's Room At The Cross For You, but do we really mean it?

Total Commitment. Fully Surrendered. Have I been found worthy? 

Everything we do as Christians must line up with the Word of God; it is our 'rule of thumb', plumbline, level. Do our words match our actions and God's Word? Are we the hypocrite we despise? Only when we are honest with ourselves will we be able to grow in Christ. And who convicts of our guiltiness? The Holy Spirit. Without His presence in our lives, there is no conviction of sin, no shame, no repentance, no peace and no love. 

We need God's Holy Spirit to live God's Word God's Way in God's Will. We need God's Holy Spirit to live a life of Total Commitment. Scripture tells us that whatever we ask God for must be in accordance with God's Word in order for it to be answered. John 16:23 "Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete." John 15:7 "If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you."

Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

Now is the time to seek God's face in order that we may receive God's will for us today. Now is the time to call on God's Name that we might receive God's Word in our lives. Now is the time to ask Him for His Holy Spirit to empower us to live God's Word every day of our lives.