Now let’s consider the marriage head covering worn by a bride. It is metaphoric of the fact that now we (male and female alike), as wife believers, have our life hid in, submitted to and under Christ our Head. There is now only one head. He is now our head. Our independent headship, demonstrated by our living our own life independently from Him, died as our old man with Him on the Cross. It is finished. Just as the cancer dies when the body is dead, never to return, so also the “old man” is crucified with Him. We need to come to believe in our old man’s death, that we are free of the fallen, independent, Adamic serpentine nature – it has no hold upon we who are dead. We are now free to marry “another,” Him who is our new and governing Head, who guides by His Life and nature within. We take Him who dwells in us as our head. Taking Him as all requires that we let go of all the other loves and commitments, such as our unspoken commitment to be something in ourselves, our self-sufficiency, our self-seeking to be somebody in the church organization, our seeking to appear right in all things; all may be summed up as our love of self.

Anything that separates us from the Christ within is a hindrance to us entering the rest that is ours when we trust Him. Even “good works” that were not initiated by Him can separate us from that fruitful union. We should beware of manmade Church programs, and rather walk by the indwelling sense of His life guiding us, perhaps we work, and perhaps we don’t – we let Him be the Head.

Complying with Religion’s Laws of Works

Typically, once we are saved, re-birthed by God our Father, we often leave or separate our selves from Christ as our husband within, trying to do good things for God – while living apart from Him as our indwelling Head. Most begin by trying to live the Christian life independent of relying upon Him. We essentially say, “Thank you Lord for saving me, now I’m going to do the right thing, for you.” Many apparently will go on to say, “Lord we’ve done many wonderful things in your name” and He will say, “depart from me ye that work iniquity (lawlessness), I never knew you.” It is He who must work within us to do and to will of His good pleasure. All of our doing must be rooted “in Him,” governed by Him. Paul says that it is not what we do or we don’t do that counts at all – “neither circumcision nor uncircumcision … availeth … but a new creature” (Gal 6:15).

Only that which is led by the new life within is vital, potent, and meaningful. His life within is that new creation creature (1Cor 5:17). Religious doing, whether good or evil, it is all evil works, if done apart from His prompting and leading. The workers of “iniquity” in the Matthew 7:23 are independent workers, being “lawless,” not obeying the law of His life (Rom 8:2) spoken within. He will say, “I never knew you.” This is because their work was not rooted in His knowing them. “Knew” here means experiential knowing, as from intimacy. These folks have had no intimate union with Him that they might “know” Him (as Adam knew Eve), so He never knew them in their efforts to do. They acted upon themselves, not by His headship. Hence, they are lawless – not living by His law of the Spirit of life speaking within them.

Relying Upon God’s Work Performed Within Us

In only a few moments we may become married legally by our vows, but it takes twenty or more years for a couple to come to union; and so it is in our spiritual union with Christ as a husband. One day we received Him as Savior, but it usually is many, many years later that we may come to union with Him as our husband. However, we may be confident in this, Philip. 1:6 “… that he (God) which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”

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