The Royal Apparel

Est 5:1-2 "1 Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house. 2 And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre."

After the period of prayer and fasting Esther approaches the king as he sits upon his royal throne facing the entrance, he then he sees Esther appear in it. She presents herself in the court in front of the throne for him to see she wishes audience with him, she is dressed as the queen in all the Royal Apparel.

This brings to mind that how we present ourselves to the King of Kings is very important especially when we desire His favor, there is for us the wearing of “The Royal Apparel”. I want to say something about our own approach to the King of Kings. If we are born-again we are cleansed and made pure by the blood of Jesus and it gives us boldness to enter the throne of grace, clean pure and white. However, as we see, Esther is not just entering clean and white she is wearing the royal apparel which is gold, blue, purple etc. This visit by Esther is not a simple "I wish to visit with you and be in your presence" visit; this is going to be the most serious request any queen can make of her king and it will mean the lives of many.

We will need to spend some time on this royal apparel because there is a beautiful spiritual truth here that relates to a believer as they seek Gods favor. This truth concerning the Royal Apparel is going far beyond basic salvation message and being clothed upon with white robes. There is a beauty that is created by this Royal Apparel and it will cause Esther to find great favor.

In our own experience there is a favor that comes unmerited, it is simply because we are covered in the blood, however, there is a favor that goes beyond this, it is the favor that comes upon an obedient son or daughter who has pleased their father, this is the favor we are addressing as we speak of the Royal Apparel (not only unmerited favor but favor due to great beauty of character). Esther is going to find such favor with the king and as a result he will extend his Royal Scepter to her and offers to her half of the kingdom.

Esther comes to the king in Royal Apparel and in true humility. This act of humility and beauty is going to produce favor which is going to spare not just herself but an entire kingdom. This is not the influence of one who has just experienced salvation but this is the intervention of a mature saint who has been clothed upon with the Royal Apparel. This is not basic garments but they are royal garments.

The Royal Apparel:

These garments produced beauty in Esther and caused her to find favor with the king. We are speaking in typology here as it relates to these garments because God is a Spirit and is impressed with spiritual garments more than earthly ones.

This truth concerning the Royal Apparel is a truth that speaks of the garments the Bride of Christ is clothed with when she takes on the characteristics of Christ. We need to understand that in the natural these are not the garments Esther was born with in the house of Mordecai but rather the garments she was clothed with when she was brought into the royal house. They were provided for her by the king and she was made worthy of these garments during the time of her preparation and so when we build a spiritual truth on these garments it must be understood they are not garments we are born with but rather ones given to us over time by the Holy Spirit.

This truth needs to be embraced by the Bride of Christ if she is to become the Bride without spot or wrinkle (Eph. 5:25-27), we are not clothed upon with such royal garments simply by being saved we must go through periods of cleansing, purification and preparation. As we submit to the preparations of God in our lives He clothes us with such garments.

On at least one occasion I had my eyes opened in the Spirit and I saw a minister clothed upon with spiritual garments. What I saw was priestly garments of the Zadok priesthood, it was a white robe a white bonnet and the breastplate of judgment and over his head appeared the word "Zadok". I understood by this that this man was a faithful priest in the kingdom of God. So these spiritual garments are very real. Spiritual garments are talked about many places in the Word of God.

• Rev 3:4 "Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy."
• Rev 16:15 "Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame."
• Jud 1:23 "And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh."
• Isa 61:3 "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified."

Let us consider the message in these Royal Garments:

1) Blue – in typology this speaks of the Word of God (Num.15:38-39 – blue was to remind them of the commandments), or even the prophetic word. We are clothed upon with the color blue in our spiritual garments as we walk in obedience to the Word (commands) and allow the Word of God to fill us, to work in us, to do this we need to feed perpetually on the Word of God.

This walking in obedience includes keeping His commandments and walking in his statutes and judgments; they are the Word of God and then we are clothed in blue as we obey His Word. We will see in Verse Two that as a result of this Royal Apparel the king will extend His scepter of favor to her. This is only done to those who walk in His commands and are obedient. The Word will clothe us and the prophetic aspect of the Word will work in us (as we see in Joseph - until his word was fulfilled the Word tried him Psa 105:17-19). I have encountered many a saint over the years whose relationship with the Word of God was causal at best, their obedience to it was tepid. This will not do. Col 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." We want to be so clothed with the Word of God in so much that there is a prophetic anointing on what we say. We will want to develop this garment by having a more than superficial relationship with the Word of God. By being clothed in this blue garment it is reflecting that the saint is clothed with the Word of God, they are walking in obedience to it. Jas 1:22 "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."

The idea of having this garment clothe us means also that we have experienced the Word, we have been dealt with by the Word of God and our hearts have been exposed: Heb 4:12 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." We can consider Joseph where the Word of the Lord tried him (See Psa 105:17-19) or Mary whose walking in obedience to the Word over her life pierced her own heart (See Luke 2:34-35). Joseph was given a prophetic promise and it caused him to suffer in order to be prepared. We must be willing to pay the price to fulfill the word God has spoken over us. Mary, what a price she paid to fulfill Gods promise and the Word of the Lord over her. Her heart was pierced as many accused her of raising an illegitimate child (the hearts of many were indeed revealed as they pointed the finger and accused an innocent woman). We need to allow the Word to work in us and deal in us in order for us to be clothed with this blue garment that plays a part in finding great favor with the King of Kings.

2) White - this speaks of purity and it too is a garment that should clothe us. There can be two aspects of white garments. This first has to do with being covered with the Blood of Jesus and being clean before God the Father because of the blood that was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. However, this, I feel goes beyond that point to the place where we are more than simply forgiven but that we have been cleansed deeply from unholy desires that are common to the old man. This I believe is a pure heart (moral purity) not just a forgiven one. What is written upon our hearts before we come to know Christ (and residues can remain long after we know Him) are the flaws of the fallen nature that pertain to body, soul and spirit. The desires of the world and the flesh which can, if we are not careful, give license to the devil to come in and manipulate our lives even as a believer.

Believers must not naively think that the devil can have no influence over their lives. In some cases those believers who have serious character flaws can be greatly manipulated by the devil. Peter was not a man who was disobedient or sinful and yet Jesus, speaking to Peter, warned him twice about the devil. Once when He said the devil desires to sift him as wheat and once when he said "Get thee behind Me Satan" and was addressing Peter who inadvertently spoke for the enemy. Let us be wise to this fact and be careful; God wants to so work in us that even our very desires have changed from corruption to holiness. Purity is the antidote, it makes us untouchable by the devil. Jesus, in the Beatitudes, said "Blessed are the Pure in Heart for they shall see as God" (Matt 5). The goal of the Holy Spirit is to erase the sinful desires we were born with and replace it with the laws of God (Writing His laws on the fleshly table of our hearts is what the New Covenant is all about, See Jeremiah 31). The beauty of this truth on purity is that it is a component of the Temple of God, we see this in the Temple of Solomon where God commanded lilies to be represented (See 1 Kings 7 & 2 Chronicles 4), lilies speak of purity and the truth is this that God’s temple (which we are) is a place of purity. God desires purity in His sanctuary, He desires His saints to be pure. God wants to make us pure on the inside and as this work is completed we are clothed upon with these white garments.

We are informed that without holiness no man will see the Lord. Oh, this needs to be our life long quest, our passion. When we speak of purity and holiness they are synonymous. Esther went through a period of cleansing and purification and this made her worthy to wear white garments:

Est 2:8-9 "8 So it came to pass, when the king's commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was brought also unto the king's house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women. 9 And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens, which were meet to be given her, out of the king's house: and he preferred her and her maids unto the best place of the house of the women."

3) The Golden Crown - This speaks of having authority but also of the divine nature. Gold is a material that speaks of divinity and the crown rests over the head (The head governs the whole body). It is a crown which speaks of authority and it is made of gold; those who partake of the divine nature are also crowned with authority.

Out flowing from the working of Hegai the chamberlain (in type, The Holy Spirit) Esther found favor above all the other maidens and as a result she was crowned with the golden crown: Est 2:16-17 "16 So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. 17 And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti." This puts us in mind of the Proverbs 31 woman: Pro 31:29 "Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all."

We must understand this crown was not a right Esther had, it was an honor bestowed upon her because of the favor she found with the king. This favor was obtained because of the meekness and humility she possessed during her time of preparation; she allowed the work to be done, she paid the price required in her preparation, it was an act of submission of her will. I do believe that some Christians feel they have a right to the authority and advantages of the crown without paying the price (The price is simple, in humility and meekness obey the scriptures and allow the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives - this we represented by the Blue and White garments we looked at first).

It is true that we are the heir apparent through Christ and will wear a crown Christ and the grace of God purchased for us but bear in mind what Paul says about the heir apparent: Gal 4:1-2 "1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father." He is under tutors and governors and is no different than the servants, he must submit to them during this time of preparation. This tutelage and govern-ship is where the Word of God works in us and the Holy Spirit makes us surrender areas that might not be pleasing to the Lord. This is where the meekness and humility come in, we can reject His dealings and chafe at it but then the work does not get done and we should not expect to find favor with the King nor wear the crown that endows us with a certain authority.

One of the foundational problems Calvinism has it is declares there is no price for us to pay Jesus paid it all and all we have to do is claim it (we understand this today as Hyper-Grace) They suppose Jesus paid it all and we will not have to pay any price. One little verse deals a fatal blow to this doctrine as Jesus Himself says "buy of Me gold tried in the fire". The message He is conveying is: allow me to take you through trials that you may learn the lessons of overcoming: Rev 3:18  "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." When we begin to think that we are entitled to the throne and the crown with no dealings or outworking of grace in our hearts then we err considerably and will fall short of God plan for our lives. Gods plan is to crown us indeed and make us worthy to wear it.

4) Fine Linen - This would have been part of the Royal Apparel and spiritually we already have the interpretation of this garment. Revelations 19 informs us this is the righteousness of the saints. Rev 19:7-8 "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." Fine Linen is the righteousness of the saints, this is an imparted righteousness that is a part of their garment. We have some organizations that are so worried about their works being interpreted in connection with their salvation that they down play the works of the saints but this should not be a fear we have; God is looking for us to have righteous works, it is a reflection of the Christ within and should be visible.

Whilst the message is clear, our works will not save us, yet it is incumbent upon us to work the works of God as an indication that He is in us and works through us. In that spirit let me say that this Fine Linen represents just that, the righteous works of the saints. It is what has been worked out in them as the Life of Christ is more fully realized in them. They are not only standing behind the righteousness of Christ (as one who sins but hides to prevent punishment) but rather they have come to the fullness of the stature of Christ, which is the goal. Rom 8:29 "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." Eph 4:13 "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:"

This is a classic truth and very well understood. Imputed versus imparted righteousness. Imputed righteousness is talked about in the book of Romans (Rom 4:3-8) and it is a righteousness that we obtain at salvation when Jesus Christ took all the punishment that we deserved upon Himself and we believed in that sacrifice and accepted it. This form of righteousness was made very real to me on a flight from Chicago Illinois, we had reached altitude when I was aware of the Lord in the plane, He had come to me and I felt the joy of having the Lord with me on the plane. He drew very near to me and I knew it was for me that He had come. Oh the joy of Him being so near but my joy was turned into public weeping (I had to turn my face toward the window to maintain my private weeping) when these words came out of my spirit, I could not restrain them, the Lord willed for me to say it: "Punish Him for my crimes". I could hardly believe this came out but I could not refuse to say it. As I did I realized that Jesus Christ had been beaten tortured and killed for my sins, for me personally. The hardest part was that the penalty I deserved, it was my crime and it was my punishment He took upon Himself and I could go free without wrath, without punishment although I had been the offender. I hid behind the sacrifice Christ bore for me. It was heart breaking and yet it could be no other way.

Imputed Righteousness - This is how we start the journey and is accounted to us, we do nothing to merit it, we simply believe Jesus Christ died for our sins and we receive it. Rom 4:3-8 "3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. 6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, 7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."  This righteousness is imputed, no works. This is saving grace, it is how we start off in this race. The work of God is to believe (Joh 6:29). However, there is a greater work of righteousness and it is imparted righteousness, this is conveyed through the Bride of Christ.

Imparted Righteousness - this is what is being identified in Revelations 19 and the truth associated with the linen garments of Esther. The Bride, who, like Esther in her fine linen garments has made herself ready and is clothed in the Royal Apparel. She is clothed upon with righteousness that has been imparted to her by the king. She is not simply standing behind the righteous sacrifice of another, she has put away sin and disobedience and stands in the righteous garments provided to her by the king. She has put on righteousness, she possesses this quality and stands in righteousness before the king and all of heaven. Those who make up this bride will be clothed upon with the same righteousness that Christ is clothed with. There is no unrighteousness in her, she is not standing behind the righteousness One, she is clothed with the righteousness of Christ.

Justification - This same thought is conveyed to us in the Book of Romans where Paul talks about being justified by faith (Rom 5:1 KJV "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:"). This thought of justification is twofold, first it is instantaneous then it is also progressive. We are justified by faith without works and yet God wants to so work in us to make us straight and so the work of justification is ongoing. This is best understood by several scriptures:

In Hosea 14 the backsliding nation will return the Lord and say: Hos 14:8 KJV "Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found." As it says in verse one, "I will heal their backsliding and I will love them freely. God has brought them back but He has also dealt with the sins that led off the path in the first place. Not just covering for their sin but removing it altogether.

We are told in Isaiah that Jerusalem's iniquity is pardoned and yet there is a further work whereby God deals with her wrong ways. God makes straight in the desert a highway for God, this has a natural application but the spiritual application is the best; the highway of God is in our hearts and the way must be made straight. Isa 40:1-5 KJV 1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins. 3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."

5) Purple (See Jdg. 8:26; Lk. 16:19; Jn. 19:1-3) - this color speaks to us of royalty, not just in title but clothed upon with royalty or in other words character, behaving like a king or queen (Esther's behavior was impeccable, obedient to authority, submissive, pleasant, etc...).

The idea that we are the “Kings kids” and can remain His royal children while unchanged by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit is not quite true. God wants us to mature in Him to grow up and learn to walk in a way pleasing to Him, to put on the character of Christ. All of the attributes of the Holy Spirit (Fruits of the Spirit) mentioned in Galatians 5 correlate in one fashion or another to the qualities of the Royal Apparel. Galatians 5:22-25 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,  (23)  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.  (24)  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.  (25)  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” We must not remain as babes. Jesus Christ did not suffer, die and resurrect in order to produce a kingdom of babes; He wants true Sons and Daughters. He wants to give us the power to become the sons of God (Joh 1:12).

When we are born again the Father listens to all His children’s prayers but the man or woman of influence such as the modern heroes of faith we read about in our books; those like John Wesley, William Booth, Hudson Taylor, George Whitefield, William Carey, Elizabeth Elliot, Brian J. Bailey and countless others whose lives impacted the nations are men and women who have been refined and polished by the Holy Spirit and they are men and women of great influence in heaven. They were not babes but men and women of great distinction and influence.

We can also add Meekness to this list of Royal Qualities because Esther, we are told, required nothing other than what was provided by the king (Est 2:15). This is beautiful description of meekness, no demands, no criticism, not needy. This is beauty in the eyes of the King. We have confirmation of this in the Psalms: Psa 149:4 "For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation." These garments produced beauty in Esther and caused her to find favor with the king. We are speaking in typology here as it relates to these garments and the believer because God is a Spirit and is impressed with spiritual garments more than earthly ones.

In conclusion to this study on the Royal Apparel we will make this comment. The book of Leviticus was considered a hand book for the priesthood because it showed the way of approach to a holy God. The spirit behind these royal garments can be found in that great book because both these messages, the approach of Esther to Ahasuerus and the approach of the priest to God Himself in Leviticus reveal that God desires to cloth His people with spiritual garments as they approach a holy God. Let us not think, as many do, that we can come just any old way. That is fine for salvation but as we grow and mature in the Lord He expects the bride to make herself ready.