The Bible never describes the Bride of Christ as stagnant.
According to #1 New York Times bestselling author and prophetic teacher Jonathan Cahn, Scripture paints a far more glorious picture: one of believers who continually grow brighter until they reflect the very glory of Christ Himself.
During a powerful teaching on Song of Solomon 6:10, Cahn unpacked what he calls one of Scripture’s most beautiful portraits of spiritual maturity. Quoting the passage—”Who is this who grows like the dawn?”—he explained that God never intended believers to remain where they first encountered Him. Instead, every follower of Christ is called to an ever-increasing life of transformation.
“The bride is like the dawn,” Cahn said, noting that dawn begins as only a faint light before gradually illuminating the entire horizon.
He explained that the Christian life should mirror that progression.
“The light of God in you must be continually growing more than before,” Cahn said. “If you’re not growing, you’re going backwards.”
Cahn said this continual growth should touch every area of a believer’s life—from love and holiness to joy and devotion to Christ. Just as dawn signals a new beginning, believers are called to live with the constant reality that every day is another opportunity for God to make all things new.
But Cahn says the journey doesn’t stop with the dawn.
He pointed to the next description in Song of Solomon, where the Bride is compared to the moon. Unlike the dawn, which announces the coming light, the moon reflects light that comes from another source.
Likewise, Cahn said mature believers stop striving to produce righteousness on their own and instead become reflections of Christ Himself.
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“You don’t have to reflect your own love,” he explained. “You reflect the love of God, and it becomes your love.”
That reflection, he said, should remain steady rather than fluctuating with emotions or circumstances.
To illustrate that truth, Cahn recounted the story of a Christian imprisoned under communist persecution. After years without seeing sunlight, the man cried out to God about His promise that the sun rises on both the righteous and the unrighteous. The Lord responded with a simple but life-changing reminder: “You are the sunrise. Light up your prison cell.” The man ultimately led his torturer to Christ.
Finally, Cahn said believers mature into becoming like the sun itself—not because they possess light independently, but because Christ’s life so completely fills them that His love flows naturally through them.
Rather than living for recognition or approval, mature believers become people who continually give themselves away in service, sacrifice and unconditional love.
Cahn reminded listeners that God gave humanity His greatest gift in Jesus Christ. Those who receive that gift, he said, are now called to become gifts themselves.
As culture grows darker, Cahn’s message serves as a reminder that the church’s calling is not simply to survive the darkness, but to overcome it by reflecting the light of Christ until the world sees Him through His people.
Abby Trivett is a writer and editor for Charisma Media and has a passion for sharing the gospel through the written word. She holds two degrees from Regent University, a B.A. in Communication with a concentration in Journalism and a Master of Arts in Journalism. She is the author of the newly released book, The Power of Suddenly: Discover How God Can Change Everything in a Moment. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
