Remembering His Love For His Bride

December of 2000, Christmas Eve. This was a night I had been looking forward to!

Before we went to church that evening I gave Lisa Thompson a GIFT… The gift extended an offer, an invitation to be my bride…

“Will You Marry Me Dec 24, 2000”

I dropped to one knee and presented her with a ring… She said yes and took the ring!

That evening was the first time I had ever kissed a woman… I held up a mistletoe and asked to kiss my “Wife To Be”

On January 19th of 2002 Lisa and I entered into a covenant relationship of Marriage, where she took my name as we became one.

Our last weekend at Family Life’s “Weekend to Remember” focused on this oneness.

Today we are looking at the church and we are looking at her as the Bride of Christ.

Church Doctrine on this subject… what we believe

We believe that the Church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age.

Espoused/betrothed: to promise a person for marriage—‘to be engaged, to be promised in marriage. It may be important to note in the margin of a text that in biblical times the act of betrothal was regarded as binding, so that the breaking of a betrothal was legally equivalent to divorce.

The church the bride of Christ! (in scripture)

This was a concept the Apostles and early disciples held to as common knowledge… It was an understanding that “of course” we are!

Paul addresses it with the context of teaching of marriage in Ephesians 5:25-33

Paul also is found teaching the church in Corinth about this commitment to Christ as one betrothed… 2 Corinthians 11:2

We also see the Apostle John in his revelation of Jesus Christ as he addresses the church state… Revelation 19:7

Why This Picture of a Bride?

What happened, what occured to give this picture or illustration of the church as the bride of Jesus Christ?

For this answer we look back to the last supper…

Luke records for us that Jesus had looked forward to this time with them with great anticipation… earnestly desiring this moment

The Gospel of Matthew records that evening’s events like this… Matthew 26:26-29

We address this remembrance of the last supper as the ordinance of COMMUNION

COMMUNION= Common Union

“What is in you, is in me” Because of Jesus Christ you and I can have a common union in the Holy Spirit!

A becoming of ONE! This all begins to make better sense as we go back in time 2000 years ago in time to Galilee…

A Galilean Wedding!

The Shiddukhin

Shiddukhin refers to the first step in the marriage process - the arraignments preliminary to the legal betrothal. (the wedding)

Three Key Factors were present...

1) It was common in ancient Israel of the father of the groom to select a bride for his son.

2) The Bride Price… a dowry was not only part of this process of acquiring the bride, it was also given to care for the bride in the absence of the groom… this was the betrothal not the wedding yet this would come later.

3) It consisted of a covenant… Consider the following passages:

God the Father chose His Son’s Bride John 3:16 (He chose all humanity!!!)

Christ paid with His own blood We are also told that our bride's price is not just silver and gold but His own life (I Pet. 1:18-19)

John 14:16-17 shares what the Father has given for our care in the grooms absence… The Holy Spirit

Just as a side note ladies… HELPER here is the same word used in Genesis when God states He will make Adam a “help mate or helper”… what a powerful impacting role God has given the wife!

A Covenant Offered

We also have a legal binding agreement (NOT A CONTRACT) - which is the New Covenant: Ray Vander Laan explains it this way…

When they’d arrived at the price that was to be paid for this young woman, … , the young man would then ask her to marry him, but he did it in a very Jewish way.

The young man’s father would take a flask of wine. He would pour a cup of wine and hand it to his son The son would then turn to the young woman, and with all the solemnity of an oath before Almighty God Himself, that young man would take that cup of wine and say to that young woman, “This cup is a new covenant in my blood, which I offer to you.” In other words, “I love you. I’ll be your faithful husband. Will you be my bride?”

Jesus offers this to His followers and in so doing He makes proposal to all mankind to be His bride.

In a Galilean wedding betrothal ceremony the woman here holds the full power at this stage… she alone chooses whether or not she would drink from the cup or push it away. The CHOICE was hers alone.

- Rich Traver had this to say concerning this custom…

In presenting the cup, if the young girl accepted the young man’s proposal of marriage, she would take the cup from him and drink of it. To seal their betrothal, the young man would then take back the cup from her and he would drink of it himself!

Jesus Christ, our Passover, formally presented the New Covenant to His Bride, at Passover, in the format of a first century Jewish marriage proposal. But, He pointedly declined to drink of that cup just then, as the Biblical narrative specifically states! At that point in the ceremony where He, as the prospective bridegroom, would have partaken of the cup Himself, He made a rather startling statement, that He would not drink of it from that day onward, until He drank of it new, with them, in the Kingdom!

This proposal not only included them… but the many to follow! You and Me!

This is the betrothal period…

As a custom was the young man would go back to His father’s home and prepare a place for them to live,

As he got close the bride would ready herself for his coming for her…

At his coming there would be a wedding and a feast!!!

Christ says in John 14:1-3 We are to be ready for His return which could be any time!

The Betrothal Period

We have NOT entered into a religion as Christians… we have entered into a relationship!!!

We have taken His Name

We are the espoused bride of Jesus Christ!

My FEAR is that we as His bride are having an AFFAIR with the world.

Rather than going around showing that we are engaged to the Son of God we hide it in shame

We so graciously give him and hour or two on Sunday morning then can’t wait to run off with the world

We fornicate with her

We cheat on Him knowing He is watching, asking Him to approve even!

All the while we are to be preparing ourselves for Him and His return

Excited that it could be any day

Clothing ourselves in such a way that those around us ask… “who is he”???!!!

A Galilean wedding was a surprise… the Father chose the day and time while the groom and bride readily waited with excitement and eagerness!

Remembrance

Have men come forward… Remembering is a good thing, necessary, even commanded

Every December 24th we remember and celebrate with a kiss

Every January 19th we remember our vows and celebrate

Every time we gather for communion we remember the the beautiful relationship we are in and celebrate...

BREAD- Remembering the sacrifice and price paid

CUP- His extended offer of love… a gift to be chosen to receive or push away

LOOK AHEAD- He is coming for His Bride