The Church: The Bride of Christ
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The Bride of Christ
The Bride of Christ
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
THEMES
Christ as the Bridegroom, the Church as His bride
The jealous love of Christ for His people
His work in purifying His bride
Our duties during the betrothal period
His return
METAPHORS
We are working through the biblical metaphors for the Church, so far we’ve covered The Church as the Body of Christ and as the temple of God. Today we’re looking at the text of scripture to understand something of what it means for the Church to be the bride of Christ.
Marital imagery pops up in the new testament on several occasions, in Ephesians 5, 2 Corinthians 11, Revelation 19 and in Matthew 25. But it’s actually found in the Old Testament as well. God calls Israel His bride on numerous occasions in the books of Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Hosea and we read of His devotion and faithfulness to Israel His bride over and over again despite her infidelity.
And so this New Testament metaphor for the church isn’t new, it’s very old - It’s rooted in the Old testament, and it speaks of God’s relationship with His covenant people.
We’re going to learn today about the love of Christ for His people. When we learned about the Church being God’s temple, we saw How God is a God who dwells with His people. Today as we examine these scriptures concerning the Bridegroom and His bride we are going to come face to face with a God who loves His people like a husband loves his wife.
MARRIAGE
According to scripture the union of one man and one woman in marriage is the most intimate and sacred relationship of all. Two individuals come together and become one flesh in the eyes of God. And this Paul says that this profound mystery, this one flesh union of marriage is a picture of Jesus Christ and His Church. That He is the bridegroom, and the church is His Bride, and that their union together is indisoluable.
31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
The relationship between Christ and us is not described only as Master/servant or Teacher/student but as Husband and wife.
2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
When we get saved we’re not only born again, and adopted but we are also betrothed to a husband.
MARRIAGE TRADITION IN JESUS’S TIME
Jewish marriage tradition:
Arrangement - a long time before the couple were mature, sometimes even before they were born marriage arrangements were made by their parents.
Introduction - the couple would eventually meet and the woman had the opportunity to refuse the suitor if she felt it wasn’t a good match.
Proposal accepted and dowry is paid.
Betrothal period - Bridegroom goes to prepare a place, bride prepares her dress and her bridal party for the big day.
Bridegrooms party arrives to collect the bride and her party.
The wedding feast
Parralells - Christ and The Church
Arrangement - Eph 1:4-6
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
The Father chose one bride for Christ, He’s not marrying everyone. Just as when I got married, I chose one wife, I got married to one woman, not every woman. So The Father chose one bride for Christ before the foundation of the world, a faithful people for his son from every tribe, tongue and nation.
2. Introduction - John 1:9-13
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
3. Proposal Accepted (Christs first coming) - Eph 5:25
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
4. Dowry Paid - 2 Corinthians 1:21-22
21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
5. Betrothal Period (Current period) - Rev 19:7-8
7 Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
8 it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
We are to make ourselves ready - purify ourselves.
It was granted - all of God
“to her was granted.” This was a gift of sovereign grace, the free gift of her own Beloved: “To her was granted.” She had a grant from the throne, a royal grant, an indisputable right. We also go to heaven by royal grant. We have nothing of our own to carry us there by right, nothing of boasted merit; but to us also is granted acceptance in the Beloved. Oh, it is a glorious thing to hold your own by letters patent, under the Great Seal of heaven! When we shall be united to Jesus, the ever blessed Lamb, in endless wedlock, all our fitness to be there will be ours by free grant. - Spurgeon
We are betrothed to one husband - Christ. We are to have eyes only for Him, not looking to the world for love or approval. - Song 2:15
16 My beloved is mine, and I am his;
he grazes among the lilies.
12 A garden locked is my sister, my bride,
a spring locked, a fountain sealed.
6. The Bridegroom Arrives
1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
7. The Wedding Feast
9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
The Love of Jesus for us His Church
7 You are altogether beautiful, my love;
there is no flaw in you.
I’m always aware of how lacking my love for Christ is, of how I should love Him more. But my focus needs to be on how He loves me!
10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
STAYING CHASTE
2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
Paul’s desire as the one who brought them to Christ was to present them as a pure virgin to Him when He comes back. And that is the aim of every true Shepherd.
The immediate context of this verse shows us that certain ‘super apostles’ or ‘false apostles’ had begun to teach ‘another Jesus’ and minister in ‘a different spirit’ than the one Paul gave them. False teachers both within and outside of the church will come and attempt to lead Christ’s bride astray. They’ll say that she is too dowdy, too frumpy, too frigid, these false teachers want to dress the church in clothes that will attract worldly, carnal people. Change her worship and her doctrine to make it attractive to the world. They’ll do it by presenting another Jesus, a false Jesus, a worldly Jesus who looks just like them. But the church will always be despised by the world because we’re betrothed to the one who the world hated - Jesus!
The Bride of Christ is a sort of Cinderella now, sitting among the ashes. She is like her Lord, “despised and rejected of men”; the watchmen smite her, and take away her veil from her; for they know her not, even as they knew not her Lord. But when he shall appear, then shall she appear also, and in his glorious manifestation she also shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of the Father. - Spurgeon
We must resist the false teachers, reject their false Jesus’s. We must stay faithful while our Bridegroom is preparing a place for us!
2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
He calls us pure, chaste without any flaw. Are there things that we know we need to get dealt with in our lives today? Impurity? Infidelity to our Bridegroom? Let’s cleanse ourselves today. I want to present you beloved as a pure bride to Him on that day when He returns.
19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
Do you have oil in your lamp today? Are you ready for His return?
When He does come back He will take His bride and she will become His wife. All who are His bride will live forever, all who are not will perish. Are you His bride? If not, don’t wait another day, turn to Him now, repent of your sins and believe in Christ. Tomorrow is not promised and when He returns it will be too late.