The Bride of Christ

Sunday Morning  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  50:25
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Ephesians 5:25–30 ESV
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.
How many of us can say we are happily married? Now, how many of us can say that every minute of our marriages has been easy?
To be honest, it is a struggle, correct? I like a quote I found from Dave Willis; “A strong marriage requires two people who choose to love each other even on days when they struggle to like each other”.
Why do we struggle in our marriages? Finances, challenging children, immaturity, unfaithfulness, change (jobs, homes, cities, states), sickness, depression, disinterest, empty nest… the list could continue on. Many things can cause us to have stress in our marriages. But, when we look at our marriage vows we promise to love, comfort, honor, and keep in sickness and in health and, forsaking all others, be faithful so long as we both shall live. It’s a covenant - a legally binding contract - between husband, wife, and God.
Unfortunately, it seems many of these vows are forgotten as soon as they are spoken. The moment life gets hard, there’s a challenge, or something doesn’t go our way we are ready to call it quits.
But, does our relationship with Christ have the same challenges? Do we view the vows we take when we submit our lives to Him with the same disconnected attitude as many do marriage? If we think about it, we are called to love, cherish, honor, and forsake all others when we accept Christ as our personal Savior, correct?
If we think of salvation, marriage has many parallels. It is a union of two families. In the Jewish custom, the betrothal period was a time of testing between the couples. While they lived separately, they were considered legally bound to each other. It was to test faithfulness, commitment, and fidelity (forsaking all others). If we think of our current relationship with Christ - are we not in a testing? Living apart, yet legally bound to each other through salvation, with a time of testing of our commitment, our faithfulness, and our fidelity to Him? We see this image being used in Ephesians chapter 5. Paul gives instruction to the church of Ephesus of how the relationship between husband and wife should look, and how it mimics the relationship Jesus has with us, as believers. But how does that impact us today? By being the Bride of Christ, as believers, we must fully submit to Him. Following Him, wherever He may lead us because we trust Him, we believe in Him, and we love Him.

Husbands, Love Your Wives

Ephesians 5:25–26 ESV
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,
Husbands, our love toward our wives SHOULD mimic the love Christ (the bridegroom) has for His bride (the church). The word used for love here is agape - a demonstrated love, a love based on its regarded value. The Greek term is a divine love as opposed to worldly love, that can be directed towards God, Christ or fellow Christians. Notice the goal of a divine love, it is a love that is selfless and sacrificial. It is a love that expands beyond anything and everything. It is a love of total commitment.
That is the picture of the love given by Christ to the church - he gave himself up for her - literally nothing was too great a sacrifice for His church, His bride, US - as Christians. Notice the reason why? That He (Jesus) might:
sanctify - to make holy and pure. We are viewed as a divine gift from God, and we should view the sacrifice made by Jesus as a divine gift from God also.
cleanse - sanctification comes from the cleansing of sin and uncleanness. How is it we are cleansed of sin? Through the washing of the blood of Jesus.
wash - What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Revelation 1:5
Revelation 1:5 ESV
5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood
Christ loved us so much he paid the price for our sin on the cross, sanctifying us, cleansing us, and washing us so that we can be seen as PURE, CLEAN, UNDEFILED, and WHOLE in the eyes of a righteous God.
What have we done to deserve a love like this? Not one thing. We do not deserve a love like this. We don’t earn a love like this. As a matter of fact, we can’t even attract a love like this. Yet, Christ offers us a selfless, giving, sacrificial love that is beyond our comprehension.
Imagine, men, if we loved our wives in the same way Christ loves us. How much different would our marriages, our relationships, our love be?
Christ gave Himself - his life - for the church. There was nothing He hid, nothing He kept from us, nothing He spared. He sacrificially gave His all.

Sacrificial Purpose

Ephesians 5:27 (ESV)
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.
There is a purpose for His sacrifice, a cause and effect. The sacrificial love shown by Christ is “so that” he might present the church to himself.
in splendor - honorable to God, literally to sparkle, shine, be radiant. Christ wants to love us so much that we radiate the same love that He gives to us.
without spot - He covers ALL our sin, and makes us clean through His Word (the Bible) John 15:3
John 15:3 ESV
3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.
We no longer are stained with sin, but are made pure in His eyes and in Gods. Ever washed a car and as soon as it starts drying you see a spot you may have missed, or a water spot forming? What do we do? We re-wash, or wipe away the spot. Why? Because we have tried our best to make that vehicle clean, without a spot. We want it to be perfect. Isn’t that the way Christ wants our relationship with Him to look? Presenting ourselves at our best for/to Him?
not wrinkled - Not only are we not stained, but all the sinful habits are ironed out of us. We start looking more like Christ! We are put together, looking sharp, and presenting ourselves at our best.
or any such thing - Christ will not allow us present ourselves as imperfect. Now, we cannot do this on our own. We live in a sinful world. We live a sinful life. We allow “other such things” to stain us as we walk through this world. We need a constant cleaning to stay spotless and without blemish before Christ.
How do we do this? Often, when we wash, we try to avoid mud holes. We don’t intentionally stomp in or drive through mud puddles, correct? We are told to separate ourselves and keep ourselves clean (as best as sinful mankind can). Christ does this for us SO:
THAT she may be:
holy - With the blood of Jesus, we can be presented as pure, perfect, clean before our groom, Christ, and His Father, God.
without blemish - there is nothing out of place, nothing unwanted, nothing seen as unholy before God.
Jesus expects our very best. As the bride of Christ we have to work on our relationship with Him. That means we are to be faithful, we are to honor, cherish, and love Him in the same manner He loves us.

Example Given

Ephesians 5:28–30 ESV
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.
We should love Jesus in the same way He loves us. In many wedding ceremonies we recognize that two shall become one. I tend to explain it a little differently, in that two are woven into one with Christ. When we are given the example of loving as we love our own bodies, it isn’t a selfish or narcissistic way, but it is considering the other in the same way we would ourselves. None of us grow tired of ourselves, none of us should grow tired of our spouse, and we certainly should never grow tired of our Groom, Jesus. If we think closely, we might just see that Christ loved us so fiercely that He was willing to give His own life for us.
It is a love where neither has to wonder… It is a love where neither feel slighted… It is a love where both are nurtured physically, emotionally, and spiritually. If we are fulfilling all the needs of our spouse, then there is no reason for them to look elsewhere for satisfaction. In the same manner, Christ is giving His all to us. Now, as in a relationship, it takes two. Are we giving to Him in the same fashion He has given to us?
That is the type of love expected from us, as the bride of Christ.

Conclusion

Ephesians 5:22–24 ESV
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.
One of the hardest things for us to do, is to submit to someone else. Eve was told she would not want to submit to Adam.
Genesis 3:16 ESV
16 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”
As the bride of Christ, the desire of our sinful nature is to be contrary to the groom. There is an inner fighting among sin nature and the purity of God. Yet, Christ is the head of the church, and as the church we should submit to Him and His will.
If I could reword the quote from Dave Willis to reflect our relationship with Jesus it might sound something like; “A strong marriage requires US to choose to love CHRIST even on days when we struggle to like ourselves”.
Knowing all the bridegroom has done for us, my question today is what are we doing for Him? Have we accepted Him as the head? Have we said our vows through salvation? Have we chosen to nurture the relationship and grown closer to the one who loves us unconditionally? Or, are we struggling? Are we struggling to commit to Jesus fully? Are we struggling to hand everything over to Him? Are we struggling to maintain the relationship?
Today, you need not struggle any more. As we close today, the altar is open. If you don’t want to come forward us this as a time of reflection, repentance, and commitment to Christ. Are you ready to make your relationship right with Christ today?
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