The Bride of Christ and The Holy Spirit

Understanding that the Church of Jesus is His Bride opens up some interesting thinking.

We understand that the church IS the Bride of Christ through several passages:

First, the Bridegroom:

Consider what John the Baptist, said to some of his disciples about some disputes they had about Jesus. Look at where John said:

John 3:27–36 (NLT) … “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. 28 You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for Him.’ 29 It is the Bridegroom who marries the bride, and the Bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with Him and hear His vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at His success. 30 He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. 31 “He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but He has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. 32 He testifies about what He has seen and heard, but how few believe what He tells them! 33 Anyone who accepts His testimony can affirm that God is true. 34 For He is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives Him the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves His Son and has put everything into His hands. 36 And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

Based on what John says here, we understand that Jesus, the Messiah, is the Bridegroom.

That role was given to Him by His Father in heaven.

The same Father who has given Jesus, the Bridegroom, EVERYTHING.

This role of Bridegroom is fulfilled BY NO ONE ELSE.

The Apostle Peter declared before the rulers and elders of the Jewish faith in: Acts 4:11–12 (LSB) “[Jesus Christ the Nazarene] is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. 12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

God decreed from the beginning of creation, that there is only ONE Bridegroom and ONE Bride.

As the Bridegroom, the Eternal Jesus gives ETERNAL life to the Bride.

ONLY those who “believe” in the Bridegroom can have this eternal life.

This Greek word for “believe” “piss-TU-oh” in the New Testament always concerns believing in God and Christ; therefore, it signifies absolute confidence and trust, complete surrender, and heartfelt obedience.

Perhaps what is not quite as clear IN THIS PASSAGE is the identity of the Bride.

So listen to …

The Identity of the Bride:

The Apostle Paul, as he spoke to the Corinthian church saying:

2 Corinthians 11:2 (TPT) You need to know that God’s passion is burning inside me for you, because, like a loving father, I have pledged YOUR hand in marriage to Christ, your true Bridegroom. I’ve also promised that I would present His fiancée to Him as a pure virgin bride.

In that passage the Apostle Paul sees himself and what he has been doing in Corinth as Spiritual Fatherhood.

And like a loving father in the Middle Eastern culture, he says to the church in Corinth, I have pledged your hand in marriage to Christ.

I have also pledged to the Bridegroom, to Jesus, that you are a virgin.

What an extraordinary statement!

And Paul sees the local Corinthian church, that as I explained last week is part of the worldwide Big “C” Church as the Bride.

With the anointing of the Holy Spirit Paul promises to wash the filth of the world so that he can present the Church as a pure virgin to her Bridegroom.

And then the Apostle John said in: Revelation 19:7–8 (LSB) “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to [Jesus], for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” 8 And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Of course in Revelation Jesus has been revealed in Revelation 5 as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah who is also the Lamb of God, slain before the foundation of Creation was laid — seen here as the Bridegroom.

We also see the Bride who has made herself ready for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb..

She is clothed in what only the Church can wear - the righteous acts of the saints.

Actions, deeds, words that were accomplished through the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit.

I like the way Got Questions Ministries summarizes all these passages and a few more. They write:

The imagery and symbolism of marriage is applied to Christ and the body of believers known as the church.

These are those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their personal savior and have received eternal life.

In the New Testament, Christ, the Bridegroom, has sacrificially and lovingly chosen the church to be His bride (Ephesians 5:25–27).

Just as there was a betrothal period in biblical times during which the bride and groom were separated until the wedding, so is the bride of Christ separate from her Bridegroom during the church age.

Her responsibility during the betrothal period is to be faithful to Him (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:24).

At the Second Coming of Christ, the church will be united with the Bridegroom, the official “wedding ceremony” will take place and, with it, the eternal union of Christ and His bride will be actualized (Revelation 19:7–9; 21:1–2).

At that time, all believers will inhabit the heavenly city known as New Jerusalem, also called “the holy city” in Revelation 21:2 and 10. The New Jerusalem is not the church, but it takes on the church’s characteristics [because of the presence of the Church within her].

As believers in Jesus Christ, we who are the bride of Christ wait with great anticipation for the day when we will be united with our Bridegroom.

Until then, we remain faithful to Him and say with all the redeemed of the Lord, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).

Finding The Bride

As we continue to consider Jesus as the Bridegroom and the Church as the Bride we have been given another word picture in Genesis 24:

We see another person in the wedding party.

The “best man” if you will.

Please realize this Genesis passage can be profitable for us because as Romans 15:4 (LSB) [says] For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through the perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

So the account written in Genesis 24 has a purpose even for us today

READ Text: Gen 24:1-9

I encourage you to read the whole account of this unnamed servant and how he brought a bride back for Abraham’s only begotten true son.

As we look at this account, the story of how you and your sweetheart met and fell in love is very different to what we read here in Genesis 24.

When it comes to meeting, dating and marrying that special someone (in our American culture) – well … we don’t do things quite like they did in Genesis 24.

But a lot of couples in other countries do meet their future husband or wife very much like what we see with Father Abraham…

Even today.

Before I came here to pastor this church I pastored in Shreveport, LA.

One Sunday morning I had 2 Indian men in service.

Talking to them later I discovered they were father and son.

The father was a medical doctor who still lived in India, while his son was a computer programmer who had moved to the U.S. years earlier to attend college and then stayed in this country to work.

In the meantime, the dad was arranging for the son to be married in India.

He had found him a nice Christian woman and had travelled to the U.S. to make sure his son was a Christian, before he presented him to this woman and her family.

That’s why they were in church — the dad was determined his son would be a Christian.

I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship I developed with this dad.

BUT, what he was doing is very different that what happens in this country.

At the same time it is similar to what we see here in Genesis 24.

This morning – my hope is that all of us will see the comparison with the relationship that Father God has with His Son’s bride.

Like Father Abraham, our Heavenly Father has already decided who will be the bride for His only begotten Son.

The Son’s bride will NOT be of this world.

She will be a bride that is pure and holy.

The Bride will be part of God’s family.

NOT an outsider, a rebel.

God knows what is best for His Son and He knows what is best for His church.

And He says that we the Church are the Bride chosen for His Son – Jesus Christ.

Not only that, but God sees – the beauty of His Son’s bride…

- the spiritual potential

- the spiritual beauty of His church

Don’t allow yourself to become discouraged by the negative things said about the church – it is still the Bride of Christ.

Unnamed Servant

So, in our account:

There is the Father of the Bridegroom — Abraham.

There is the Bridegroom — Isaac.

And then we meet another important person.

This person is critical to the successful outcome of this account.

This person must not to be over looked with His role in finding the Bride…

In verse 2 Father Abraham spoke to his “oldest servant of His house, who ruled over all…”

This servant was his most reliable and faithful.

Father Abraham gave to this servant the complete responsibility of finding the bride for his son.

Though this unnamed servant doesn’t talk about Himself, He is very important.

Just like Jesus describes the Holy Spirit in

John 16:13–15 (LSB) “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak from Himself, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. 15 “All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

Just as Father Abraham was convinced that not just any woman would be suitable for his son.

So too, our Heavenly Father knows not any worldly woman will do.

They are not suitable to be the Bride of Christ.

So, Father God sends His servant, the Holy Spirit to find and woo the perfect Bride for His Son.

Notice the ONE requirement expected of the woman if she would become the bride.

Notice vs. 8 – “And if the woman is not willing to follow you…”

There was a possibility that the woman would not want to commit to becoming the bride for Father Abraham – this was a risk.

There was a lot at stake here…After all, Father Abraham had been promised by the Lord God Jehovah that He would have many descendants.

As many as “the stars in the sky”.

Father Abraham name refers him as being the “Father of many nations.”

But “if” the bride decided not to follow the servant, there would not be a wedding…And “if” there was no wedding, there would be no descendants…

So, Father Abraham commissioned his most trusted, most valued, most responsible servant.

But, interestingly there is no mention of the servant’s name. He is just a servant at the beck and call of Father Abraham.

He will get very little attention for all of his hard work.

But there is nothing more important for him than to accomplish what Father Abraham has sent him to do.

Find the bride!

Bring the bride back to the Father’s house!

If the son were to ever be happy, he would need the servant to do his all important job…find the bride!

Question: Why do you suppose this story that is thousands of years old is so important to us living in the 21st century?

The Church, i.e. the Bride of Christ, is in the same situation that Rebekah was in her day.

The Church must be convinced to understand how important it is for her to follow God’s oldest most faithful servant – the Holy Spirit!

Similar to Father Abraham’s situation:

“IF” the Holy Spirit cannot convince us to follow Him, all will be lost.

There are eternal consequences at stake here…for Father God…for His Son, Jesus Christ…and for the Church (the Bride of Christ).

The Holy Spirit has an enormous responsibility.

He is trying to woo you and I into the awesome presence of our Heavenly Father.

God’s desire is for us to be in His House!

There is a wedding planned for the Bride of Christ.

Again, Vs 8 – “And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath…”

Listen – the Holy Spirit will not force you to come to the Father’s House.

This is a decision we have to make for ourselves.

But the consequences of our decision are very real:

The result of our NOT following the Holy Spirit is devastating:

1. The church will just be a social gathering of unredeemed people.

Barren!

With no children and no conversions to Christ.

The church will wither and die.

2. The church will be empty and lonely on the inside…hopelessly lost without her husband, the Son of God.

3. There will be no gifts given by the Holy Spirit.

No healings, no prophecies no word of knowledge, no word of wisdom, no working of miracles, no tongues, no interpretation of tongues, and (last but not least) no faith!

Question: So, what will be our response when we are approached by God’s oldest and most reliable servant, the Holy Spirit?

In our story – the servant wasn’t asking very much from the woman.

In Vs 17 – The servant runs to meet Rebekah and says, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”

NOT a big ask.

But Rebekah could have said, “No.”

In the same way, Father God’s most trusted “Servant,” who is Himself fully God, is standing before us this morning.

He is asking us, “Will you give yourself completely to God?”

Will you be the pure Bride of the Only Begotten Son of God?

As you decide whether or not to give yourself to God’s servant, that is, to follow the Holy Spirit, you should consider how the bride responded in the Genesis account:

1. There was no hesitation – vs 18, “she quickly let her pitcher down” and gave him a drink.

We must be ready to respond when the Holy Spirit wants to draw us out.

2. There was no limits – vs 19, “I will draw water for your camels, too.”

We must be willing to release ourselves completely to the Holy Spirit without regard to what the cost might be.

Question: Is the amount we give to the Holy Spirit equivalent to only one cup of water?

Or, are we willing to give to God all that He wants — which is ALL of us?

May WE never limit ourselves in giving to God…

If we will not limit the giving of ourselves to God.

He will not limit the gifts He gives to us.

Notice vs 22 that says that after all the camels had finished drinking, the servant presented gifts of gold to the bride.

(And there was much more where that came from — Vs.53.)

I’m Ready to Commit

As the worship team comes.

Jesus Christ is glorified by the abundance that the Holy Spirit gives to His Bride, …in the form of gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is looking for the Bride who will appreciate and accept God’s gifts of the Holy Spirit.

God’s riches in glory are ours if we want them and will use them to bring glory to His Son.

Finally in our story – the Bride could have easily overlooked or ignored the servant when he came to the well…

Too often today the Bride of Christ ignores the presence of the of the Holy Spirit.

As 14 of the men heard at breakfast yesterday — a lot of people don’t enter fully into the blessings God’s Kingdom.

They stop at the gate — they don’t go all the way in.

There are times when a church will choose to ignore what Father God has sent to us.

Sometimes we may not even recognize the moving of the Holy Spirit because we are too involved with other (worldly) things.

We must honor our Heavenly Father that has loved us so much by sending to us His Son, Jesus Christ.

I pray we seek a renewal of the Presence of the Holy Spirit.

That we resolve that we will not overlook, ignore or turn away from the “Servant” of God who is seeking the Bride of Jesus — who is seeking US to BE the Bride.

That we will not devalue or ignore the Gifts the Holy Spirit is giving to the Bride.

Will you respond?

Will you come forward and pray a prayer of submission to all the Holy Spirit wants to do in and through your life?

Used and modified Genesis 24 material from:

Here Comes The Bride

By J. Yeargin on Nov 27, 2006

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