- Beautiful but opaque analogy of the church as the bride of Christ. What does that mean?
- That nature and frequency of analogies in the Bible.
- The Bible often uses similar analogies as word pictures of who we are. A few examples:
a. The branch.
- In John 15 Jesus refers to Himself as the vine and us as the branch. Of course, we are not literally a branch, but it’s a picture of the fact that all of our sustenance and power to bear fruit must flow through Jesus.
b. A stone.
- In Ephesians 2 Paul speaks of the church as a composed of many individual stones, with each of us representing a stone.
c. The body.
- In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul speaks of the church as a body, with each Christian making up the parts of that body.
- Now, obviously, you and I are not a branch, a stone, or a body part, but each analogy helps us to understand who we are in Christ and what God is doing in the world.
- So let’s consider the image of the “bride of Christ” and what we can learn from it. There is more here than one sermon can ably handle, but I will limit myself to six of the more substantive ideas from the Bible from this analogy.
- Even within the key “bride of Christ” passage in Ephesians 5, within the passage itself Paul switches from the “bride/groom” analogy to the body” analogy in vv. 29-30.
FIVE INSIGHTS THE "BRIDE OF CHRIST" ANALOGY GIVES:
1. As a husband and wife are one physically, we are being made into beings who are one with Christ spiritually.
- 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:22-32.
- In the Ephesians 5 passage, it quotes in v. 31 the passage from Genesis about the husband and wife leaving their parents and the two becoming one flesh. Paul then goes on to say that this is a profound mystery, but that he is referring to Christ and the church (v. 32).
- What is he getting at there? The most obvious answer is that marriage now is (among many other things) a metaphor for the relationship that Christ and the church will have in the world to come. Just as a husband and wife are one physically, so we will one spiritually with Christ.
- How could this happen? We are horribly sinful beings. It requires an understanding of the extent of the salvation that Christ has brought to us. He does not merely intend to forgive us of our sin but leave us hobbled by our condition. No, He not only forgives us but He begins the extraordinary process of transforming us. We will become beings who are able to perfectly and joyfully obey Christ in all things. This is the power of His redemption and transformation.
- And, so, in the world to come, we will be able to live fully in tune with Christ’s vision, desires, and heart. Or, to put it another way, we will be one with Him spiritually.
- The physical unity within marriage is this world’s most beautiful picture of two becoming one. It is an analogy of what Christ intends to do spiritually with us.
2. Our home will be with Him.
- Revelation 21:2, 9.
- One of the more perplexing things about the bride of Christ analogy is that in most places the church is referred to as the bride of Christ, but in Revelation 21 we see the New Jerusalem referred to as the bride of Christ.
- I have not read an explanation of this that fully satisfies me, but the best thought I have on this is that it speaks to the close relationship between the redeemed saints and the New Jerusalem. Revelation 21 makes it clear that the New Jerusalem will be home for the saints and that Christ will dwell there as well.
- Again, to return to the “bride of Christ” analogy, when we think of a married couple beginning their new life together, it almost always includes “setting up house.” They get an apartment or a home and create a home together.
- Here too we see an analogy to what Christ and His “bride” will do. After Final Judgment in Revelation 20, we see the culmination of redemption in the final two chapters of the Bible in the creation of a new heaven, new earth, and New Jerusalem. This is, to put it the language we are using, a new “home.”
3. We need to grasp that we are Christ’s beloved.
- John 3:29; Ephesians 5:22-32.
- It is easy to think of Christ as putting up with us. We needed rescued and so He did that for us out of a sense of obligation. He was the only One who could pull it off, so He showed up and bailed us out.
- Such thoughts diminish the truth of Jesus’ love for us.
- The word “beloved” shows up in the Scripture, especially in the Song of Songs. It is a word that speaks to the delight that one has for the other.
- It’s important for us to deeply appreciate the reality that Christ loves us. Like a spouse looking adoringly at their partner, not only should we have a delight in Christ, but we should rejoice in the fact that He loves us.
- I think this is especially important for those who struggle with their self-image. It’s difficult for them to believe that anyone, let alone God, could find them worthy of love.
- But the bride analogy is one that was chosen by the author of the Bible – God Himself. That means it’s a reflection of His true thoughts toward us.
4. Our spiritual purity matters.
- 2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 19:7.
- In the passage we began with in this sermon, Paul tells the Corinthians that it is his desire to present them to Christ as a “pure virgin” (2 Corinthians 11:2). Revelation 19:7 speaks of the church at the wedding supper of the Lamb wearing “fine linen, bright and clean.”
- Both of those speak to spiritual purity.
- It’s instructive at this point to look back to the two recurring analogies of the Old Testament for the relationship between Israel and God. They are parent/child and husband/wife. It is the second of these that is relevant to this message.
- Repeatedly God spoke of Israel as a wife that went after the gods of neighboring nations. In those passages, He accused Israel of “spiritual adultery.” He and Israel had made a covenant that He would be their God and they would be His people, only to have them run off after other gods. This idea is most famously illustrates in Hosea, where God instructs a prophet to marry an unfaithful woman as a picture to Israel of what they had done to Him.
- The point for us from that is our spiritual purity matters.
- Being faithful to our commitment to Christ is of great importance to Him. Far too many Christians act as though they can put Christ second while pursuing money or fame or a particular sin. But Jesus is unwilling to be our back-up God.
- Each of us here who are married or in a romantic relationship would rightly be deeply hurt if our significant other was unfaithful to us. It would break our heart. We entered into that relationship knowing it should be exclusive.
- So too Christ is deeply hurt when we run after other gods. It breaks His heart. He entered into that relationship knowing it should be exclusive.
- It’s a good thing for us to remember: our spiritual purity matters to God.
5. Our righteous acts are beautiful adornments.
- Revelation 19:8.
- There is an interesting little reference in the verse after the wedding feast of the Lamb verse. Having spoken of the bride being in “fine linen” in the previous verse, Revelation 19:8 tells us that the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. This is interesting.
- What could be meant by this?
- I think it’s something like this. We all know what all Christ has done for us. He died for us to give us forgiveness from sin, He rose to give us victory over death, He made us new creations in Himself. What do we do in response? He died for me so I’ll live for Him! Not earning my salvation, but living joyfully in His power I want to do all I can to bring honor and glory to His name. And so I serve, desiring to be fruitful for Him.
- Our service (i.e. our righteous acts) are our gifts to Him, in a sense. There is great beauty to Him in our willing service in His name.
- And so these righteous acts become our beautiful adornment. They become our fine linen.
- This does not mean that we are saved by our works. It means our works done in love are a beautiful offering to Christ.
