The Bride of Christ

By Pastor Chad

Last week, we began our fall sermon series “Ecclesia: A Biblical Picture of the Church.” We are looking at the biblical descriptions and pictures given to us about the church so that we can better understand the church's nature, function, and purpose. One of my goals with this series is that we will have a better understanding of what the local church is all about, a better understanding of the purpose of the local church, and a greater love for what it is God has founded. I hope to challenge your perception of what the church is. I hope to correct and encourage some perception of the church. 

In our first message of the series, we focused on Hebrews 12:22-24. I discussed how heaven and earth collide in a gathered local church worship service. We not only worship with one another, but we worship with angels, saints of old, other Christians around the world, and–most importantly–God the Father and God the Son are present in our worship. 

In Sunday’s message, we took a step back to get a better sense of what it means to be part of the church. To do that, I focused on the biblical picture of the church given in Ephesians 5:25-32: the Bride of Christ. Paul uses these mixed metaphors to give us a picture of the church’s relationship to Christ. By investigating the marriage analogy, we can get a better understanding of what it means to be the church. There is a correlation between marriage and Jesus' relationship to the church that provides a deeper understanding of what it means to be part of the church. 

First, we discussed that Christ gave Himself for His church because He loves her. In Ephesians 5:25, Paul tells husbands to love their wives “as Christ loves the church and gave Himself up for her…” That isn’t to say God only loves His church–He loves all–but there is a unique display of God’s love that is reflected upon the bride of Christ. 

Second, those who are a part of the bride of Christ are forgiven of their sins. As the beloved bride of Christ, our Savior has cleansed us from our sins. We are esteemed and honored in ways non-Christians cannot understand. Ephesians 5:27 says, “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.” In the ancient world, bathing was not a common practice like it is today. The Jewish people would wash their hands, feet, and face several times a day, but full body bathing was not a daily or weekly practice. Brides, at this time, would undergo a ceremonial full body cleansing prior to marriage. It was a practice known as mikvah. It was a ritual bath that represented going from single life to married life. This ceremony was a purification practice symbolizing a major transition in life. In the same way, those who are part of the bride of Christ have been washed clean of their sins. We have been regenerated. We have been made anew. 

Last, Jesus cares for those who are part of the bride of Christ. In Ephesians 5:28–29, Paul writes, “In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church…” There is an image given here of unity. The church is united to Christ. And because the church is united to Christ, He cares for it. He nourishes it. He sustains it. As Jesus said in Matthew 16, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” Since the church is Jesus’ church, He tends to it and cherishes it. Though local bodies may come and go, the universal church will last for all of eternity. In fact, that is one distinction in the marriage analogy that is different from a marriage between a man and woman. Earthly marriages dissolve at death, but the bride of Christ will remain united to its Groom for all of eternity. Now, that seems like a reason to rejoice. That seems like a great gift from God.