Western culture has the emphasis backwards
It has been my immense privilege to officiate at the weddings of several couples, to be right there with them at the moment a miracle happens—when God takes the two individuals and makes them one in His sight “as long as they both shall live.” The joy and anticipation of those wedding days are hard to match in any other human event. This is perhaps the most distinguishing feature of the church being called the bride of Christ: none of the other names for the church convey anywhere near the intimacy with Christ that this one does.
The first two chapters of the Bible introduce God’s concept of marriage, and the last two chapters of the Bible unveil the eternal marriage toward which all other marriages are supposed to testify. “The Spirit and the Bride say ‘Come’…” (Rev. 22:17). Unlike our Western ceremonies that focus on the bride, the Bible closes with our longing for the Groom. His arrival to take us to be with Himself is the hope of the church.
Before proceeding further, we need to be clear that individual Christians are not married to Christ; the church is. Though God saves, loves, encourages, and communes with us individually, He has the one, final, collective bride in mind. In fact, the unveiling of the wife of the Lamb (Rev. 21:9ff) doesn’t even show us as a group of people; rather, we are described as a unique and precious city “adorned for her husband” (v.?2).
Countless multitudes of believers will be passing in and out through the gates of the city, at the heart of which is the radiant One on His throne—the One they have longed to see (cf. 1 Pet. 1:10-12). However, let us also be clear that God has made a distinction between the church and all other believers. In particular, at the rapture, the Lord will call His bride away (just as He promised in John 14) and there will be a form of honeymoon for seven years (the 70th week of Daniel) where the Bible records no visible presence of Christ or the church. Then, after the tribulation, the bride will be revealed in her wedding robes alongside the Lord Jesus when He comes to set up His millennial kingdom (cf. Rev. 19, esp. vv.?7-8).
But we are also told of the blessedness of those who are “invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (v.?9). The Bride is not invited to her own wedding. These are the believers from other dispensations. For example, John the Baptizer saw himself as “the friend of the bridegroom” (Jn.?3:29) rather than part of the Bride.
The end of a marriage
In attempting to help the Romans understand the liberty from the Law that has taken place through the death and resurrection of Christ, Paul uses the illustration of marriage (Rom. 7:1-6). There he states that we were once bound to the Law, having an intimate attachment to it. But, through Christ, we have died to the Law. That marriage is over.
This is a very important illustration since it shows us that church life is not about keeping a list of rules and conforming to religious systems and codes of customs. It is about living a lifestyle of “newness of spirit [or the Spirit]” (v.?6). Furthermore, we have a relationship with “Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God” (v.?4), as opposed to being passionate about sin, leading to death (v.?5).
Yet, to be technical, the church is not yet married to Christ. We are betrothed to Him (2 Cor. 11:2). In other words, we are in an engagement period, awaiting the actual marriage. Engagements in the Bible are more serious than we tend to take them in our modern culture. Joseph and Mary’s example shows that. They were given the labels of husband and wife, but did not actually become so until they left their lives of singlehood and were joined together at a wedding.
Chastity and charity
In 2 Corinthians 11:2f, Paul’s emphasis is on being presented as a “chaste [pure] virgin to Christ.” He, in all His purity and perfection, is certainly worthy of nothing less. Being 99% faithful is to be impure; 100% is the only acceptable standard. Why do we settle for less? Is not one reason that, as verse 3 states, we are easily “beguiled” by the subtle deceptions of Satan, as Eve was, so that our minds are corrupted to pursue selfish things? If we remember our engagement to Christ, who is our life (Col.?3:4), and all the beauty of His glorious character, we will not be so easily defiled. The church is to be chaste.
What do we long for? Are we passionate for Christ? Do we limit our gospel message to that of escaping hell and having a place in heaven? Or do we preach the glorious person of the Lord Jesus Himself? Paul was jealous for the church to be pure for Christ. Are we living that way in our homes and assemblies?
We are told virtually nothing about our activities in heaven once faith gives way to sight. This frustrates the curiosities of many believers, especially those who define their Christianity by their works for God and their well-organized church programs. Was not the hard-working, efficient, sacrificing, doctrinally-sound Ephesian church warned by Christ about where their priority needed to be? “You have left your first love” (Rev. 2:4). According to His own revelation to the churches, the Lamb will be the central figure of heaven. Our primary desire should be not heaven but heaven’s Man: our Lord Jesus Christ.
The royal wedding
Our Lord is so very gracious! It will be true that “His Bride has made herself ready” through righteousness (Rev. 19:7-8). But our righteousness and righteous acts find their source in Christ. That is taught in the classic passage on marriage: Ephesians 5:22-33. There we see the great effort of the Lord Himself to help His bride be ready, since she is to be one with Him. He will present her to Himself “in all her glory…holy and blameless” (v.?27). In reality, it is God who makes us holy, blameless, and glorious (Jude 24; 1 Thes. 5:23-24). But we are to strive toward that end due to our pure love for and devotion to Christ.
Ephesians 5 is about roles through which God’s order and wisdom are revealed. The bride has the privilege of showing trust in God by submitting to Christ as her head. Marriage is a commitment to a principle, not just to a person. The Lord Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One, who has been commissioned to accomplish the entire divine mission. The church promotes the great redemptive plan of God and the principles by which He functions when she radiates an attitude of submission as she supports and facilitates (as a “suitable helper”) the work for which her husband, Christ, will give account.
But the heavenly Bridegroom is not just task-oriented, like so many men. As our Saviour (v.?23), the Lord Jesus has redeemed us (v.?25) and sanctified us (v.?26). Romans 7 presents our response to His redemption; 2 Corinthians 11 presents our response to His sanctification. We are not simply objects of His grace; we are deeply and passionately loved: He “nourishes and cherishes [the church]…because we are members of His [own] body” (Eph. 5:29-30).
What a glorious, yet purifying, privilege it is for the church to be the bride of Christ! The day will soon be here when we will hear the trumpet anthem: “Here comes the Groom!”