What Is the Church?Sample

The Bride of Christ

The Church is the “Bride of Christ.” You may be thinking, “Jesus is married? How can he be married to the Church?” Great questions! Scripture uses multiple metaphors, or word pictures, to help us understand different realities of the church. We will see several of these over the next few days. This particular phrase is used as a metaphor to show God’s love for his Church. When two people get married, there is commitment and sacrifice that comes in their relationship. That’s why people make vows during their wedding—they promise to love each other no matter what. God has promised to love his people no matter what, and he has made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can have a relationship with him. (You will notice that sometimes the Bible describes Jesus as the Lamb; this is a symbolic name expressing how Jesus died for us.) 

In Bible times, when a man wanted to propose to a woman, he would have to pay the girl’s father for the chance to ask her to marry him. She might even still say no! The guy would sit at a table with the girl, and with the whole family around them (no pressure) and during the meal, he would offer her a cup of wine. It was basically like getting down on one knee with a ring; this act was a symbol of a promise—a covenant—between them. (In a covenant, the one making it promises to fulfill their part even if the other party does not). If the girl accepted, they were engaged. The guy would go off and prepare a house for the two of them, and they would not see each other until the father of the groom-to-be said the house was ready. Can you imagine?  

Now here’s where things get crazy. During the Last Supper, Jesus took a cup of wine and offered it as a covenant to his disciples. They must have felt pretty awkward at first, since this was kind of like a proposal. This covenant wasn’t a marriage proposal though; it was a promise that Jesus would love them forever as their Savior. He would die and rise from the grave, and then go to be with his Father to prepare a place for his people. We are all waiting until he returns to bring us home with him.  

We are the bride of Christ—loved unconditionally, redeemed endlessly, and showered with mercies every day. As his Church, we prepare for his return by sharing the good news of Jesus’s unending love with others. 

What is the first thing you think of when you hear “Bride of Christ?”  

Why do you think the Bible uses this metaphor?