The Church Defined预览

The Bride of Christ

Luke 21:36, “Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man." (NIV)

In the Epistles, the symbolism of marriage is used to explain the relationship between Christ and the Church. We read in Ephesians 5:25-27, “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave His life for it. He did this to make the church holy by cleansing it, washing it using water along with spoken words. Then he could present it to himself as a glorious church, without any kind of stain or wrinkle—holy and without faults.” (GW) The imagery depicts Christ as the bridegroom, who not only loved the church but sacrificed His life for her. He is also coming again to reclaim His bride, whom He expects to be glorious, holy and without blemish.

Revelation 19:7-9, refers to the marriage of the Lamb, where the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are referred to as the bride, robed with white linen, which represents the good deeds of God’s holy people. We read in verse 9, “And the angel said to me, ‘write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” (NLT)

In Matthew 24 Jesus went on to explain in great detail, the signs of the end of the age. In verses 37-39, Jesus gave a warning from the times of Noah, saying, “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” (NKJV). The caution we need to take from Noah’s days, is that everyone was so caught up with the mundane, that they were unable to see the signs of the end, that was close at hand. The consequence was that only Noah and his family were saved. The Lord shut the door of the ark and all those who was left outside were destroyed.

Jesus told three important parables in Matthew 25. The Parable of the ten virgins, five of whom were wise and five, foolish. While the wise ones were well prepared to receive the bridegroom and kept their lamps burning, the foolish ones were careless and missed the opportunity to enter in with the bridegroom. Strangely we are in a season wherein we are confined to our homes. We would be wise to seek the Lord and turn to Him or get closer to Him now, when we are ‘shut in’ rather than be unprepared for that day, and be ‘shut out’ of the kingdom. The second parable which is the Parable of the talents cautions us to be faithful stewards of all that God has entrusted to us, and not take them for granted, knowing that there is a day of reckoning. The third parable is the Parable of the sheep and the goats, which reminds us that the righteous were doing everything that the Lord required of them even without realizing that they were doing so. Doing the will of God should be our topmost priority, knowing that the day of judgement is a certainty.

The passion that Paul had for the church should be each one of ours as well. Writing to the church at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 11:2, Paul says, “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” (NKJV). Every one of us who belong to the Body of Christ should be ready to meet Him and consciously prepare those around us to meet Him as well.

The Lord Jesus, who is the Bridegroom is certainly coming again for His Bride, the Church, but the question is, are we ready to meet Him?