Monday: The Church as the Bride of Christ ~ Part 1
Compare Ephesians 5:25-27, Ephesians 5:29 with the foundling story of Ezekiel 16:1-14. What elements of that story does Paul reflect in his own sketch?
As Paul, in Ephesians 5:25-27, Ephesians 5:29, shapes his wedding-marriage metaphor for the church and its relationship with Christ, he draws creatively on the customs and roles of an ancient wedding. In relationship to the church as bride, Christ is the divine Bridegroom who:
- Loves the church as bride (Ephesians 5:25). We must never forget that this is heart work for Jesus. He loves us!
- Gives Himself as the bride price. In the context of ancient wedding arrangements, the bridegroom would “purchase” the bride with the “bride price,” which was usually a large sum of money and valuables, so large that ancient village economies depended upon the custom. Christ pays the ultimate price for the church as His bride since He “gave Himself for her” (Ephesians 5:25, NKJV). In the Incarnation and at the cross, He gives Himself as the bride price.
- Bathes His bride.
Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com
The preparation of the bride was an important part of the ancient wedding festivities. As is also true today, it was the bridesmaids and female relatives of the bride who prepared her for the ceremony. Paul, though, imagines the divine Bridegroom preparing His bride for the wedding! It is He who sanctifies and cleanses her “by the washing of water” (Ephesians 5:26, ESV), a probable reference to baptism. - Speaks the word of promise. This cleansing is performed “with the word” (Ephesians 5:26, ESV), pointing to the word of promise that the divine Bridegroom speaks to His bride, perhaps in the context of the betrothal ceremony (compare Ephesians 1:3-14, Ephesians 2:1-10, noting God’s promises to believers at the time of their conversion). Betrothal was the ancient version of modern engagement, but was a much more serious set of negotiations, which included a written agreement about the bride price (from the husband) and the dowry (assets the bride would bring to the marriage from her family).
- Prepares and adorns the bride. When the bride is finally presented to her Groom, she is fabulously beautiful, appearing in flawless splendor (Ephesians 5:27). Christ not only bathes the bride; He prepares and adorns her as well.
| How do these verses help us understand the way Christ feels about us? Why should we find this so comforting? |
(16)
Everybody loves a wedding. In our travels, we have sometimes come across wedding parties celebrating their nuptials in parks or scenic spots. Carmel, who has an eye for these things always points out how pretty the bride looks and how gorgeous the bridesmaids look, and so on. I am one of those people who think how much the whole episode must cost. A typical wedding these days can cost up to a fair percentage of a small house. The reality is that a wedding lasts usually a few hours whereas a marriage is supposed to last forever. Brides ultimately turn into wives and all the glamour of the ceremony is replaced with the reality of everyday life. And, that is where the rubber hits the road.
To change the metaphor. We have just replaced the faithful old Troopy with a more modern little motorhome. Reality has set in and Carmel (both of us) have found that travelling in the Troopy is getting a bit hard on our aging bones. So we are now the owners of a Fiat Applause 500. Carmel was so excited about buying it that I reckon the salesman added 10% to the price. It has everything that she wanted. Airconditioning so we can put up with the heat, cooking facilities so we can eat healthy meals, and a bed that we do not have to climb a ladder to sleep. In short, it is made for old people with aging bones and muscles. And it is good looking too. The Italians make vehicles that look good.
We took it away for the weekend for a trial run. We came back yesterday and one of my friends asked me how it went. I told him that it was very comfortable but that there was an awful lot to learn about it yet.
And herein lies something that is at the heart of this whole Bride-Church-Jesus thing that we are talking about in this week's lesson. Marriage and the Jesus/church relationsip is "comfortable" but there is still a whole lot in both relationships that needs to be learned, explored and developed. When you get married you spend the rest of your life learning about one another (54 years, 8 months and still counting). When you are saved, you spend the rest of eternity growing that spiritual relationship.
And if we think that either marriage or church relationships end up being a tacit agreement with one another all the time, we are not facing reality. Thank you God, for patience and tolerance and understanding, and above all love.
Christ showed His love to us sacrificially and unconditionally.Even if we do not love Him in return or accept His love,He still loves us.At the cross of Calvary,we witness the consummation of the love of Christ where He gave himself in our stead.Christ does not change like what husbands do.His love is guaranteed always.
We must agree that being part of Christ's church is a great privilege. Anyone who chooses to follow Him can be part of His church. This "case of love" starts with Him first because "He loved us first" and loved(s) so much that He even died for His bride, us (the church)!
“Christ pays the ultimate price for the church as His bride since He “gave Himself for her.” In the Incarnation and at the cross, He gives Himself as the 'bride price' ”. This statement caught my eye; what do I understand by this statement? Do these five listed acts in and by themselves comprise the ‘bride price’, or is the 'bride price' payed by Him based on the motivation which prompted the acts?
Does His Love for His creation, expressed through these acts, constitutes/establishes the true value of the ‘price’ He paid?
I find it so very important to always seek the deepest level of comprehension, the spiritual understanding, when seeking to understand Scripture, and not be distracted because what we read resembles something in life. Isaiah 1:16 is a good example for what the ‘washing’ would stand for when considered in its spiritual application/context. It is not aimed at cleansing the body, but cleansing the heart and mind from corruption – Eph.5:26.
I believe that, ultimately, the faithful follower of God’s Word will become aware of every spiritual nuance contained in God's Written Word. The written word is the vehicle, crude on the surface when compared to its spiritual aspect containingwisdom and conveying God's Truth.
For our Lord and Savior to go to such great length to prepare us - to wash us - so we can become His bride, tells me how 'foreign' we are to Him in our lost estate, and how much He loves us to be willing to 'wash away' all our filthiness and make us acceptable to be His bride.
Amazing. A bridegroom who does everything for his bride. Sacrifices himself, pays a price for her, washes her, prepares her. What more could a bride want. What a demonstration of just how much the bridegroom wants his bride. Thank you Jesus for the value you placed on me and for clearly demonstrating it for all to see