The Church as a Bride

 Wedding bells are a delight to every young bride. Her day at last has arrived! The guests are seated. The bridesmaids are lined up in their beautiful dresses. The groom and his groomsmen stand ready for the ceremony. The flowers, the photographer, the minister, everything is in place. The bride, beaming and beautiful in her wedding gown, is escorted up the aisle to join in lifelong union with her beloved. It’s a day that will last forever in her heart.

The image of a bride, prepared for her wedding day, provides us with one of the most beautiful snapshots of the church. Revelation 19.7-8 says, “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” And then verse 8 goes on to explain, “Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.” According to the New Testament, all true believers in Jesus Christ are saints, that is, people who have been set apart as holy in God’s sight through the gracious sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. As saints, we have been spiritually clothed in pure, white, fine linen. In other words, our hearts and lives have been purified. Our sins have been washed away. We appear spotless in the eyes of God. Like a bride in her radiant white wedding gown, we enter into the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ as pure, holy, and beautiful in His sight. We, the church, are the bride of Christ.

As the bride of Jesus Christ, we want to live up to our privileged relationship. We want to be pure in our practical living, just as we’ve been made pure and holy in our position in Christ. Paul put it this way in 2 Corinthians 11.2. “I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.” When we enter into the presence of Jesus Christ, we want to present Him with a wedding gift, a life of purity and faithfulness. This is the goal of every true believer. This is likewise the goal of each and every local church.

Isn’t it great to know that we have someone who loves us?  Because we are His bride, Jesus Christ loves us unconditionally. He demonstrated that love for us by dying for our sins on the cross. Ephesians 5.25-27 says, “Husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” Jesus loves us. He died for us. He purifies us. And one day He’s coming back to back to take us into His loving presence forever. We are the bride of Jesus Christ. He’s our loving groom and our gracious Saviour. Let the wedding bells ring!