The Bride of Christ ______________, 2012

The Bride of Christ We hear the term “bride of Christ” in reference to the church…where does it come from? Is it biblical? The term “bride of Christ”appears nowhere in the KJV or NKJV of the Bible!

The Bride of Christ However, “bride of Christ” is a biblical term because the concept stems from scriptural references made throughout the Bible! Isaiah 61:10-11

Isaiah 61:10 “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

What’s the prophet talking about here? Isaiah 61:11 “For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” What’s the prophet talking about here?

Jesus is talking about the Gospel! John 4:13-14 “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” Jesus is talking about the Gospel!

But Who Was To Carry Forth The Gospel? “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” – Mark 16:15 “Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.” – Acts 8:4

Joel 2:15-16 “Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; 16 Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation”

Joel 2:16 “Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room.”

The Bride of Christ The Bride of Christ is the church – and we have responsibilities to the bridegroom (Christ). To understand the relationship between Christ and His church, we must appreciate what God intended for man and woman.

Matthew 19:4-6 “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’ ? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

The Bride of Christ The Lord referred to Himself as the “bridegroom” in several instances. Matthew 9:14-15

Matthew 9:14-15 “Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, ‘Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?’ 15 And Jesus said to them, ‘Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.’”

The Bride of Christ The Lord referred to Himself as the “bridegroom” in several instances. Matthew 9:14-15 John 3:28-29

John 3:28-29 “You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice.”

The Bride of Christ In writing to the church at Ephesus, Paul compared the relationship between and husband and wife to that of Christ and His church. Ephesians 5:22-33

Ephesians 5:22-25 “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her”

Ephesians 5:26-29 “that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.”

Ephesians 5:30-33 “For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 31 ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”

The Bride of Christ On that great day, the bride of the bridegroom will be presented. 2 Corinthians 11:2

2 Corinthians 11:2 “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.”

The Bride of Christ On that great day, the bride of the bridegroom will be presented. 2 Corinthians 11:2 Revelation 21:1-2; 9-11

Revelation 21:1-2 “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

Revelation 21:9-11 “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.’ 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God.”

The Bride of Christ Like those who are marrying, we (as the Bride of Christ) have responsibilities to be: Chaste Honorable Loving Holy (without blemish)