Body of Christ
The wife - the virgin Bride of Christ
Never to have idols.
{The church is comprised of those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.}
NO, Churches are comprised of baptized believers.
Backdoor Baptists want to sneak in without being baptized.
The Church is the Bride of Christ
2 Corinthians 11.2 2 Corinthians 11
- 2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy:
- for I have espoused you to one husband,
- 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church,
- not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing;
- but that it should be holy and without blemish.
- 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him:
- for the marriage of the Lamb is come,
- and his wife hath made herself ready.
- 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white:
- for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
- 1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins,
- which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
- 5 For thy Maker is thine husband;
- the LORD of hosts is his name;
- and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel;
- The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
- 28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom;
- that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
Leviticus 21.13-15 Leviticus 21
And he shall take a wife in her virginity
Ezekiel 44.22 Ezekiel 44 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow
A covenant was established with Abraham Genesis 15 Genesis 17
confirmed through His son Isaac Genesis 26.3 Genesis 26
and reaffirmed through Isaac’s son Jacob (renamed Israel)
and his descendants forever Genesis 28.13 Genesis 28
As part of this contract, God agreed to be faithful
and promised to set the nation of Israel apart as His holy people Leviticus 20.26 Leviticus 20
Deuteronomy 7.6 Deuteronomy 7 Deuteronomy 26.18-19 Deuteronomy 26
In doing so, they were instructed to consecrate themselves to the Lord
and serve Him alone Exodus 20.2-6 Exodus 20 Deuteronomy 6.13 Deuteronomy 6
The people of Israel, however, frequently broke their vows
and walked away from their contract with God to serve other gods
But in every betrayal, God remained faithful and never broke His promise to Israel.
“Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God,
“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you;
he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” Deuteronomy 31.8
“Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations;
you established the earth, and it stands” Psalms 119.90
Hosea and Gomer: A Picture of God’s Faithfulness
God even used the life and marriage of his prophet Hosea
to deliver a powerful message to the people regarding their unfaithfulness.
As Hosea’s wife, Gomer was unfaithful to her husband,
returning to a life of prostitution,
God felt betrayed by Israel’s infidelity Hosea 1.
This, however, was not the end of the story or relationship.
In this love story, God promised that if His people would return to Him,
He would be faithful always to forgive them and welcome them back into His loving arms.
Joel 2.13 Joel 2 - Rend your heart and not your garments.
Hosea 14.4 Hosea 14 - I will heal their waywardness and love them freely,
for my anger has turned away from them.
Zechariah 1.3 Zechariah 1 - Therefore tell the people:
Jeremiah 24.7 Jeremiah 24 - I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD.
They will be my people, and I will be their God,
for they will return to me with all their heart.
Nehemiah 1.9 Nehemiah 1 - But if you return to me and obey my commands,
then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon,
I will gather them from there and bring them
to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’
Ezekiel 16.8-14 Ezekiel 16 - ‘Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw
The Church Is the Bride of Christ
John the Baptist describes himself as the friend of the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ,
"You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,
but I have been sent before him.’
The one who has the bride is the bridegroom.
The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him,
rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice.
Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.
He must increase, but I must decrease.”
2 Corinthians 11.2 2 Corinthians 11
The Bride of Christ Awaits the Promised Reunion
Scripture also promises a final reunion between Jesus Christ and His bride, the church.
When Christ returns in the prophesied Second Coming,
He will celebrate with His bride in a wedding ceremony where the two will be united forever.
Revelation 19.7-8 Revelation 19
[[Matthew 25.1[[-13 Matthew 25 Revelation 21.1-2 Revelation 21
WRONG backdoor Baptist
... a covenant union with his church, comprised of all who believe in Jesus Christ and have accepted His atoning grace and gift of salvation.
The idea that the church is the Bride of Christ
is common in popular thinking,
based on the common metaphor drawn from the Bible
that Israel is God’s {bride} wife.
Beginning in Hosea, the prophets use the metaphor of a marriage relationship frequently
to describe God’s relationship to his people.
This metaphor is almost entirely negative since Israel was an unfaithful wife.
Jesus called himself a bridegroom and comparing both his current ministry
and future return to a wedding banquet Matthew 22.1-12, Matthew 25.1-14).
The idea that the Church has replaced Israel is wrong.
Paul describes the church
as like a virgin being prepared for marriage in Ephesian 5.21-33.
Christ’s love for the church is described in Ephesian 5.25-26, 29.
The relationship of Christ and church similar to that of the married couple –
they are “one flesh” in Genesis 2.
Christ is the head of the church, which submits to his authority.
At some point in the future the church will be a pure and spotless bride
prepared for the bridegroom at the Second Coming (the “wedding supper”).
Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the Church
{} grain of salt
