Christ and His Bride

We all know (at least those of us who read His Word) that the Bible talks about the Church as the Bride of Christ. We all know that we will all, some glorious day, take part in the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. This isn't a singular topic; it comes up more than once. It's important.

One place this comes up is in Paul's explanation about the roles of husband and wife in Ephesians.

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church (Eph 5:31-32).

Yeah, we got that. Good stuff. Well, maybe. Because in our day the biblical roles of husband and wife are in question. When Paul writes, "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, His body, and is Himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands" (Eph 5:22-24), today's church is responding, "No, we're not going to do that. We're going to switch to a 'mutual submission' thing where everyone submits to everyone and discard the entire historical, traditional, orthodox understanding of this passage." Of course, that's not as bad as today's world which says, "Well, now, wait ... exactly what is a 'wife'? I mean, it might be a girl, a guy, or even both ... or neither!"

Now, perhaps you can begin to see a problem. The Bible is delighted to speak about Christ and His Bride. God presents in His Word the Marriage Feast of the Lamb and the glorious union of His Son and His Son's Bride. It is a magnificent vision. But between the world and those who call themselves God's people, we've managed to strip off almost any meaning to the concept. Have you ever wondered why it is that marriage is in such disarray these days? Here's why. Have you ever questioned why marriage is under such attack these days? This is the reason. We're looking at a key component of biblical theology and we're debating the morality of homosexual behavior and egalitarianism while Satan laughs and works at dismantling Christ and His Bride.

Look at that Ephesians passage again. This is important, nay, critical. There are two types mentioned in Ephesians 5:22-33. (There is actually a third in Ephesians 6:1-3, but that's not the point here.) The two are "wife" and "husband". According to this passage (as opposed to "according to history" or "according to my opinion" or "according to those who hate gays" or "according to you sexist pigs"), there is a wife as a type and a husband as a type. We see this when it says "as". "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church ..." These are comparative terms. Wives are to respond to their husbands "as the church submits to Christ". Husbands are to treat their wives "as Christ loved the church". Do you see that? In other words, there is something more going on in God's design for marriage than a guy and a girl getting together for a happy life. These two are playing out God-given roles in a God-designed play. The husband is in the role of Christ and the wife is in the role of the Church. Now, when I say it, I'm sure you can see it because we hear of "Christ and His Bride" and there it is again. Husbands are designed by God to represent Christ and wives are designed by God to represent the Church. They are designed to respond to each other in those roles.

So we see that a wife is to submit to her husband as to the Lord, in the same way that the Church submits to Christ. We see that a wife is to respect her husband in the same way that the Church is to respect Christ. Please note: Our English translations don't capture this quite right. The original language down in verse 33 is translated "let the wife see that she respects her husband", but the actual word for "respect" is phobos -- fear. This word shows up repeatedly in the New Testament when referring to our view of God. We should fear God. It's in Romans 3:18 where "there is no fear of God before their eyes". It is used in 2 Cor 7:1 where we are commanded, "let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God." It was said of the church in Acts that when it was "walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied" (Acts 9:31). Paul said, "Knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others" (2 Cor 5:11). Wives, respect your husbands in the same way that we are to fear God. Why? Not because he's a scary guy, but because that's how the Church is supposed to relate to Christ.

And we see that a husband must love his wife as Christ loved the Church. This isn't a small thing. It is sacrificial as Christ gave Himself for her. It is without regard to return because Christ gave Himself despite the fact that every one of His disciples fled. Nor is this giving of yourself random. It is for a purpose. There is her sanctification. There is her washing by the water with the Word. Husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. Let's face it, guys -- that's a lot of love. It is to nourish and to cherish her. She is one with you. You are to be the head, the responsible party. This doesn't include lording it over her. Remember the model -- "as Christ loved the Church". But in an understanding way, showing her honor (1 Peter 3:7), you are to be Christ in your home both as leader and as servant.

It's no coincidence that marriage is under attack today from multiple angles. The feminists want to undermine it. The concept of "until death do us part" is out the window. The homosexuals want to redefine it. But it's not the feminists or the divorce advocates or the homosexuals who are at the bottom of it all. It is the Enemy. So effective is this attack that most of us don't even see how it is undermining Christ and the Church and our view of that relationship. That's because the earthly image God intended for us to have on hand is so tarnished that we not only don't see it, we protest against it. Brothers and sisters, these things ought not be. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church. Wives, submit to and respect your husbands as the Church submits to and fears Christ.