Q: Who is the bride?

 

The Bible clearly uses the metaphor of a wedding/marriage to describe aspects of our relationship to God.

Jesus is pictured as the bridegroom.

In the Biblical context and use of this metaphor, how far should we take the metaphor? Is it biblical to attempt to answer the question, “Who is the bride?” Or “Who are the parents of the bride?” How far does the Bible take this metaphor?

Secondly, once that is established, fill in the blanks.

In Scripture the metaphore is used a couple times and the boundaries of the metaphor seem to be: the bridegroom, the bride, the wedding guests.

Matthew 9:15 – wedding guests

Matthew 25:1 – wedding attendants

John 3:29 – John is attendant

2 Corinthians 11:1-2 – church is bride, Paul is father of the bride (this is an exception to the normal use of the metaphor)

Ephesians 5:22-33 – church is bride, loose metaphor, mixed metaphors, focus is on unity, marriage meant to be a reflection of deeper truths

Revelation 19:6-9 – bride wears white representing the righteous deeds of the saints (cannot be an individual then), the wedding guests are blessed to be in attendance

Revelation 21:2,9-14 – New Jerusalem is the bride, literal city? Representative of church? Of kingdom of heaven?

Elsewhere heavenly Jerusalem is pictured at our mother (Galatians4:26) and as a literal city (Hebrews 12:22)

The kingdom of heaven, capitol city Jerusalem, is the bride. We are citizens of the kingdom, children of the heavenly Jerusalem

The kingdom is larger even than the church, but includes the angelic host, and the renewed creation

The church is pictured in a loose way as a bride being prepared for her coming wedding. The metaphor is loose and should not be taken literally. An attempt should not be made to find significance for wedding details in the life of the church.

The point of the metaphor is Christ’s authority over his church, as the husband has authority over the wife, and more importantly, Jesus’ unity with his church as the husband and wife are considered one after marriage. This permanent unity with Christ has not yet happened for the church, it is part of the “hope of glory.” Future, permanent union with Christ.

Individual believers are never pictured as the bride, but always as wedding guests or attendants. Therefore we should never view ourselves in romantic relationship with Christ. He is not our lover and husband!

This is the extent to which this metaphor is used in Scripture, though it is often overused in today’s church culture (at least in America).

The church is also pictured in other metaphors as a family (1 Timothy 5:1-2), branches on a vine (John 15:5), an olive tree (Romans 11:17-24), a field of crops (1 Corinthians 3:6-9), a building (1 Corinthians 3:9), a harvest (Matthew 13:1-30), a new temple (1 Peter 2:4-8), a new group of priests (1 Peter 2:5), God’s house (Hebrews 3:3), the pillar and bulwark of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15), a body (1 Corinthians 12:16-17), and the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:15-16).

 

The wide range of metaphors used for the church in the New Testament should remind us not to focus exclusively on any one.

Each of the metaphors used for the church can help us to appreciate more of the richness of privilege that God has given us by incorporating us into the church. The fact that the church is like a family should increase our love and fellowship with one another. The thought that the church is like the bride of Christ should stimulate us to strive for greater purity and holiness, and also greater love for Christ and submission to him. The image of the church as branches in a vine should cause us to rest in him more fully. The idea of an agricultural crop should encourage us to continue growing in the Christian life and obtaining for ourselves and others the proper spiritual nutrients to grow. The picture of the church as God’s new temple should increase our awareness of God’s very presence dwelling in our midst as we meet. The concept of the church as a priesthood should help us to see more clearly the delight God has in the sacrifices of praise and good deeds that we offer to him. The metaphor of the church as the body of Christ should increase our interdependence on one another and our appreciation of the diversity of gifts within the body. Many other applications could be drawn from these and other metaphors for the church listed in Scripture. ¹

1. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Zondervan, 1994) p. 859