You Are Called to Be the Bride of Christ
From the book: Seed Truths-From Genesis to Revelation
By: Mike Harding
18 And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Genesis 2:18-25
We see in Genesis another seed truth, the beginning of a thread that runs through the Bible. The church of Jesus Christ is called to be His bride. We are called to be the eternal object of His love and devotion, His love interest in the greatest story ever told. We are called to be His covenant partner over all of creation forever.
How do we know this? The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Ephesian church, brings us this revelation. While explaining the dynamics of a good husband and wife relationship in Ephesians chapter 5, Paul quotes from Genesis 2:24: “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” Then he says this: This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:31-32)
Paul knew, by revelation of the Holy Spirit, that the first husband and wife relationship, Adam and Eve, was a prophetic picture of Christ and the church. What does this tell us? It tells us that God had planned from before the creation of the world to prepare a bride for His Son. He was letting us know that, in His heart and mind, this was His eternal plan and purpose in creating us.
What other great revelations are hidden in this passage of Genesis chapter two?
In verse 18, the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” By saying, “It is not good that man should be alone,” God is revealing something about Adam but also something about Himself. Adam was designed to be a social creature. He was created to need relationship and companionship. But Adam was created in God’s image. This means that God Himself hungers for relationship and companionship. God already had fellowship and community within the circle of the Trinity. (“Let Us make man in Our image.” Genesis 1:26)
God is a Triune being, a plural being, a circle of love and community within Himself. But He wanted more. God the Father wanted children. We were created for that purpose. God the Father also wanted a bride for the second Person of the Trinity, who would be His incarnate Son. For this purpose also we were created. We were created and destined for a divine romance.
But God also said in verse 18, “I will make him a helper comparable to him.” What does this mean? A helper for Adam did not mean a servant. It meant a companion to share his life and his assignment with him. For Adam, it meant that God would give him Eve. Eve would not be in any way inferior to Adam. She would not be lower than him. An unequal relationship would not be authentic or fulfilling. She would be his equal. She would be taken from his side, made of the same essence and nature. Adam would be the head of the relationship, but he would not dominate her. (This is why, generally speaking, men propose to women. Women do not generally propose to men.) They would live in partnership. They would live in dominion together as partners under God. They would love and honor one another. They would enjoy one another’s companionship, and they would meet one another’s needs.
But prophetically, Adam represents Jesus and Eve represents the church. What does this mean for us? It means that we will be presented to Jesus as His bride, a glorious bride without spot or wrinkle. (Ephesians 5:27)
It means that we, the church, the bride of Christ, will not be inferior to Jesus. We will not be lower than Him. He came down to our level to bring us up to His level. He took on human nature (Hebrews 2:14-17) so that we could take on His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). An unequal relationship would not be authentic or fulfilling. We will be a helper, a companion, comparable to Him!
We will be taken from His side, born of His Spirit, made of His essence and His nature. Jesus will be the Head of the relationship, but He will not dominate us. (It is Jesus that pursued us and proposed marriage to us. We did not pursue Him or propose to Him.) We will live in partnership. We will live in dominion together as partners under God. We will love and honor one another. We will enjoy one another’s companionship, and we will meet one another’s needs. In every way, we will be a bride worthy of our bridegroom!
What other great revelations are hidden in this passage of Genesis chapter two?
Verse 21: And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. In the same way that God put Adam into a “deep sleep” in order to take his bride from His side, Jesus went into a “deep sleep” to bring forth His bride from His side. Jesus was crucified and put in a tomb, but, just like Adam, He rose up from that sleep! From that sacrifice the church was born. We were taken from His side; we were born of His Spirit, His essence, and His nature.
Verse 22: Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. Just as God presented Eve to Adam, the Holy Spirit is now in the earth drawing men and women to Jesus Christ. For those of us who accept His proposal, the Holy Spirit is preparing us to be presented to Jesus as a glorious church without spot or wrinkle. This is also prophetically represented in Genesis 24, when Abraham sent his servant to go on a journey to his homeland and his people to bring back a suitable bride for his son Isaac.
Verse 24-25: And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Just as a man leaves his father and mother to pursue and be joined to his wife, Jesus left His Father in Heaven to come to the earth and pursue His bride. When a man and a woman are joined in marriage, they become one flesh. But when you and I are joined to Jesus Christ, we experience the spiritual equivalent. Read what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:15-17: Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For "the two," He says, "shall become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24) But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
Paul quotes Genesis 2:24, acknowledging that a sexual union produces a “one flesh” relationship in God’s eyes. But then he says, “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” Hallelujah! A husband and wife together make one flesh. But Jesus and His bride are one spirit. We are one life. One identity. One destiny. One nature. One purpose. One essence. We are one with Him – we are part of Him! Hallelujah!
Verse 25: And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Because of our perfect forgiveness, our perfect redemption, our perfect righteousness, we don’t need to have any shame or any fear before Jesus. We don’t have anything to hide from Him. He sees it all. We are justified before Him by His blood. We are loved and accepted. And by His Spirit and His word working in us, we will come to perfect holiness and perfect sanctification in Him. We will be like Him. He who began a good work in us will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:6) We will be completely open and transparent before Him forever, perfect in holiness, with no shame and no fear forever. Hallelujah!
17 The king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. Esther 2:17
In the book, of Esther, we also see a prophetic picture of Christ and His bride. The Persian king Xerxes I, also called Ahasuerus, once called for his wife, Vashti, to come and appear before his guests at a feast. Vashti refused to come, so he divorced her and began to search for a new bride. The bride he eventually chose was a young Hebrew woman named Esther.
Of course, Xerxes was a worldly king whose intentions toward Vashti probably were not noble, but he is a prophetic symbol anyway. This could represent how, under the Mosaic Covenant, Israel often did not answer God when He called to them. So God eventually turned from the nation of Israel and the Mosaic Covenant. In the New Covenant, He began the search for a new, faithful bride, taken from both believing Jews and believing Gentiles.
The name Esther means star. The name “star” is symbolic of the church. Why? Because in Genesis 13:16, God told Abraham that He would make his descendants like the “dust of the earth”. But in Genesis 15:5, God told Abraham that He would make his descendants like the “stars of heaven”. In both cases, God was speaking of the great number of descendants that Abraham would have. But there was another meaning. The dust of the earth represented Abraham’s natural descendants, those born of his physical lineage. They are of this world. They are natural Israel, plus Abraham’s many other descendants. But the stars of the heaven represented Abraham’s spiritual descendants, those who would believe God the same way that Abraham believed God. They are born again through faith in Jesus Christ. They are citizens of Heaven. They are the church! Esther represents the church, the bride of Christ!
12 Each young woman's turn came to go in to King Ahasuerus after she had completed twelve months' preparation, according to the regulations for the women, for thus were the days of their preparation apportioned: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfumes and preparations for beautifying women. Esther 2:12
Before Esther went in to be presented to the king, she received twelve months of beauty treatments. She was anointed with oils and perfumes. What does this mean? Esther represents the church, being prepared by the Holy Spirit to be presented to Jesus. We are being anointed with the oil of the Holy Spirit. We are receiving the perfumes of Heaven. We will be beautiful to Jesus. We will smell like Heaven!
1 Now it happened on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace, across from the king's house, while the king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, facing the entrance of the house. 2 So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter. 3 And the king said to her, "What do you wish, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given to you --- up to half the kingdom!" Esther 5:1-3
King Ahasuerus eventually chose and married Esther. She became his queen. But it wasn’t a happy ending yet. In the Persian Empire there was an evil man named Haman, who symbolically represents Satan. He hated God’s people, the Jews. He brought accusations against the Jewish people living in the empire. He found a way to have them condemned as lawbreakers. He found a way to have them all exterminated. It would have worked, but he didn’t count on Esther.
Esther used her position as queen to defend her people. She used her privilege and her access to the presence of the king. She came as an intercessor. The king granted her request. Her people were saved.
Esther represents the praying church, the interceding church. As the bride of Christ, we have special access to the king. We have access to the throne room. We can pray for the lost. We can intercede for our people who are targeted by Satan for destruction. As the praying church, we can save many people!
18 The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. 20 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. Mark 2:18-20
1 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.” Matthew 25:1
Jesus knew that He had come to take a bride from the world. He knew that He was the bridegroom. He knew that He would go back to Heaven, after His crucifixion and resurrection, to wait for His bride to be ready.
28 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. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. John 3:28-29
Even John the Baptist recognized that Jesus had come to take a bride from the world. He talked about it in very clear terms. John the Baptist saw himself as a friend of the bridegroom. As a prophet, he saw himself as one that was trying to help prepare the people for Jesus. He was serving Jesus. He was playing his part in serving the bridegroom.
In the end though, John the Baptist, as well as all the rest of the Old Testament believers, are part of the bride. All of the redeemed from the human race will be the bride of Christ!
22 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, 26 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. 30 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. Ephesians 5:22-33
The apostle Paul recognized that God’s plan for marriage was always meant to be a symbol of Jesus and the church. As an apostle of Jesus Christ, Paul had received great revelation concerning God’s eternal plan and purpose. The church is God’s eternal plan and purpose.
This passage is prophetic. It is the word of God. It must be fulfilled. It will be fulfilled. Jesus will have a glorious church without spot or wrinkle. Jesus is not coming back for a defeated church. He is not coming back for a beat up church that needs to be rescued from the devil. He is coming back for a church that will be holy, anointed and victorious. The church of the last days will impact the world. We will preach the gospel with power, and many more people will come into the kingdom. The church will have great unity. (Ephesians 4:13) The bride will be worthy of the bridegroom. She will truly reflect and represent Him!
So the church is the bride of Christ. And a bride always enjoys the same social position and status as her husband. A king’s bride is called the queen. She is a co-ruler. We are already seated with Christ in the heavenly realms, at the right hand of the Father. (Ephesians 1:20 and 2:6) We are in training for reigning. Jesus already overcame the world and the devil. If we overcome, if we stay faithful to Him, we will sit with Him on His throne. (Revelation 3:21, 1 John 5:4-5) If we endure, we will reign with Him. (2 Timothy 2:12)
If a husband and wife are one flesh, then they are joint-owners of everything they possess, no matter how they came to possess it. If Jesus and the church are one spirit, then they are joint owners of everything they possess, no matter which one of them first possessed it. Jesus won it all, but we are joint owners!
Notice that verse 33 says, Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself… We are His bride; we are “members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones” (verse 30). If a husband is supposed to love as wife as he loves himself, then please recognize that Jesus loves you the same way. He loves you as He loves Himself. You are one with Him. You are part of Him. He does not reject you. You are His body. He will nurture you and cherish you (verse 29). You must know that. You must believe that. You must feel that!
1 After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! 2 For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” 3 Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!” 5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!” 6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ “And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” Revelation 19:1-8
In the end, there will be a great wedding supper of the Lamb. The saints, those who have been washed and justified by the blood of Jesus, will be recognized and rewarded for their righteous acts. We will be presented to Jesus for a great wedding ceremony, for a great celebration. Solomon 2:4 will be fulfilled: He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love!
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. Revelation 22:17
As we get closer to the second coming of Jesus, our Bridegroom, there is a cry rising in our hearts. There is a desire that is growing stronger. We cry out in agreement, in harmony, with the Holy Spirit: “Jesus, come!” Our hearts are burning with love and passion. It is not about religion. It is not about rewards. It is not about recognition. We are falling more and more in love with Jesus. He is revealing Himself to us, and He is capturing our hearts. Each time we experience Him, each time we have an encounter with Him, we are more conquered by His love. Nothing else will do. Everything else fades away. We love Him. We want to see His face. We want Him to come back for us.
There is still room for more people to join us. There is still more room at the banqueting table. There is still more room in His heart. Whoever thirsts may come. Whoever desires may take of the water of life freely.
A wave of prayer is growing in the earth. A cry of intercession is rising up around the world. The Spirit and the bride both say, “Come, Lord Jesus, come!”
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