Christ and His Bride, the Body of Christ

Over the past couple years, God has been changing my heart, my thoughts, and my passions about His bride. It wasn't that I disliked the church or had become disenfranchised with the church like some, it was just that I did not have a great love for her. I enjoyed going to ecumenical Bible studies (Breakaway, Passion Conferences, etc.) almost just as much as I enjoyed going to church. Churches I found, were often wrapped around the axle about issues like church politics, and church growth, and were not actually doing the things that the LORD commanded. Over a period of a few years, I also saw many of the pastors and church leaders of the churches that I attended fall into marital unfaithfulness. Church, I realized, was messy business...

But, then God started to change my heart for the church. He used verses like Ephesians 5: 25 - 28, "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish." I began to see that Christ's love for the church, His bride was so great. It really astounded me how much Christ could love such an imperfect bride!

I saw that not only did He purify the church, but He also provided the framework and the stability for the church, namely Himself. Peter was preaching in Acts (3:14) he said to the Jews, "But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from dead." Jesus is the "Author of life," both physical and spiritual life! He is holy and righteous. When He gave His life on the Cross, He was laying down His life, a perfect life, for His bride. He pursued and is still pursuing His church as the perfect bridegroom. John put it like this (1 John 4:10), "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Christ has already given Himself in every way to His church by providing justification and sanctification for her sin and by offering a personal relationship with Him.

Christ also continues to build up His bride by His Spirit. In Acts 8, it was the very Spirit of Christ that instructed Philip to share the Gospel with the Ethiopian Eunuch. It was also the Spirit of Christ that brought the Gospel to Europe in Acts 16, when Christ would not allow Paul to preach the Gospel in Asia and then led him to Macedonia. So not only is Christ the very foundation of His Church (1 Corinthians 3), He is also the one who builds her up.

If that were not enough, Jesus provides comfort for His church while she faces the trials of this world. In Acts 7:55 when Stephen was being stoned, Luke said that "... he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God." In Acts 18, Christ appeared to Paul in a dream and instructed him, "Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people."

I believe that we, the church, have the same comfort given us today when we face various trials. Jesus said, "I am with you always, to the end of the age" in Matthew 28 when He gave His Great Commission. I think that this is a promise, that we as the church, can take to heart. We have nothing to fear, because as believers, Christ has promised that we have with us the very Spirit of Him that saved our souls. There is no reason, then if you are a believer to pray that Christ "would be with you" for He has already promised us that...and that should provide great comfort for His church!

My love for the church has grown in response to the love that Christ has for His church. I can echo with St. Augustine, "The church is a whore, but she's my mother." Sure the church is going to have outward deficiencies in this present age, but before Christ, because of His blood, she is a spotless Bride, and I believe that we should love her in this manner. We should do everything within our capacity to move the Church towards further sanctification in this world by defending her against falsehood and sin, and lifting up the Glories of Christ (which is the Gospel) to all people!