Pastor Eric Chan

The bride of Christ is one of the most prominent metaphors for the church in the Scriptures. In fact, this image or metaphor occurs more frequently than many of us may think.

For example, Jesus referred to Himself as the Bridegroom, when questioned about prayer and fasting in Mark 2:18-20. In Matthew 22, Jesus told a parable about a king who was preparing a wedding feast for His son - which most commentators interpret as the heavenly Father’s preparation for the Son’s wedding. John the Baptist described Christ as the “bridegroom” who must take priority and his ministry as merely that of “the friend of the bridegroom” (John 3:29-30).

The apostle Paul described the church in Corinth as a bride betrothed to “one husband,” referring to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2). He reminded the church in Ephesus that Christ is the head of the church, just as a husband is the head of his wife (Eph. 5:23, 32). Paul understood the union between a man and a woman in marriage as a picture of the union (or marriage) between Christ and His church.

John the Apostle wrote of a coming “marriage of the Lamb” when a prepared “bride” will be fully united with Christ, the Lamb of God (Rev. 19:7-8).


But what does it mean to be the bride of Christ?

In the medieval era, Christian nuns often considered their commitment to celibacy as a part of a mystical betrothal to Christ. (They considered themselves to be “engaged” to Christ and therefore did not pursue marriage with men.)

The writings of some mystics and contemplatives over the centuries confirm the recurring popularity of similar ideas. Some clearly went too far, promoting romantic (and even extreme) ideas about Christ the Bridegroom that are unfounded in Scripture.

But if one needs to become a monk or a nun to be a part of the bride of Christ, then most of the church would not qualify.

Rather, we can look at how marriages in ancient Israel were conducted to understand this metaphor properly. Ancient Jewish weddings usually began with a betrothal. The fathers of the couple would arrange the wedding, with the father of the groom agreeing on a bride price with the father of the bride. A marriage covenant would be signed by both parties and by witnesses.

After this, the groom would return to his father’s house and start building an additional room for his bride. This period might take more than a year, until his father approved the work and permitted him to fetch his bride. The bride would be waiting expectantly in the meantime, not knowing when her bridegroom would arrive.

With this in mind, certain events in the gospels can be better understood. Jesus established the New Covenant with His sacrifice, death and resurrection. He reminded His disciples that He would go “prepare a place” for them in His Father’s house (John 14:2).

His church is now called to eagerly await His return, although we “know neither the day nor the hour” (Matt. 25:13). This is also why several mentions of the bride of Christ in Scripture are found in eschatological (relating to ”last things”) passages. For example, the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13 is a part of the “end times” Olivet Discourse of Matthew 24-25.


How should we live as the bride of Christ?

In practice, this means several things for the church. But let me break it down into three attributes that we should cultivate as a church and as church members:


1. Devotion to Christ

Firstly, the church is meant to be devoted in love to One Person, Jesus Christ. God had called Old Testament Israel to a similar relationship, but Israel continually rejected God and chased after her idols (Hosea 3:1). Among other prophetic books, the book of Hosea records for us God’s anguish at Israel’s persistent unfaithfulness toward Him. Jesus Himself told us that the great and first commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37).

This also brings to mind a truth that many Christians have discovered over the centuries: The human heart longs for satisfaction, but true satisfaction comes from Christ.

Left to our own devices, the human heart seeks after satisfaction in many ways: romantic love, pleasure, success, wealth, fame, affirmation, entertainment and more. But both scripture and human experience tell us that the satisfaction these things bring is merely temporary and fleeting. Whatever joy and thrills we experience from these things are soon gone.

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The human heart longs for satisfaction, but true satisfaction comes from Christ.  
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If what Jesus says about the first and great commandment is true, then genuine and lasting satisfaction comes from loving God with all that we are - with our affections, thoughts, and actions.


2. Purity & Holiness

Secondly, the church is to keep herself pure in a world of sin, confusion and darkness. The bride in Revelation 19:7-8 “made herself ready” and is dressed in “fine linen - bright and pure.” Paul, too, emphasised the purity of the church (”a pure virgin to Christ”) in his letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor. 11:2). Israel was described as an adulteress who defiled herself with other gods in Hosea 2:2-5.

Sin affects our devotion to Christ. Despite the efforts of many who try to separate these two things, it is not possible to do so.

The early church battled a heresy that came to be known as Gnosticism. One aspect of gnostic teaching was that sins committed with the body did not affect one’s walk with God, since it was one’s spirit that connected with God. People who bought into this teaching continued indulging in bodily sin while claiming that their spirit was redeemed by God.

One variant of this would be today’s “hyper-grace” teaching. Some believe and teach that personal or actual sin does not matter to God because we are spiritually covered by grace through Christ.

1 John 1:8-9 clarifies this: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” There is still a need to acknowledge and confess our sins.

Only then does cleansing come - God’s grace is surely present as we acknowledge and confess our sin! (To be clear, I am surely not promoting a works-based “gospel” that suggests we can gain righteousness through human effort.)

But sin is not “spiritually covered” without qualification in the New Testament, nor were the apostles afraid to identify sin simply because grace exists. (See, for example, 1 Cor. 6:9 and Gal. 5:19-21).

People who buy into this false teaching will often struggle in their devotional lives, or even open themselves to deceptive spirits of false consolation or comfort in the long run. I fear that this has happened to many already.

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Sin affects our devotion to Christ. Despite the efforts of many who try to separate these two things, it is not possible to do so.
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If you have been feeling spiritually “dull” for an extended period of time, check yourself to see if you have allowed sinful behaviours, attitudes or even false teaching to take root in your life. Though it is not easy, let us be like a bride who keeps herself pure in preparation for her wedding!


3. Attentiveness & Anticipation

Finally, the church should be attentively anticipating the coming of Christ, just like a bride who awaits her wedding day. The parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13 is especially instructive for us. These were virgins - those who had kept themselves pure in anticipation of the bridegroom - but half of them got drowsy and distracted when he did not arrive at the time they hoped.

Today we live in what some have termed an “attention economy.” Advertisers, content creators, politicians, influencers and celebrities vie for our attention daily. It is hard for one to participate in modern life without a smartphone and numerous accounts with various messaging, social media and app platforms. Add to this the busyness and pressures of Singaporean life, and we often find ourselves distracted, drained and dog-tired by the end of each day.

The incident with Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42 reminds us to re-center our priorities in a busy world. Jesus had arrived at their house and Mary sat at His feet to listen to his teaching. But Martha was “distracted with much serving” and eventually voiced her frustration with Mary.

Jesus told her “You are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary” and that Mary had chosen what is good. This might have sounded offensive to Martha - what she did was customary and practically needful - but the lesson here is about the priority of Jesus.

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The incident with Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42 reminds us to re-center our priorities in a busy world.
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We live in a “Martha” world, but let us learn to give attention and priority to Jesus. Let us not get too distracted by so many things - often good and needful things in our lives - that we forget our Bridegroom and coming King!