Dressed for Church

²¹Y’all are to submit⁺ to one another out of reverence for Christ. ²²Wives, do this to your husbands, as to the Lord. ²³For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church, as the savior of the body. ²⁴But as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives should be to their own husbands in everything. ²⁵Husbands, y’all are to love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, ²⁶so that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, ²⁷that he might present the church to himself gloriously, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without defect. ²⁸In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself. ²⁹For no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord also does the church, ³⁰because we are members of his body. ³¹“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife. Then the two will become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24) ³²This mystery is great, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. ³³Nevertheless each of y’all must also love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must respect her husband. Ephesians 5: 21-33 YALL

When teaching the church at Ephesus about godly relationships, Paul employs the beautiful metaphor of the Church as the Bride of Christ. This is no coincidence. It reveals the intimacy and permanence of our relationship with our glorious Savior. The Church is the Bride and the risen Christ is the bridegroom. How precious must the Church be to Him that He would inspire Paul to use such an image when talking about us!

Although we usually use this passage to teach about marriage, let’s shift our focus to what we can learn about the union of Christ and his church.

• First and foremost, our reverence for the Bridegroom should set the tone for all our relationships. We strive to submit to one another, never demanding our own way or using fear or deceit to manipulate others.  (For more on submitting to one another, click here.)
• Our relationship with Christ is based on a covenant. It is founded on the voluntary acceptance of reciprocal responsibilities. Our mutual commitment is a decision and a vow, not an emotion. While emotions may result, they do not change the covenant.
• The Church is intended to be subject to Christ. He is not our bumper- sticker-buddy; He is our Lord. This means that he is entitled to play a role in every aspect of our lives. We don’t have a ‘secular’ existence.
• He is preparing His bride for presentation to Himself. He achieves this through His Word and the work of the Spirit. We are being lovingly transformed, both individually and corporately. He is doing this everywhere people revere His name, that is throughout the entire Church. We will be without spot or wrinkle. Prepare to be cleaned and pressed!
• Jesus loves the Church with a compelling love. We are part of him; we are his own flesh. Our well-being and His pleasure are inextricably linked. He nourishes and cherishes us as His beloved. We are one with Him and with one another whether we recognize it or not. You are not your own.  
• He loves us completely, unreservedly and unconditionally. We respond by showing Him respect. This involves showing reverence based on holy awe. We worship and obey Him because of who He is, because of our covenant with Him and because of the price He paid to make us His own.

The bride analogy appears twice more: once in a letter by Paul and once in a letter by John.  Writing to the Corinthians, Paul expresses concern that the church is drifting away from its commitment to him and to the Lord. Notice his warning:

2 For I am jealous for y’all with a godly jealousy, because I promised y’all in marriage to one husband—Christ—that I might present y’all as a pure virgin to him. 3 But I fear that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, so y’all’s minds might be corrupted from sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:2-3 YALL

• We know that our God is a jealous God. (Exodus 34:14). Likewise, Jesus is jealous of his bride. However, there is another suitor: a serpent who constantly whispers sweet nothings in her ear. This pure virgin imagery conveys the Lord’s desire for his church to have no other allegiances, whether political or cultural. Devotion to Christ is the center of our existence. Everything else flows from there.
• God has provided the Church with leaders who are committed to keeping Her pure and free from deception. We live in a time when deceptive voices are readily available and widespread. It is therefore imperative to be part of a church where the Bible is taught, the Spirit is present and the leaders are passionate about protecting and enhancing our relationship with Christ.

John wrote of a day when, as the Bride of the Lamb of God, we will all consummate our long betrothal at the great feast.  We must come prepared to please Him.

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.” 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. Revelation 19:7-8 NKJV

• He has given us the privilege of making ourselves ready for the big day. He has graciously given us the tools and the time to clothe ourselves for the party. We want to take every opportunity to clothe ourselves with fine linen, clean and radiant.
•  The Lamb’s bride will be wearing a dress made up of the righteous deeds of those sanctified by their faith in Him. Think about that. We are saved and made part of the Church by grace through faith. We then adorn ourselves for His presence with the fine linen of deeds that reflect the nature of the One we serve. Our behavior impacts how the world sees he Church and how the Bride will appear to the Bridegroom.

Here’s the point. Jesus loves His Church. He gave Himself for it. He sees us as a bridegroom sees his bride. He is preparing us to reign with Him for eternity. He does this primarily in conjunction with our place in the Church. When we gather together in our local assemblies, we are preparing for the day when we see Him as He is and become completely like Him. We need each other because we are part of each other. We have a common calling that can only be fulfilled together. See you in church!