Ekklesia: God’s Idea of ChurchSample

Day 6: The church is the bride of Christ

The imagery of a wedding brings to mind the sight of a beautiful bride walking down the aisle to be joined with her bridegroom. She looks radiant and eagerly anticipates this joyous union with him.

This scene mirrors the vision that the apostle John saw in the second coming of Christ. Jesus, the Bridegroom, has lovingly chosen the church to be His bride, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless (Ephesians 5:25-27). Just as how the betrothed bride and groom were separated till the wedding day, so is the bride of Christ temporarily separated from her Bridegroom. In his vision, John sees the heavenly city coming down from heaven, adorned as a bride, symbolising the radiance of the city and how its inhabitants will be holy and pure. This was how beautiful the new holy city would be.

At the second coming of Jesus Christ, the church will be united with her Bridegroom for eternity. Have you ever wondered what eternity will be like? The holy city, the new Jerusalem, is described as a place where there will be no more death, pain, sorrow or crying. It is a new heaven and earth where God lives and dwells with His people in righteousness.

No matter what we are going through in this world today, remember that God has already written the final chapter. This final chapter describes true fulfilment and eternal joy that awaits the bride of Christ. As the Church, we wait in anticipation for the day that we will be reunited with our Bridegroom. Until that day, we remain faithful to our Bridegroom and live with expectation on this side of heaven.

Reflect & Respond

• How does this picture of a bridegroom and bride parallel the relationship that Christ has with the church?
• Worship God with the song “The Church” by Bethel Music and meditate on its lyrics.