"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
- Ephesians 5:31, 32 (ESV)
Paul indicates to us that the relationship between Jesus Christ and His wife is a profound mystery, and to uncover the depth of this mystery, we must begin with the verse of scripture that Paul quotes here, and that Jesus quotes in Mat. 19:5-6 and Mark 10:7-8. That verse of scripture is found in Genesis chapter two. Since Genesis is the book of beginnings, or the book of the initial revelation of Kingdom principles, we will look to Genesis for the foundational principles about which Jesus spoke and Paul wrote.
And Jehovah God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof: and the rib, which Jehovah God had taken from the man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And the man 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 shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one (Echad) flesh.
- Genesis 2:21-24
So, we see that Adam, a type of Christ (Rom. 5:14), fell into a deep sleep, typifying the work of the cross. It was then that God removed from his body a small portion of his body that was close to his heart, and from that portion of his body, God made for him, and presented to him, a bride, who then became one flesh with Adam (verse 24). The bride of Christ is only a small portion of the church universal in any age, and is made up of those who relate to Jesus in a very unique and intimate way. For those blessed few, the words of the Song of Solomon are as natural as their breath, and within the wondrous passages of that spiritual allegory of Christ's love affair with His bride, they see the life experiences with their Beloved through which He has led them, as He has prepared, wooed, and won for Himself a bride.
The small portion of the body of Christ that is His bride, and that is one with the Lord, for "he who is joined to the Lord" in the marriage relationship "is one Spirit with the Lord" (1 Cor. 6:17), will, likewise, be joined to the body of Christ in a one flesh union (Gen. 2:24). The wife of Christ will be married to the rest of the body of Christ, the body of believers that relate to Christ as children, servants, or sons, but not as His wife.
This principle is reflected in Isaiah 62:5 "For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee; and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee."
So, as we recognize that the bride of Christ is just a small portion of the church universal, then the parables of Christ begin to make sense to us, for we see in His parables a distinction between the bride and the wise and foolish virgins, or between the bride, the groom, and the guests at the wedding feast, for examples. Is this not what we see in the book of the Song of Solomon? We see the lover (the bride of Christ), the Beloved (Chirst), and the friends, or the rest of the body of Christ, who view the love affair from without (see also John 3:29).
Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and let us give the glory unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they that are bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are true words of God.
- Rev. 19:7-9
In this passage of scripture we see the glorious marriage supper of the Lamb, as His union with those who are joined to the Lord, and who are one Spirit with the Lord, is celebrated with all the saints - those privileged to attend. This wonderful marriage supper will be such a glorious spiritual feast on many levels! It will be a public celebration of the special love union between Christ and his wife; that love union that the guests may have never recognized, never validated, never celebrated, never understood, and perhaps, a union that the guests even refused to acknowledge. In that day, those who were marginalized, overlooked, misunderstood; the last, the least, and the lowest, will be so wonderfully distinguished in the presence of those who, God bless their souls, never properly honored them in the waning age. It will be a time of great joy, great healing, great celebration and reconciliation, as the glorious bride, without spot or wrinkle, is celebrated by her Beloved and presented to His church, to be joined to them as one flesh, one body, the one body of Christ, and "as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee" (Is. 62-5).
What is the great mystery of the bride of Christ? Is it not that, as with Eve, the bride's life, as well as her formation and perfection, are wrought by the hand of God in secret, as the rest of the body sleeps, unaware of the glorious work of God in the lives of individuals that will one day be presented to, and united with, the rest of Christ's body, making her complete, and Jesus joyful? Her love affair with Jesus is the very flame of God, burning in obscurity and solitude, but one day, the chorus of friends will declare in amazement and joy, " Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, Leaning upon her beloved?" (Song 8:5).
For more on the glorious nature of this relationship between Christ and His bride, see Come With Me From Lebanon My Spouse at www.buildinghishouse.org/articles/fromlebanon.shtml.
The Triune Nature of God and the Mystery of Three Series
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