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Bride/Body of Christ

Following are my notes used to do the presentation on whether or not the church is the bride of Christ-----or not.

AISS Presentation re: The Bride/Body of Christ

Date – 4/15/2024

Presenter – Dolores Bryant with materials from several different sources.

Question – Who is the Bride of Christ? Who is the body of Christ? Are they the same? If not, why not?

BRIDE, n.

1. A woman newly married. But the name is applied to a woman at the marriage festival, before she is married, as well as after the ceremony.2. A woman espoused, or contracted to be married.

Bridegroom - The word bridegroom is used often in the Bible as a metaphor for God.

Ponder & Remember – Theologians and Commentaries Disagree -  The Holy Spirit is the Teacher

The identity of the bride is generally considered within Christian theology to be the church, with Jesus as the bridegroom; Ephesians 5:22–33 in particular compares the union of husband and wife to that of Christ and the church. It is a favorite ecclesial image.[2] Interpretations of the metaphor's usage vary from church to church, with most believing that it always refers to the church.

22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband
Ephesians 5:22-33
(KJV)

Another verse that seems to indicate the bride may be the church is the bride is from John the Baptist speaking in Joh 3:29.

29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
John 3:29
(KJV)

Jesus speaking during his time on earch stated that He came to minister to the Jews. NOT Gentiles.

5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Matthew 10:5-6
(KJV)

When a woman of Caanan wanted her daughter delivered from a devil, Matthew 15:22, Jesus told her that He had not come to minister to her but rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Matthew 15:24
(KJV)

Relationship of God to Israel (The Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are still showing life under the Old Testament as Jesus has not yet been crucified, buried and risen from the grave. Note that Jesus himself was circumcised the 8th day (Luke 2:21).

  1. Passover – Luke 2:40-43; Luke 22:14,15

  2. Unleavened Bread – Luke 22:7,8

  3. Firstfruits - Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn… there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone…[The angel answered the women] “He is not here; for He is risen.” (Matt. 28:1-2,6) It would be a stretch to say that “Jesus celebrated First Fruits”, but one thing is undeniable. He gave it meaning. He was the Firstfruits of resurrection, as reiterated by the apostle Paul: 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
    1 Corinthians 15:23 (KJV)

  4. Shavuot/Pentecost – n the Bible, Shavuot marked the wheat harvest in the Land of Israel. The word means "weeks", Biblical names for Shavuot are Festival of Weeks (Exodus 34:22), Festival of Reaping (Exodus 22:16),and Day of Firstfruits (Numbers 28:26). Shavuot is sometimes referred to as (in KoinÄ“ Greek: Πεντηκοστή) due to its timing after Passover, "pentecost" meaning "fifty" in Greek and Shavuot occurring fifty days after the first day of Pesach/Passover,

​1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4 (KJV)

  1. Feast of Dedication - 22 And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. 23 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. John 10:22-23 (KJV)

  2. Sabbath – Mark 1:21 21 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. Mark 1:21 (KJV); 2 And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?
    Mark 6:2
    (KJV)

Do I Celebrate Holidays with Jesus?

The Hebrew Scriptures were the only written “Word of God” Jesus and His disciples had at the time. They loved it and practiced it. From what the Gospels tell us, our Messiah was not legalistic, He just wanted to bring all the attention back to the Father and the Kingdom of God. That was the essence of how He observed the holidays.

Who was God’s Bride/Wife in the Old Testament?

Scriptures Showing Israel Married to God

  1. Ezekiel 16:8-21

  2. Jeremiah 3:6-8

  3. Exodus 24:7,8

  4. Amos 3:1-2

  5. Jeremiah 2:2

  6. Jeremiah 3:10-11

  7. Jeremiah 3:14 (Specifically says that God is married to Israel)

  8. Isaiah 54:5-8 (Specifically says God is their husband)

  9. Jeremiah 3:1 (Even though God married to them and they have played the harlot, He wants them to return to Him.

  10. Jeremiah 31:31-34 (Specifically says that God is their husband but God will make a new covenant with them and put His law in their hearts.

  11. Ezekiel 16:27-30

  12. Ezekiel 16:46-48

  13. Hosea 1:2 (God revealed through Hosea’s marriage) Hosea means salvation. Throughout the book, Hosea pictured the people turning away from the Lord and turning toward other gods (4:12–3; 8:5–6). This propensity for idolatry meant that the Israelites lived as if they were not God’s people. And though God told them as much through the birth of Hosea’s third child, Lo-ammi, He also reminded them that He would ultimately restore their relationship with Him, using the intimate and personal language of “sons” to describe His wayward people (1:9–10; 11:1). 

  14. Hosea 2:3-7

  15. Ezekiel 16;34 (33, 34. Israel hired her paramours (A lover, especially a lover of a person who is married to someone else.), instead of being, like other harlots, hired by them; she also followed them without their following her.)

  16. Hosea 2:14-16 (… in that day, you will call me “my husband”)

  17. Hosea 2:19-23 (I will betroth you to Me forever)

  18. Hebrews 8:8

  19. Hebrews 8:10-12

Remember – Even though Israel has forgotten HIM, He has not forgotten them.

The Church as the Body of Christ

  1. 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

  2. Ephesians 4:4

  3. 1 Corinthians 11:29

  4. Romans 12:4-5

  5. 1 Corinthians 1:13

  6. 1 Corinthians 10:16-17

  7. 1 Corinthians 11:23-24

  8. Ephesians 5:23

  9. Ephesians 5:30

  1. Colossians 3:15

What is replacement theology / supersessionism / fulfillment theology?

Replacement theology (also known as supersessionism and fulfillment theology) essentially teaches that the church has replaced Israel in God’s plan. Adherents of replacement theology believe the Jews are no longer God’s chosen people, and God does not have specific future plans for the nation of Israel. Among the different views of the relationship between the church and Israel are the church has replaced Israel (replacement theology), the church is an expansion of Israel (covenant theology), or the church is completely different and distinct from Israel (dispensationalism/premillennialism).

Replacement theology teaches that the church is the replacement for Israel and that the many promises made to Israel in the Bible are fulfilled in the Christian church, not in Israel. The prophecies in Scripture concerning the blessing and restoration of Israel to the Promised Land are spiritualized or allegorized into promises of God’s blessing for the church. Major problems exist with this view, such as the continuing existence of the Jewish people throughout the centuries and especially with the revival of the modern state of Israel. If Israel has been condemned by God and there is no future for the Jewish nation, how do we explain the supernatural survival of the Jewish people over the past 2,000 years despite the many attempts to destroy them? How do we explain why and how Israel reappeared as a nation in the 20th century after not existing for 1,900 years?

The view that Israel and the church are different is clearly taught in the New Testament. Biblically speaking, the church is distinct from Israel, and the terms church and Israel are never to be confused or used interchangeably. We are taught from Scripture that the church is an entirely new creation that came into being on the day of Pentecost and will continue until it is taken to heaven at the rapture (Ephesians 1:9–11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17). The church has no relationship to the curses and blessings for Israel. The covenants, promises, and warnings of the Mosaic Covenant were valid only for Israel. Israel has been temporarily set aside in God’s program during these past 2,000 years of dispersion (see Romans 11).

Contrary to replacement theology, dispensationalism teaches that, after the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18), God will restore Israel as the primary focus of His plan. The first event at this time is the tribulation (Revelation chapters 6–19). The world will be judged for rejecting Christ, while Israel is prepared through the trials of the great tribulation for the second coming of the Messiah. Then, when Christ does return to the earth at the end of the tribulation, Israel will be ready to receive Him. The remnant of Israel who survive the tribulation will be saved, and the Lord will establish His kingdom on this earth with Jerusalem as its capital. With Christ reigning as King, Israel will be the leading nation, and representatives from all nations will come to Jerusalem to honor and worship the King—Jesus Christ. The church will return with Christ and will reign with Him for a literal thousand years (Revelation 20:1–5).

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament support a premillennial/dispensational understanding of God’s plan for Israel. The strongest support for premillennialism is found in the clear teaching of Revelation 20:1–7, where it says six times that Christ’s kingdom will last 1,000 years. After the tribulation the Lord will return and establish His kingdom with the nation of Israel, Christ will reign over the whole earth, and Israel will be the leader of the nations. The church will reign with Him for a literal thousand years. The church has not replaced Israel in God’s plan. While God may be focusing His attention primarily on the church in this dispensation of grace, God has not forgotten Israel and will one day restore Israel to His intended role as the nation He has chosen (Romans 11).

God has not forgotten his wife/betrothed/Israel

​1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, 3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. 4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. 5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. Romans 11:1-6 (KJV)

Conclusion

While the New Testament does use the metaphor of the Bride of Christ, the bridal paradigm takes the metaphor to an extreme, teaching that it is the primary picture of the Church and that each individual believer is the Bride. Jesus does love His Church (Ephesians 5:25), and the picture of the Church as a Bride is biblically supported (Revelation 19:7

Metaphor - . A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison, . One thing conceived as representing another; a symbol.

Cross reference Jeremiah 31:33-37 confirming that as long as the earth remains, Israel's seed will NOT be cast off from God and will NOT cease to be a nation.

Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day,

and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night,

which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar;

The LORD of hosts is his name:

36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD,

then the seed of Israel also shall cease

from being a nation before me for ever.

37 Thus saith the LORD;

If heaven above can be measured,

and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,

I will also cast off all the seed of Israel

for all that they have done, saith the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:35-37

(KJV)

Relation added here to combat replacement theology. The church has NOT replaced Israel.

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