To The Bride

Here is a vision of what the Church, the Bride of Christ, can become. If we heed the voice, the warnings, and the ministrations of the Spirit, we can become the pure and spotless Bride of Christ we are called to be.

For that, we turn to the end of John's great vision, where we find one of the seven angels speaking to John with these words: "Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb" (see Revelation 21:9).

Let us, consider the beauty of the Bride of Christ, as He longs to see her.

Longing for Intimacy with Him

Throughout the whole of Scripture, the relationship of Christ with His Church is likened unto the marriage relationship. This relationship was prefigured from the very beginning.

Starting in Genesis we see how from the physical side of Adam God created for him a bride and presented him with Eve. So likewise, from the side of the last Adam, God brought forth the Church, which He will one day present to His Son as a glorious Bride.

As the Old Testament unfolds, the story of Hosea and Gomer beautifully illustrates the tender, compassionate, and patient character of God towards His people Israel - for whom He grieves just as Hosea grieves for his wayward bride.

Paul, dealing with the subject of marriage in the New Testament says, "This mystery is great, but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church" (Ephesians 5:32). Addressing the Corinthians he tells them of His desire: "For I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin" (2 Corinthians 11:2).

These and other passages reveal the type of relationship Christ is longing to have with us. There is no more intimate relationship than that of a husband and wife. There is no friendship that surpasses it. "They shall become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24) describes a union like no other.

One of the great beauties of a healthy, intimate marriage is that the longer the relationship goes on, the greater the depth of intimacy we may experience with one another. Just the other day my own pastor was sharing how he and his wife were alone together for several days. He related how exciting those days were, then added, "I didn't know where I ended and she began" - such was the oneness they had together.

This is the way Christ longs to see us - longing for intimacy with Him.

Healthy and Fruitful

Women often typify the Bride of Christ.

Take, for example, women in the Scriptures who were unhealthy or barren. Barrenness typifies the condition of the Church apart from the indwelling presence of God. Jesus said just as the branch cannot bring forth fruit unless it abides in the vine, so neither can we apart from Christ.

Mark's Gospel tells the story of a woman whom Jesus healed after 12 years of affliction (see Mark 5:25-34). As I've studied this story, I've come to understand how many similarities there are between what this woman went through in the natural to the spiritual counterpart in the Church. I believe this story has prophetic significance for the Church today.

The first thing we notice about this woman was she was dying. She was continually losing blood and her very life was slowly ebbing away. Day after day she was growing weaker and  weaker. The only strength she had left was spent in looking after her own needs. As we've seen, the similarities with the Church are obvious. We have become anemic.

What do I mean by "anemic?"

I ask: Where is our spiritual power? No longer can we declare, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ ... rise up and walk" (Acts 3:6). The early Church turned the world upside down, raised the dead, cleansed the lepers, and cast out demons. And all this was accomplished by unlettered men who never sat in a seminary, never sent out a newsletter, and had no "covenant partners' to guarantee their support. They simply cast themselves upon God and drew upon His power for their physical and spiritual needs.

Second, we see that the woman with the issue of blood was "despised." The normal menstrual cycle according to the law classified a woman as unclean and untouchable. Whatever she touched became unclean; likewise, wherever she sat became defiled. Anyone touching her was to be unclean for seven days. Who in their right mind would want to hang around a woman like this? If she had a husband he had the right, according to the law, to leave her if he chose. Otherwise they could have no intimacy together. To touch her would render you unclean. No doubt the very mention of her name was offensive to many, and people would run to avoid making contact with her. She was never invited into a home, never held or cherished. Nothing about her was attractive. She had long ago lost her reputation.

It's very apparent that much of what we know about this woman in the natural applies to the Church today. Mention the Church to the average man on the street and he is likely to tell you some horror story and provide a dozen reasons why he's no longer interested in being "with her." The Church today is far from being clean, even in the eyes of the world. Today, the world hears only of the never-ending failures of pastors, church splits, misappropriation of funds, and other abuses. We have become diseased.

And yet, Christ sees us as we can be - if we repent and return to Him - and that is healthy and fruitful.

The third thing we see in his woman was that she was "discouraged". Any prolonged, persistent, chronic problem leads eventually to discouragement. For 12 years she had suffered and yet not because she hadn't sought for an answer - she had. The passage reveals that she had sought for help over and over again. She had not only suffered physically from being prodded and poked by every so-called expert, but also financially.

The end result, according to the text, was that she had "endured much" and had "grown worse." Every new physician she saw promised her some cure. She went expecting, longing to be delivered, only to find they gladly accepted her money but could do nothing to help. Due to her condition she was forced to seek help outside of the Jewish community. No doctor wanted to be unclean for a week and so she turned to the world for help.

Does all this sound familiar? There is widespread discouragement throughout the Body of Christ. We have tried everything looking for answers to our "illness." The years roll by and we are still as weak as ever. We've even turned to the world for help and are no better for it - if anything we too have "grown worse". According to a recent survey, 70 percent of today's pastors would leave the ministry if they had another way to support themselves and their families. Seventy percent of all pastors constantly experience depression. In the last decade a significant number of pastors' wives have walked away from their marriages and even children, unable to cope with the pressure of the ministry.

~ David Ravenhill~

(continued with # 2)