(Ver 2.0)  This is “Part 2” of the series of essential Bible lessons on the subject of “Identifying the Bride of Christ” in scripture. Too most serious Bible students this should be an easy subject. But for a lot of people, they have never heard it taught or read about this subject. First, it should be obvious that if the primary subject of this series is to identify the Bride of Christ, that this subject is speaking of a covenant marriage between a female woman becoming joined to her male groom creating one new family.  In every normal Bible marriage, there are always two participants, and always only a man and a woman.  Any other type of marriage is a perversion of truth and scripture. This union of two opposite sexes, was established in the beginning and still is God’s design and definition of a marriage.  Today in Part 2 we will learn more about this great subject. However, instead of focusing on the bride, today we will continue our study by identifying and confirming the bridegroom using the Bible and the scriptures that speak specifically about this marriage event.  If you have not been reading this series from the beginning, I would strongly recommend that you go back and start with Part 1, The Introduction.

In every normal wedding that Christians have attended, there should only be two primary participants being married.  These are the bride and the bridegroom.  This is what God defines to be normal. Any other marriage type defiles God created design of marriage.  We know this because Genesis 2:24 established this law of covenant union and marriage between one male and one female. This verse also they would be joined together as one flesh.   Therefore, in order to establish the identity of the bride of Christ we might desire to start with the basics and confirm that Jesus Christ the groom?   Hopefully, this will not be too difficult.

Basic theology is not the normal focus of Agapegeek. However, we might want to start with something more fundamental, like who was Jesus Christ? Was he God or was he just a man?  Hopefully we can agree he is 100% man. But simultaneously we also must know that he is 100% God. In Romans 8:3 God writes through Paul, that Jesus was made in likeness of sinful flesh and this verse calls Him the Son of God.  Jesus was both 100% God and 100% a man.   While I was studying, I counted over 30 times just in the book of Matthew that Jesus is referred to as “the Son of Man”.  Of course, the term “son” clearly indicates that he was a male and this then identifies Him be a child descendant of Adam, the first created man.  You might not see that very clearly right now, but it is there, and we will probably get into that in more depth later.

When there are a lot of scriptures on a subject it seems it is easier for people to see what is taught to them.  I believe that God was making a direct point of emphasis with an implied exclamation point that Jesus Christ was a human male due to the number of scriptures that are recorded with this revelation.  So, let’s back up again and now scripturally establish the deity of Jesus.  There are not as many clear references in the Bible that declare the specific deity of Jesus Christ as being human.  Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any.  Let’s start with one in Matthew the first chapter:

Mat 1:23  Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

This verse is of course speaking about Mary becoming pregnant with Jesus Christ.  Here we have a very clear reference that he will be called by the name “Emmanuel” which is a Hebrew name meaning “God with us”.  This of course is very controversial in various religions of the world and many of them would certainly deny that God would do something so ridiculous as becoming a part of His creation.   It is funny how God uses these foolish things to confound the wise (1 Cor 1:27).  So, we need at least one more good reference that Jesus was God, and I think there is a very good one in the first chapter of John.

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Joh 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The first chapter of John is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, it is really amazing what it says.  In the very first verse of the chapter, God describes Himself as being “the Word”.  This verse is a parallel to Genesis 1:1. John 1:1 and Genesis 1:1 both are written about the “beginning” of creation. However, they speak of God’s Work in different terms. John 1:1 identifies the contribution of God’s Spoken Word to create our world.

If you see what John 1 says, it is almost a paradox or a riddle. How can the Word be “With” God at the same time that it “Is” God.  It is an interesting theological predicament, much like trying to explain the Trinity of God.  It is usually advisable that if we do not understand a verse in the Bible fully and how it is possible, it is wise to just accept it for what it literally says and believe it just because it says it rather than to attempt to understand it before we believe it.  God will always unfold the written words in due time to us in time if we ask, expect the answer to be shown to us, and then trust Him to show us this answer very soon.

As you read down the chapter of John 1, we find an amazing statement of truth in verse 14 about this God called “The Word”.  Verse 14 informs us that “The Word” who is also known as “God” was made flesh and lived among us.  The God who has purposely hid himself throughout the ages from our physical view, would take on the form of a human male and walk around like He was just one of us.  That concept boggles the religious minds of many people to no end.  However, what we can clearly see in this first chapter of John, is the fact that the man Jesus Christ was God in the flesh.  Let’s look at just one more reference in the Bible where Jesus himself makes a statement to some men who couldn’t understand or accept what he was saying:

John 10:30 – I and my Father are one.

John 10:31 – Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.

John 10:32 – Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?

Johh 10:33 – The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

From the mouth of Jesus himself, he spoke and said that God the Father and him were one in the same.  That is an awesome statement of revelation that we need to get a hold of and understand the full implications given.  The men that heard him wanted to kill him and took up stones to do so.  Jesus just asked for what good work are you going to stone me for?  But they said it wasn’t for anything that he did, just for what he said.

They could see that he was a man of flesh and based upon this fact and what he said they rejected his claim to be equal to God.  Jesus in affect was saying I am the one that created the universe, and you didn’t recognize me.  Jesus was God standing directly before them and they did not see it.  Obviously, we can learn a lot from this lesson if we are open.  In another place in the Gospels, Jesus said “If you have seen me you have seen my Father.” (John 14:7-9).  Again, Jesus says He is God.  There are certainly a lot of other scriptures that could have been included in this discussion, but for the sake of time we will end this part of the divinity of Jesus using three witnesses.

We could certainly say more and easily get off of the mainline of the subject, so let’s go ahead and look at verses about Jesus being the bridegroom.  So, in every marriage, there should always be a male participant making a proposal to his desired female, and this is followed by a wedding ceremony if she willingly accepts.   So, who is this bridegroom?  Is it this God Man named Jesus?

Later we will go through an in-depth study of Revelation 21 where an angel takes John in the spirit to view the Lamb’s wife.  In this chapter we are given a glimpse and a view into the spiritual realm to see a symbolic city who is described in elaborate terms to be a female bride who has finalized her marriage and is now called a wife.  But like we learned earlier God does not say she is called the Bride of Christ; in this verse it only says she is the “Lamb’s Wife”.   As we know from the Book of John and other New Testament books, only Jesus is ever directly or indirectly called the Lamb of God. Let us confirm this briefly:

John 1:29 – The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

John 1:36 – And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

Jesus is seen walking up to John and John stops in his tracks and says, “Behold the Lamb of God”.  This is an awesome revelation.  John knew that Jesus would soon suffer and die and become the one-time sacrifice for the payment of all human sin.  Therefore, we can clearly see the reference that Jesus is indirectly called the “bridegroom” that will marry the bride shown to us in Revelation 21.  We will certainly get into this in more depth soon.   We could talk a lot about the significance of the lamb and about God’s usage of a lamb’s blood. There are a number of very significant typologies and parallels given to us in the Old Testament, that reveal Jesus’ substitutionary work, but we will not cover this today.

Now I want to go through other scriptural conformations found in the New Testament concerning the identity of the bridegroom.  There are really several scriptures, and I will not attempt to include them all for the sake of time and space.  We can see the identity of the bridegroom in the words of Jesus himself speaking to the disciples of John:

Mat 9:14 – Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?

Mat 9:15 – And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.

We touched on this subject briefly in Part 1.  If you recall this was when the disciples of John ask Jesus why his disciples don’t fast like they do, Jesus’ reply was very important, and a simple truth.  How can the children of the bride chamber fast when they are physically present with the bridegroom?  The inference is clearly given that Jesus is calling himself the bridegroom and since he was present with them, they didn’t need to fast and this made them at least a part of the “bride”.

He then says there will come a time when I, the bridegroom would be taken from them and then they could fast.  We can see that Jesus is looking forward to his crucifixion, his subsequent resurrection and his ascension, when he would be taken from this earth.  These words in Matthew 19:14-15 are echoed in Mark 2:19 and Luke 5:34 also, so here we see three specific witnesses declaring Jesus Christ to be the bridegroom.  In fact, all of these are quotes of Jesus himself declaring himself to be the bridegroom.

Also, if we look closely at these verses and the specific term “bridechamber” we will also see the implied inference to who the bride is.  If you have been following the other blogs you can also see an implication of the “seed of the woman” by the reference to the children of the bride.  But since we aren’t there yet, let’s look at another witness to the identity of the bridegroom.  We can see that Jesus is again called the bridegroom by John the Baptist in the Gospel of John.

John 3:28 – Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.

John 3:29 – 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.

We can see in verse 28 of John 3, that John the Baptist tells everyone that he is not the Greek word Christ, or the Hebrew equivalent word is Messiah.  However, we now know the identity of the one who John is about to talk about.  Then in verse 29, three times John the Baptist calls Jesus Christ the bridegroom.  This verse actually has more revelation, but that is the primary point that you should accept as a great additional witness.  John’s first statement is concerning the bride and declares that Jesus is the bridegroom that has her.   While John does not directly identify who the bride is, he definitely identifies who the Groom is.  Interesting, isn’t it?    Also, the Greek word G3565 translated as bride in this verse has the following definition in the Strong’s:

G3565

From a primary but obsolete verb νύπτω nuptō (to veil as a bride; compare the Latin “nupto”, to marry); a young married woman (as veiled), including a betrothed girl; by implication, a son’s wife: – bride, daughter in law.

You can see that this word is related to the Latin word “Nupto” meaning to marry.  We get English words like nuptial from this word.  So clearly, we can see the association of a woman that is being married to the Lord Jesus Christ.  This woman must be the bride of Christ since Jesus is the Christ.  So, who is this woman that is married to the Lord Jesus Christ?  Knowing who the bridegroom is, gives us a firm foundation for us to start an in-depth study of who the bride is.  But let’s list some of the basic facts that we have just learned from the preceding verses:

1. Jesus Christ was and still is, God in the flesh
2. Jesus Christ was and still is a Man and is also called the Son of Man, causing Him to be a descendant of Adam God’s first created man.
3. Jesus Christ is called the Lamb of God.
4. Jesus Christ calls Himself the bridegroom.
5. Jesus Christ is said to have a bride and a wife.
6. A bride is always a female.
7. There must be a marriage proposal and covenant established and then a wedding ceremony between Jesus and His bride.

I think these are basic scriptural facts, but yet maybe you haven’t seen them until now.  So, knowing these facts we can now begin to explore the identity of the bride of Christ. Therefore, let us start by researching the subject in the Word of God.  Two questions should come to our minds at this point in the study and I think answering these questions will help point us to where we should go next.  Here are the two questions that maybe you thought of also and these are based upon knowing that God is a Spirit and any wedding that He is involved in as a bridegroom, is also spiritual in nature:

1. What is a spiritual marriage in the eyes of God?
2. What is a spiritual woman in the eyes of God?

I believe by focusing in on what God thinks are the answers to these two direct questions that it will help to provide us a firm foundation to the clear identity of the bride of Christ.  In the next lesson we will begin to focus on these subjects.

If you would like to continue reading this series, you can go to “Part 3“.