The Bride of Christ: Pictures of the Church Part 2

A few months ago, Lydia and Byron got married and the photos taken by Derryn Smith are incredible. I wasn’t at the wedding but through the pictures, I feel like I was able to share in the happiness and joy that was clearly a part of this wonderful day.

This is what Derryn had to say about the wedding day. ‘It was incredible to be witness to such excitement and love for one another. It was a true joy to photograph your day and I am honoured to have been given the opportunity to photograph this momentous occasion in your lives’.

© 2015 Derryn Schmidt Photography, used here with permission

Wedding days are special and important, but they are not as important as marriage. My prayer for Lydia & Byron is that they would be blessed in their marriage and that they would continue to grow in their love and friendship as they continue through the adventure that is life together.

Did you know that the Church is described in the Bible as the Bride of Christ? (Ephesians 5.25-33)

The Bride is at the centre of any wedding, she is loved and chosen and on their wedding day a bride and groom promise to be faithful to one another for the rest of their lives.

With this in mind, it is incredible to think that Jesus describes the church as his bride! He treasures us and  we are loved and chosen by him. He promises to be faithful to us and he hopes that we will be faithful to him in return.

Jesus loves the church so much that he gave his life to make it possible for us to be his people. It cost him so much to have the church as his bride, but it is a price that he gladly paid because of his great love.

Jesus has made us into a holy people, without any spiritual wrinkles or blemishes. In reality, the church is imperfect but Jesus through his sacrifice on the cross presents us as people who are spiritually holy and righteous. We are presented as spiritually holy, but we need to work at making sure that we are becoming more holy each day whilst we are living in the real world.

For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people. (Revelation 19.7-8)

On the day when the marriage of Christ and the church is completed, we will be wearing a dress made up of our good deeds. The church may be imperfect, but it is an amazing force for good in the world today, the church helps the poor, needy and vulnerable and people’s lives are transformed because of the work of Christ in and through his bride.

So, how do you feel about the church?

Jesus loves his church and he wants to live with his people forever! If Jesus loves the church then we should share his enthusiasm, love and passion for his bride as well. Do you love the church?

If we are the Bride of Christ, will we remain faithful to him and him alone? Paul wrote to the church in the City of Corinth to ask them why they have not remained faithful to Jesus (2 Corinthians 11.2-4). He reminded them that he had promised them to Christ as a pure bride and yet they were happily putting up with and following false teaching. Instead of growing in their relationship with and love for Christ, they were committing spiritual adultery as they turned to false gods for salvation.

Jesus is devoted to us, but will we be devoted to him?

This is the second in a series of posts exploring the pictures/metaphors for the church that are used in the Bible. If you missed it, you can read the first in the series: A Gathering of People: Pictures of the Church Part 1.