The Church is the Bride of Christ

There is a great deal in the New Testament about individual commitment, individual responsibility for our actions.  But there is a lot also said about the collective, the church.  The term "church" in the Bible simply means a collective, a group, a congregation.  But in Bible terms it refers to God's group.  For sure, it is not the physical building, but rather the people, the followers of Jesus; and as followers, we are described as His children.

There are many places where the church is described as the bride of Christ.  We see this in Revelation 19 and 21.  There is symbolism given for Christ as the bridegroom and the church as the Bride.  And there is great love between the two.

Ephesians 5:25-27 says:  "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."  The verses following this show the great love that Jesus had for the church, giving up His life for it.  This is powerful symbolism showing the comparison of a groom to his bride like Jesus to the church.

C.S. Lewis, a leading Christian writer in the 20th century, wrote these words in his "Membership" (The weight of Glory): "No Christian and, indeed, no historian could accept the epigram which defines religion as 'what a man does with his solitude.'  It was one of the Wesleys, I think, who said that the New Testament knows nothing of solitary religion.  We are forbidden to neglect the assembling of ourselves together.  Christianity is already institutional in the earliest of its documents.  The church is the Bride of Christ.  We are members of one another."

Thus we see the importance of the collective.  Yes, we will be saved by the grace of God and by the actions of our individual selves.  But we must realize the importance of our part in the collective, the church.  After all, Jesus gave His life for it.

Enough for today.  Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!