Everything about Bride Of Christ Theology totally explained
The Bride of Christ is a
metaphor for the
Church,
Ecclesia, in which
Jesus states that the relationship between Christians and Jesus is like a
betrothal pointing to a future wedding, when Christians are re-united with Jesus in heaven after the end of the world. Fundamental to this idea is that Jesus wasn't merely a human being, but was actually God Incarnate, and in the next life those who are saved will dwell with God (Jesus) forever in paradise. Thus, paradise is compared with living in Jesus' (God's) own mansion with Him.
The image originates from the Old Testament prophets, who described
Israel as God's bride, for example in
Isaiah 54:5. In the New Testament, this image of God's people is transferred to the relationship between Christ and his
church, for example
Revelation 21.
In the Catholic church, this image of the Church as Christ's bride can be transferred to
nuns and consecrated
virgins, as can be seen from the title of the Australian television series
Brides of Christ (1991). For some women, the image describes a more personal relationship with Jesus. Examples are
Anne Catherine Emmerich,
Joanna Southcott,
Gertrude Morgan,
Åsa Waldau.
Most Christian theologians teach that the term
bride of
Christ is a metaphor for the
Church, particularly in that Jesus as God isn't a man, God is far beyond our limited understanding, and any relationship between humans and God can only be hinted at and poorly described using any Earthly terms. Although the role of bride and bridegroom captures some aspects of our relationship with God, demonstrating the strength of God's love for us and His eternal commitment to those who chose Him, many other aspects of our relationship with God cannnot be described using this metaphor (or any other human concept).
Others, however, teach that the term is meant to be taken more literally. Paul in his
epistle to the Church at Ephesus exhorts the men to love their wives as Christ loved the
Church. After further exhortation on marriage Paul quotes Genesis 2:24, for a man to leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife to become one flesh with her. Paul calls this a mystery because
marriage between a man and a women is a prophetic act of the depth of our relationship with
Jesus. This
love surpasses our
knowledge (Ephesians 3:18). Author Mickey McNew in his book "You At The Time For Love" (seen at http://www.unveilingthebride.com) presents this view as a doctrinal revelational writing on this subject of the
bride of
Christ.
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