God designed our marriages to be a picture of the Gospel. The first marriage took place in the garden of Eden. Adam named each of the types of animals and saw that each one had a mate. Yet, there was none for Him. “²⁰ The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him” Genesis 2:20. God determined that this was not good and He made Adam a mate. God didn’t let her hatch out of an egg, or grow from a tree, or just appear out of thin air. He formed her and “presented” her to Adam. She was his bride!

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:24”. God said this right after He presented Eve to Adam. She was a gift to him and he was excited. God created Eve for him. “Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Genesis 2:23. He said, “At last”! He finally had a mate. Someone to love, care for, and be in relation with. She was his bride!

Just as God gave Eve to Adam, He gave the church to Jesus. “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand” John 3:35. The way that Adam received Eve, with longing and anticipation, Jesus will receive His church. He has an even deeper appreciation, love, and adoration for us than even Adam did for Eve. We are His beloved. We are His bride.

Ephesians 5:26-33 explains what the biblical model is for marriage, but it also explains Jesus relationship with the church. “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, ²⁶ that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, ²⁷ so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”

God desires that husbands would love their wives as Jesus does the church and the way that they do their own bodies. ²⁸ In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, ³⁰ because we are members of his body. ³¹ “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” ³² This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. ³³ However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”

Note the way that this scripture says a husband will love his wife and will leave his father and mother. It discusses how a husband would be willing to give himself up for his wife. That he will desire her and that they will become one. That is the way that Jesus is and the way that He loves us (the church/followers of Christ). We (the church) are His bride.

Jesus left the Father for us. “I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father” John 16:28.

We will become one with Jesus, individually. “But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.” 1 Corinthians 6:17. And we (the church) are united as one with Christ. “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body — whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” 1 Corinthians 12:12-13. We are His Bride.

He gave Himself up (died) for us. “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.

God desired that a husband/wife relationship would be incredibly intimate, with sacrificial love and glorifying to Him. He desired the same for the relationship between Jesus and the church. And, as with everything good, Jesus is the perfect example.

Yes, Jesus loves the church. We are His bride. And He is coming back for us!

But Jesus loves the whole world. John 3:16 says that God loved the whole world so much that He gave His very Son’s life for it so that we could be rescued from eternal damnation. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”. Because of His great love for the world, He gave up His life (for us) willingly. “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” John 10:18.

Those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ will be taken away with Him when He returns. The Bridegroom will receive the Bride.

But God is patiently waiting and Jesus won’t return until the last person who will, becomes a follower of Jesus.

That means the Bride needs to send out some invitations. We need to be telling those who don’t know Jesus how much they need Him.

There is a big, sad, anxious, lonely, and hurting world full of people out there who need Jesus. God wants to be their source of joy, peace, family, and healing but they need us to tell them.

Church, if you are waiting for the return of our Savior, you need to get busy. “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” Mark 16:15. The Bridegroom is waiting and we (His Bride) need to get ready and preach the gospel to all of creation.

Father God, thank You for Your love for us and Your provision of a Savior. Holy Spirit, forgive us when we are not sensitive to Your leading to share the gospel with those around us. Please, make us hypersensitive to Your leading and give us the words to say to those who need to hear the gospel. Lord Jesus, we are filled with gratitude for the sacrifice that you made. We wait with overwhelming anticipation for your return. We wait for the day when we can look into your glorious face. Marinatha – Come Lord Jesus Come! Your Bride awaits!

If you do not know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, I pray that you would go to our Life Preserver page (https://forgiven-n-loved.com/life-preserver/). You will find a prayer on that page and I pray that you would pray that prayer to God, with a humble heart.

You see, God loves you and He wants a relationship with you. Not a fly by night relationship like we have with those here on earth. Not a relationship that is over the minute you do something wrong. He wants a loving, Father/child relationship with you that will last for all of eternity. Please pray that prayer and once you have, reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-N-Loved.com and let me know. I’d love to be in prayer for you and help you grow in your relationship with Jesus.

Luv Ya!