BRIDE?

Nope! Not me!

In case you were hoping to be receiving a wedding invitation shortly, forget about it. I ain’t invitin’ nobody. Cos’ I ain’t getting’ married.

Nope! Not me!

I have no clue how that bridal garment turned up in my closet in the Morgans’ household—my dwelling place in DFW during these peripatetic days of my life. I didn’t do it. Honest! It just showed up there.

You can rest easy. You are not going to have to shell out cash for the wedding gift. Neither am I, for rings and roses, photographers and preachers, hairdos and honeymoons, and other such paraphernalia and personages that are the staple accompaniment of nuptial rites.

Nope! Not me!

But come to think about it, that white outfit with a long train is not a bad one for a Christian. For you, see, the Christian, as part of the church, is part of that corporate body considered the “bride of Christ.”

In his treatise on marriage, Paul writes to husbands and wives, often comparing their relationship to the one between Christ and the church.

… as Christ also is the head of the church …
… as the church is subject to Christ …
… just as Christ also [...] the church.
… with reference to Christ and the church.

Ephesians 5:23, 24, 29

Husbands are enjoined to love their wives …

… just as Christ loved the church
and gave Himself up for her;
that He might sanctify her,
having cleansed her
by the washing of water
with the word,
that He might present
to Himself the church
in all her glory.
having no spot or wrinkle
or any such thing;
but that she should be
holy and blameless.
Ephesians 5:25

(No spots? No wrinkles? We dermatologists will go bankrupt!)

Anyway ...

That remarkable metaphor of the church being the betrothed bride of Christ is carried through to the end-times. The book of Revelation suggests that there is going to be some kind of magnificent wedding feast—the marriage supper of the Lamb—to celebrate this grand union.

Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God,
the Almighty, reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give the glory to Him,
for the marriage
of the Lamb has come
and His bride
has made herself ready.
Revelation 19:6–7

That’s interesting. The “bride has made herself ready.” Christians ready themselves to be with their Savior. The next verse tells us how.

And it was given to her
to clothe herself in fine linen,
bright and clean;
for the fine linen
is the righteous acts
of the saints.
Revelation 19:8

While it is Christ Himself who cleanses us (Ephesians 5:25–27), it is also the responsibility of the bride to live righteously. This is akin to the “paradox” found a little earlier in Ephesians.

For by grace
you have been saved
through faith …
it is the gift of God;
not as a result of works ….
Ephesians 2:8–9

Yet there is a responsibility that falls upon the believer.

For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus
for good works,
which God prepared beforehand,
that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10

And this let us do, as the “bride of Christ”, taking care to walk by faith, trusting in His grace that enables us to responsibly conduct ourselves in a manner pleasing to our Lord.

… walk in a manner
worthy of the Lord,
to please Him in all respects,
bearing fruit in every good work ….
Colossians 1:10

Let us make ourselves ready! No spot. No wrinkle. Blemishless.