WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.000 Well, tonight we are continuing a short study that we've been working through over the past 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:14.460 four or five Sundays, the title of which is The Church in Pictures, and we've been looking 00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:20.039 at five different images that the New Testament gives us for the church. 00:00:20.039 --> 00:00:26.800 These are the church as a pillar, the church as a farm, the church as a body, the church 00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:34.280 as a mother, and then finally tonight, the church as a bride. 00:00:34.280 --> 00:00:39.039 All of these images help us understand the nature, functioning, and priorities of the 00:00:39.039 --> 00:00:41.600 church, and that's a crucial topic to think about. 00:00:41.600 --> 00:00:46.200 Those of you who are here when we started this series five weeks ago might remember 00:00:46.200 --> 00:00:52.120 that we said that throughout her history, the Christian church has been greatly harmed 00:00:52.120 --> 00:00:53.840 by two things. 00:00:53.840 --> 00:00:59.560 The church has been misunderstood by people outside of her, and at the same time the church 00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:04.480 has been misrepresented by the people within her. 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:08.200 And for both of these reasons, whoever we are and whether we're a Christian or not, 00:01:08.200 --> 00:01:14.439 or whether we're not sure, it's immensely important to have a clear biblical understanding 00:01:14.439 --> 00:01:20.439 of what the church is and of what God wants the church to do. 00:01:20.439 --> 00:01:24.840 As I said tonight, we have come to the final part of this study. 00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:32.159 We're going to look at the image of the church as a bride. 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:36.799 Like all of the other images, this picture is telling us something important about the 00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:38.120 church. 00:01:38.120 --> 00:01:43.719 For those of you who weren't here, we can recap very briefly that the pillar shows us 00:01:43.719 --> 00:01:45.719 the church's grounding. 00:01:45.719 --> 00:01:51.319 The church simultaneously stands on the truth in Jesus and holds up that truth for the world 00:01:51.319 --> 00:01:52.319 to see. 00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:55.359 The farm shows us the church's duty. 00:01:55.359 --> 00:02:00.319 We're here to sow the seed of the gospel, to help disciples grow and to go out and bring 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:02.640 in the harvest that's all around us. 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:05.640 The body shows us the church's workings. 00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:11.199 It functions like a body, many different parts, all working together. 00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:17.839 The mother image shows us the church's character, the key mindset of the church should be that 00:02:17.839 --> 00:02:21.079 of a devoted, cading mother. 00:02:21.079 --> 00:02:29.759 Finally, the bride image shows us the church's destiny. 00:02:29.759 --> 00:02:32.919 Let's turn again to Ephesians 5. 00:02:32.919 --> 00:02:39.719 Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the 00:02:39.719 --> 00:02:42.400 two shall become one flesh. 00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:50.400 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:55.079 The image of God's people as a bride is one that runs right through the whole Bible. 00:02:55.079 --> 00:02:59.719 So you go back to the Old Testament, you see this image foreshadowed in the people of Israel. 00:02:59.719 --> 00:03:07.759 They were called to be God's bride, and yet despite that precious value that they had, 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:14.199 they tragically turned out to be an unfaithful and adulterous bride. 00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:16.919 The image is revealed more clearly in the New Testament. 00:03:16.919 --> 00:03:22.439 The bridegroom, Jesus has come, and the church has been called to be his bride. 00:03:22.439 --> 00:03:26.879 But the ultimate fulfillment of this lies in the future. 00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:32.039 The church as bride is an eschatological reality, something that belongs to the end 00:03:32.039 --> 00:03:35.479 times. 00:03:35.479 --> 00:03:40.159 God has an ultimate destiny for the church. 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:44.719 We see that in the last couple of chapters of Revelation where we have that glorious 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:49.879 description of the marriage supper of the Lamb. 00:03:49.879 --> 00:03:55.639 And I think there's maybe a sense in which the whole Bible can be summed up as a moving, 00:03:55.639 --> 00:04:05.079 heartbreaking, and ultimately beautiful story of the love of God for his bride. 00:04:05.080 --> 00:04:09.480 So I want us to look at that together tonight, and I want us to focus in particular on what 00:04:09.480 --> 00:04:12.800 the bridegroom does for his bride. 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:17.759 And we're going to look briefly at five things. 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:24.800 Number one, we're going to say that the bridegroom clings to his bride. 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:31.120 Verse 31, before you there, repeats the great marriage mandate of Genesis 2. 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:35.040 These words express just the simple beauty of the marriage union. 00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:41.319 A man leaves his parents and holds fast to his wife, and the two become one. 00:04:41.319 --> 00:04:46.519 And then after that, Paul, as he so often does, just throws in a wee statement that contains 00:04:46.519 --> 00:04:48.579 an astounding truth. 00:04:48.579 --> 00:04:57.000 This union of bridegroom and bride is exactly what happens in the relationship between Christ 00:04:57.000 --> 00:04:59.639 and the church. 00:04:59.639 --> 00:05:07.199 All of this is pointing us to the doctrine that really is the overarching truth of Christian 00:05:07.199 --> 00:05:08.360 salvation. 00:05:08.360 --> 00:05:11.879 If you think of all the doctrines, all the teachings, when we talk about doctrines, we're 00:05:11.879 --> 00:05:14.519 just talking about different areas of teaching. 00:05:14.519 --> 00:05:19.279 If you think of all the doctrines of the Christian theology of salvation, you think of words 00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:24.479 like justification, adoption, sanctification, perseverance, all these things you read about 00:05:24.479 --> 00:05:27.279 or see mentioned in Scripture or read in theology. 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:34.159 If you see all these doctrines that ask, which is the most important? 00:05:34.159 --> 00:05:40.519 I think that the answer to that question is that the most important of all these doctrines 00:05:40.519 --> 00:05:44.519 is the doctrine of union with Christ. 00:05:44.519 --> 00:05:48.079 And the reason for that is because all the other things, justification, adoption, and 00:05:48.079 --> 00:05:54.079 sanctification are an outworking of the fact that if you are a Christian or if you become 00:05:54.079 --> 00:06:00.000 one, you are united to Jesus by faith. 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:04.399 And that's the reason I think quite Paul's favorite way to describe a Christian is to 00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:07.519 say that we are in Christ. 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:09.120 We are joined to him. 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:16.240 The church is united to Jesus, just like a husband is united to his wife. 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:22.120 That means, just in very simple terms, that all the benefits, resources, achievements 00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:30.800 and status of Jesus are now shared with us as his people. 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:39.840 So when Yuna was united to me in marriage, she gained a rightful share to my collection 00:06:39.840 --> 00:06:42.639 of mixed tapes that I had in the car. 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:47.759 Now, you have to be under the age of 33 to know what that is, I think. 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:52.560 But believe me, that was good. 00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:59.279 When you are united to Jesus by faith, you are given a right to share in his righteousness, 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:03.719 his presence, his brotherhood, his grace, his love. 00:07:03.719 --> 00:07:08.199 As bright the church is united to Jesus. 00:07:08.199 --> 00:07:11.719 But that union has an immensely important implication. 00:07:11.720 --> 00:07:19.240 It speaks of Christ's utterly unfailing faithfulness to his bride. 00:07:19.240 --> 00:07:23.960 That's what the biblical ideal of marriage is, a relationship of absolute faithfulness. 00:07:23.960 --> 00:07:25.680 That's what marriage should be. 00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:31.120 Often it's not like that, and it's incredibly tough for people who have to go through that. 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:35.560 But although we can look at marriage in the world, maybe even our own relationships, and 00:07:35.560 --> 00:07:42.680 we can see failure, when we look at Jesus, we see that he never, ever fails. 00:07:42.680 --> 00:07:47.800 His faithfulness to his bride is absolute. 00:07:47.800 --> 00:07:53.600 That means that Jesus will never go cold on you. 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:56.920 Jesus will never have his head turned. 00:07:56.920 --> 00:07:58.519 Jesus will never let you down. 00:07:58.519 --> 00:08:04.199 Jesus will never, ever break your heart. 00:08:04.199 --> 00:08:08.000 Instead, he is the most faithful bridegroom. 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:12.159 He's committed, he's loyal, he's determined, he's dependable. 00:08:12.159 --> 00:08:21.000 Because in Jesus' eyes, you are impossible to walk away from. 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:26.439 But what makes that faithfulness even more astonishing is the fact that even though the 00:08:26.439 --> 00:08:36.639 bridegroom is the pinnacle of faithfulness, the bride is the complete opposite. 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:41.600 The love story of the Bible is not kind of a Hollywood romance where the perfect guy 00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:47.399 sees the perfect girl and they sort of swan into this perfect relationship that lives 00:08:47.399 --> 00:08:49.320 happily ever after. 00:08:49.320 --> 00:08:50.720 It's not like that at all. 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:57.960 The love story of the Bible is of a perfect bridegroom who is repeatedly betrayed by his 00:08:57.960 --> 00:09:01.600 unfaithful bride. 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:06.639 And that truth is emphasized powerfully, particularly in the Old Testament, especially 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:07.639 in the prophets. 00:09:07.639 --> 00:09:10.759 You'll remember that the prophets are like warning men. 00:09:10.759 --> 00:09:14.960 That's their role to send a message of warning to people. 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:19.360 And that usually means that when the prophets speak, it's because things are going wrong 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:21.639 and the people are turning away from God. 00:09:21.639 --> 00:09:27.279 So you look at prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Hosea, they all describe God's 00:09:27.279 --> 00:09:31.080 people, Israel, as an unfaithful wife. 00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:35.399 And sometimes it's in the most shocking of terms. 00:09:35.399 --> 00:09:40.039 But the imagery accurately reflected the situation. 00:09:40.039 --> 00:09:46.240 Israel was meant to be faithful to God, and yet they continually turned away from him 00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:52.200 and wondered after other gods instead. 00:09:52.200 --> 00:09:56.399 And in the midst of all that betrayal and unfaithfulness and failure, you would think 00:09:56.399 --> 00:09:59.680 that God would have said, it's over. 00:09:59.680 --> 00:10:03.000 We are finished. 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:09.840 And yet the astounding thing is that God does the very opposite. 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:16.600 And that truth is captured very powerfully in an astonishing verse in Hosea. 00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:23.360 Now, those of you who will know Hosea will know that Hosea as a prophet spoke about 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:25.160 Israel's unfaithfulness. 00:10:25.160 --> 00:10:31.840 But that message was reinforced by the fact that Hosea's own wife cheated on him and he 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:34.080 was betrayed by her. 00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:39.800 All of that pointing towards the fact that Israel, as God's people, had betrayed him 00:10:39.800 --> 00:10:42.560 and had been unfaithful to him. 00:10:42.560 --> 00:10:49.520 They had provoked God and had given God every reason to turn away, and yet he says of Israel, 00:10:49.520 --> 00:10:52.920 how can I give up on you? 00:10:52.920 --> 00:10:58.280 Ephraim is another name for the nation of Israel, particularly the northern kingdom, 00:10:58.280 --> 00:10:59.840 which Hosea prophesied to you. 00:10:59.840 --> 00:11:02.080 How can I give up on you? 00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:03.560 Oh Ephraim. 00:11:03.559 --> 00:11:05.479 How can I hand you over to Israel? 00:11:05.479 --> 00:11:07.039 How can I make you like Adma? 00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:08.519 How can I teach you like Zebojim? 00:11:08.519 --> 00:11:13.679 Adman Zebojim were cities that were destroyed earlier in Old Testament history. 00:11:13.679 --> 00:11:17.679 My heart recoils within me. 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:23.319 My compassion grows warm and tender. 00:11:23.319 --> 00:11:31.559 Despite the fact that his bride was in a mess, God never gave up on her. 00:11:31.559 --> 00:11:34.000 And the same is true of us. 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:38.879 Even though we are broken, even though we failed, even though God could find a thousand reasons 00:11:38.879 --> 00:11:44.959 to dump us, he never will. 00:11:44.959 --> 00:11:51.000 Instead, he clings to us. 00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:56.199 As Paul says, he holds fast to his wife. 00:11:56.199 --> 00:11:58.879 Now isn't that incredible? 00:11:58.879 --> 00:12:02.799 I look at myself and I think God must want to push me away. 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:03.799 Maybe you feel the same. 00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:08.960 You look at how you've mucked up and you think God would want to keep me at arm's length. 00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:09.960 It's not true. 00:12:09.960 --> 00:12:14.559 The truth is, God wants to cling to you. 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:22.519 He wants to hold you fast and he will never let you go. 00:12:22.519 --> 00:12:27.879 And the practical consequence of that for us is that in terms of our religious devotion, 00:12:27.879 --> 00:12:30.559 we are spoken for. 00:12:30.559 --> 00:12:35.679 So when you struggle with doubts in your faith, remember that you're spoken for. 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:38.320 Your bridegroom is holding you fast. 00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:43.399 When social pressure from colleagues or friends or culture is calling you to compromise, remember 00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:45.360 that you are spoken for. 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:49.720 When Satan dangles something in front of you that's attractive but wrong, remember that 00:12:49.720 --> 00:12:51.720 you're spoken for. 00:12:51.720 --> 00:12:56.639 And when feelings of low self-esteem leave your hopes and your assurance hanging by a 00:12:56.639 --> 00:13:02.279 thread, remember that it's a theological fact that you are spoken for. 00:13:02.279 --> 00:13:09.480 If you are trusting in Jesus, you are His and He is never letting go because the bridegroom 00:13:09.480 --> 00:13:15.039 clings to His bride. 00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:20.279 Secondly, the bridegroom delights in His bride. 00:13:20.279 --> 00:13:23.559 That's beautifully described for us in Isaiah 62. 00:13:23.559 --> 00:13:28.000 You shall no longer be termed forsaken, your land shall no more or be termed desolate. 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:33.239 But you shall be called, my delight is in her and your land married for the Lord delights 00:13:33.239 --> 00:13:35.559 in you and your land shall be married. 00:13:35.559 --> 00:13:39.879 For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you and as the bridegroom 00:13:39.879 --> 00:13:45.519 rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:51.639 This is reminding us of the fact that Jesus delights in the church as His bride. 00:13:51.639 --> 00:13:56.559 It's a great reminder that He is not a bridegroom who is being forced. 00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:00.199 He's a bridegroom who is delighted. 00:14:00.199 --> 00:14:01.600 And there are many reasons for that. 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:03.600 I just want to highlight two. 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:07.360 First of all, the bridegroom delights in His bride. 00:14:07.360 --> 00:14:12.319 Jesus delights in the church because she has a role in His life. 00:14:12.319 --> 00:14:17.439 From the very beginning of the Bible, the bridegroom's bride had a role in His life. 00:14:17.439 --> 00:14:19.919 Eve was created to be Adam's helper. 00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:22.319 She was made perfect for Him. 00:14:22.319 --> 00:14:28.120 And ever since, wives have been alongside their husbands helping and supporting them. 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:35.919 And that means that if the church is a bride, then as that bride, she has a role in Jesus's 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:38.599 life, in Jesus's life. 00:14:38.599 --> 00:14:40.199 So the church serves Jesus. 00:14:40.199 --> 00:14:42.479 The church accomplishes things for Jesus. 00:14:42.479 --> 00:14:45.120 The church has given responsibilities by Jesus. 00:14:45.120 --> 00:14:47.599 The church has duties to do for Jesus. 00:14:47.600 --> 00:14:50.440 Now, that doesn't mean that the church is Jesus's slave. 00:14:50.440 --> 00:14:52.080 No bride is a slave. 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:58.240 But it means that the bride is a key part of the life of the husband. 00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:01.399 And that's an astounding truth. 00:15:01.399 --> 00:15:05.200 Because we must never forget that at one level, God doesn't need us. 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:07.000 He's completely self-sufficient. 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:09.000 The love of God is independent. 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:13.080 God does not need you or me. 00:15:13.080 --> 00:15:17.519 But the message of the Bible is that the love of God is so great that He has opened out 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:23.079 that love so that we have a place in it too. 00:15:23.079 --> 00:15:28.960 And the consequence of that is that now we are needed. 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:31.600 You have a crucial role in the life of Jesus. 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:33.600 He needs you alongside Him. 00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:35.399 He needs you working with Him. 00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:38.480 So Jesus needs people fed, both physically and spiritually. 00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:40.679 Jesus needs infants who need to be raised up. 00:15:40.679 --> 00:15:43.000 He has a household that needs to be kept safe. 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:45.000 He has a harvest that needs to be gathered. 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:47.120 He has a message that needs to be spread. 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:52.840 Who is the most important helper in all of that? 00:15:52.840 --> 00:15:57.919 His bride, the church. 00:15:57.919 --> 00:16:01.159 So the bridegroom delights in the bride because she has a role in his life. 00:16:01.159 --> 00:16:07.840 The bridegroom also delights in his bride because she's beautiful. 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:10.679 Paul points towards that in verses 26 to 27. 00:16:10.679 --> 00:16:14.360 Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that 00:16:14.360 --> 00:16:19.000 he might sanctify her, have been cleansed by the washing of water with the word so that 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:23.879 he might present the church to himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such 00:16:23.879 --> 00:16:29.440 thing that she might be holy and without blemish. 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:34.000 The church as bride is beautiful. 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:40.080 She's stunning without spot or wrinkle or blemish. 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:41.480 Now you might say, well, hang on a minute, Thomas. 00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:44.840 That sounds like a contradiction because you just said two minutes ago that the bride 00:16:44.840 --> 00:16:50.200 was in a mess and that's true. 00:16:50.200 --> 00:16:57.600 But the amazing thing about Jesus as bridegroom is that he chooses his bride when she's ugly, 00:16:57.600 --> 00:17:03.560 yet when he marries her, he makes her stunningly beautiful. 00:17:03.560 --> 00:17:09.720 And that's because he cleanses us, he renews us, he wipes away every blemish and stain, 00:17:09.720 --> 00:17:13.640 he heals every wound and scar. 00:17:13.640 --> 00:17:18.559 Now when we say all this, it's really important that we don't get our thinking back to front 00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:25.160 because I think it's very easy to think of this maybe the wrong way around. 00:17:25.160 --> 00:17:31.720 When we think of beauty, we often think about putting stuff on. 00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:40.799 So people will, they'll put on makeup, they'll maybe dye their hair or get their hair styled, 00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:44.440 they'll paint their nails, they'll put on jewelry. 00:17:44.440 --> 00:17:48.319 Often when we think of a bride, we think of the fact that this bride is made beautiful 00:17:48.319 --> 00:17:50.519 by putting stuff on. 00:17:50.519 --> 00:17:53.920 And that of course is totally fine and totally normal. 00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:55.600 It's something that happens often. 00:17:55.600 --> 00:18:00.200 But that's not what's being described here. 00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:05.519 Because with the church, it's the complete opposite that happens. 00:18:05.519 --> 00:18:14.000 The church is made beautiful not by putting on, but by washing off. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:16.920 That's what verse 26 says. 00:18:16.920 --> 00:18:21.799 The splendor comes through washing. 00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:28.400 That means that the church as bride is made beautiful not by covering herself in things 00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:35.280 that make her look good, but by washing off all the muck and stain and damage of sin. 00:18:35.280 --> 00:18:39.519 And this is extremely important to remember because it means that Jesus does not look 00:18:39.519 --> 00:18:48.320 at you and think, I need to change her to make her beautiful. 00:18:48.320 --> 00:18:57.120 Instead he says, I need to cleanse her because underneath all that mess, she is beautiful. 00:18:57.119 --> 00:19:05.359 It's reminding us that all the stain of sin that's in us now, I should have said when 00:19:05.359 --> 00:19:11.319 I talk about she, I mean collectively, so men, you need to just embrace this, these 00:19:11.319 --> 00:19:13.319 pronouns. 00:19:13.319 --> 00:19:16.159 We're talking about the church. 00:19:16.159 --> 00:19:21.519 All the stain and ugliness that we have as men and women, all that damage is an intrusion, 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:24.879 a horrible intrusion that's not meant to be there. 00:19:24.880 --> 00:19:27.360 We were not made to be ugly. 00:19:27.360 --> 00:19:29.040 We were not made to be broken. 00:19:29.040 --> 00:19:32.680 We were made beautiful. 00:19:32.680 --> 00:19:35.520 But sin has ruined that. 00:19:35.520 --> 00:19:42.240 Jesus has come to fix it and restore us. 00:19:42.240 --> 00:19:47.680 And all of that tells us that what Jesus wants is simply the real you. 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:49.640 He doesn't want a makeover bride. 00:19:49.640 --> 00:19:50.880 He wants a pure one. 00:19:50.880 --> 00:19:53.320 He wants the person that you really are. 00:19:53.319 --> 00:19:55.559 The person made to bear the image of God. 00:19:55.559 --> 00:19:57.839 The person who is the work of his hands. 00:19:57.839 --> 00:20:03.879 The person who in God's sight is just so beautiful. 00:20:03.879 --> 00:20:08.359 The church as bride is stunning. 00:20:08.359 --> 00:20:15.359 She's been transformed from the ugliness of sin back to the pure beauty that she was always 00:20:15.359 --> 00:20:18.599 meant to bear. 00:20:18.599 --> 00:20:26.399 And that of course is exactly what the world around us needs to see in us in the week ahead. 00:20:26.399 --> 00:20:30.339 The people who work with you, the people in your family, the people who see you and who 00:20:30.339 --> 00:20:40.480 see me day to day need to see that we are being transformed from brokenness to beauty. 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:48.000 So that our words, our actions, our conduct, our attitude, everything about us makes people 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:56.279 look and think, wow, there is something beautiful about that person. 00:20:56.279 --> 00:21:00.880 The bridegroom delights in his bride. 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:06.640 And of course, that's where we link to the fact that a wedding is always an occasion 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:09.759 that's full of abounding joy. 00:21:09.759 --> 00:21:14.119 But perhaps the most precious truth of all of this is that it demonstrates to us the 00:21:14.119 --> 00:21:20.799 fact that you are wanted. 00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:30.239 Maybe you've been overlooked, forgotten, used or rejected. 00:21:30.239 --> 00:21:33.439 These are horrible things to experience. 00:21:33.439 --> 00:21:39.319 With Jesus, you are so wanted. 00:21:39.319 --> 00:21:45.480 The bridegroom delights in his bride. 00:21:45.480 --> 00:21:48.119 Number three, the bridegroom protects his bride. 00:21:48.119 --> 00:21:51.799 That truth is taught to us in verse 24 and verse 28 and 29. 00:21:51.799 --> 00:21:56.359 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their 00:21:56.359 --> 00:21:57.359 husbands. 00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:59.879 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies, so he who loves 00:21:59.879 --> 00:22:04.279 his wife loves himself, for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes 00:22:04.279 --> 00:22:10.200 it just as Christ does the church because we are members of his body. 00:22:10.200 --> 00:22:14.680 One of the great effects of Christianity on civilization is that it's transformed the 00:22:14.680 --> 00:22:16.759 status of women. 00:22:16.759 --> 00:22:21.599 Today in cultures that have been shaped by the Christian faith over the course of history, 00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:26.920 men and women are treated equally, or at the very least there's an expectation that men 00:22:26.920 --> 00:22:30.480 and women should be treated equally. 00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:34.680 This is a direct result of the gospel's influence. 00:22:34.680 --> 00:22:39.360 And so the fact that today women get the same education, same vote, same rights, same privileges 00:22:39.360 --> 00:22:43.360 as men are all a result of Christianity's influence. 00:22:43.360 --> 00:22:48.500 Now if you don't believe that, jump on a plane and go to a country that's had very little 00:22:48.500 --> 00:22:52.799 Christian influence and come back and tell us if women are treated the same as they are 00:22:52.799 --> 00:22:57.160 here. 00:22:57.160 --> 00:23:03.000 Today things are much better for women in countries where there's been a strong influence 00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:04.440 of Christianity. 00:23:04.440 --> 00:23:09.920 For women in the Old Testament and the New Testament, the situation was very, very different 00:23:09.920 --> 00:23:15.360 and we have to step into that world to understand what Paul is saying to us here. 00:23:15.360 --> 00:23:24.160 Back then women were vulnerable and a woman's status, safety and security was all very dependent 00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:26.200 on getting married. 00:23:26.200 --> 00:23:31.720 And a key part of the bridegroom's role was to protect his wife. 00:23:31.720 --> 00:23:38.559 That's why when we see this language of submission in passages like Ephesians 5, it's not remotely 00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:44.200 as oppressive or sexist as we might think it is in today's terms. 00:23:44.200 --> 00:23:49.120 In fact, it's the complete opposite I think because to be submitting to your husband meant 00:23:49.120 --> 00:23:51.680 to come under his authority. 00:23:51.680 --> 00:23:56.799 And in practical terms, the result of that was that you were brought under the care, 00:23:56.799 --> 00:24:00.720 the provision and the protection of your husband. 00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:09.480 In biblical times, a husband was key to a woman's safety, security and prosperity. 00:24:09.480 --> 00:24:17.480 That's why the New Testament gives such strict instructions to husbands because women depended 00:24:17.480 --> 00:24:23.960 on them so much, husbands are to love their wives to the highest standard. 00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:30.839 All of this is teaching us the fact that the church as bride is protected by her husband 00:24:30.839 --> 00:24:34.259 and Jesus does that for us in lots of ways. 00:24:34.259 --> 00:24:37.039 He protects us by instructing us. 00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:41.440 And so when we speak of submission and authority, we are thinking of the commandments that he 00:24:41.440 --> 00:24:42.880 gives to us. 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:48.840 And the reason Jesus gives us commandments is so that he can boss us around. 00:24:48.840 --> 00:24:51.240 No. 00:24:51.240 --> 00:24:56.600 It's so that he can keep us safe and protect us from harm. 00:24:56.600 --> 00:24:58.120 Never ever forget that. 00:24:58.120 --> 00:25:00.860 Obeying Jesus will not spoil your life. 00:25:00.860 --> 00:25:04.700 It will stop you from spoiling your life. 00:25:04.700 --> 00:25:12.840 When the bride submits to her bridegroom, it means that she's safe. 00:25:12.839 --> 00:25:17.599 Jesus also protects his bride by providing nourishment for us. 00:25:17.599 --> 00:25:22.919 And so the Bible, the sacraments, the Christian community, the personal devotion that we have, 00:25:22.919 --> 00:25:28.199 these are all means through which Christ nourishes us and feeds us. 00:25:28.199 --> 00:25:32.559 And Jesus also protects us by holding us close to him. 00:25:32.559 --> 00:25:37.559 See, the word in the middle there on the second last line cherishes is an absolutely beautiful 00:25:37.559 --> 00:25:43.679 word because it basically means to make something warm. 00:25:43.679 --> 00:25:52.279 And it's telling us that Jesus wants to draw you near and hold you close and keep you warm. 00:25:52.279 --> 00:25:57.519 And often we need to remember that because sometimes as Christians we feel like we're 00:25:57.519 --> 00:25:59.960 cold. 00:25:59.960 --> 00:26:05.759 And as a result of that, we think, I should stay away from church. 00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:10.240 But that is never ever true. 00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:18.879 Jesus says, if you're cold, come close to me and I will warm you up. 00:26:18.879 --> 00:26:21.759 Jesus protects his bride. 00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:33.000 And the reason that he wants to protect his bride is because you are precious. 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:35.960 Because you are so precious to him. 00:26:35.960 --> 00:26:40.920 And in a world that frequently crushes our self-esteem, whether it's at work or on social 00:26:40.920 --> 00:26:46.319 media or in our relationships, we need to listen to the theological truth that in Jesus' 00:26:46.319 --> 00:26:50.480 eyes you are so precious. 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:55.400 The bridegroom protects his bride. 00:26:55.400 --> 00:27:02.240 Fourthly, the bridegroom dies for his bride. 00:27:02.240 --> 00:27:06.240 This is where we see just how precious the bride really is. 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:11.279 Often when we think about weddings today, we think of joyful, happy, wonderful occasions, 00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:16.319 but we also think of the fact that they come at a cost and getting married can be quite 00:27:16.319 --> 00:27:17.960 an expensive thing these days. 00:27:17.960 --> 00:27:24.240 Now today, some of those costs are maybe not entirely necessary, but they are there and 00:27:24.240 --> 00:27:27.559 culture expects these costs to be met. 00:27:27.559 --> 00:27:34.240 In biblical times, it was even more serious because the cost was a necessity. 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:39.399 There was a bridal price that had to be paid to the girl's father. 00:27:39.399 --> 00:27:48.919 And a great example of that is Jacob, who had to pay seven years of labor for his bride. 00:27:48.920 --> 00:27:58.080 And these costs are nothing compared to the cost paid by the church's bridegroom. 00:27:58.080 --> 00:28:04.000 Verse 25 tells us that, husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:08.840 himself up for her. 00:28:08.840 --> 00:28:13.200 Jesus didn't have to pay money for his bride. 00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:16.720 He had to die for her. 00:28:16.720 --> 00:28:22.039 The cost of the wedding was the cross. 00:28:22.039 --> 00:28:24.640 And through that death, the bride is rescued. 00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:32.400 She's cleansed, restored, and healed, and she is united to her bridegroom forever. 00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:36.920 But we have to make sure we remember what we said a moment ago. 00:28:36.920 --> 00:28:42.240 This is not a forced marriage. 00:28:42.240 --> 00:28:46.519 The bridegroom actually makes a choice. 00:28:46.519 --> 00:28:54.279 But Jesus, knowing the cost, knowing the pain, knowing the horror of the cross, looks 00:28:54.279 --> 00:29:03.639 at you, his bride, and says, she's worth it. 00:29:03.639 --> 00:29:09.720 And that's why our wholehearted devotion to Jesus as our bridegroom is surely the only 00:29:09.720 --> 00:29:16.680 right response to his astonishing devotion to us. 00:29:16.680 --> 00:29:18.440 So the bridegroom clings to his bride. 00:29:18.440 --> 00:29:20.200 The bridegroom delights in his bride. 00:29:20.200 --> 00:29:22.480 The bridegroom protects his bride. 00:29:22.480 --> 00:29:26.120 The bridegroom dies for his bride. 00:29:26.120 --> 00:29:32.220 Finally, the bridegroom comes for his bride. 00:29:32.220 --> 00:29:36.759 As we said at the start, this image of the church as bride speaks ultimately of the 00:29:36.759 --> 00:29:38.799 church's destiny. 00:29:38.799 --> 00:29:42.879 So yes, we are all united to Jesus as our husband by faith now. 00:29:42.879 --> 00:29:47.799 There's a sense in which it's already true, but there's also a not yet. 00:29:47.799 --> 00:29:51.319 And the fullness of this marriage union has not been realized now. 00:29:51.319 --> 00:29:54.240 It lies ahead of us in the future. 00:29:54.240 --> 00:29:58.159 And that is described beautifully for us in the closing chapters of Revelation that we 00:29:58.159 --> 00:29:59.159 read. 00:29:59.159 --> 00:30:01.240 Then I saw our new heaven and our new earth. 00:30:01.240 --> 00:30:05.440 For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more. 00:30:05.440 --> 00:30:10.840 And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a 00:30:10.840 --> 00:30:14.360 bride adorned for her husband. 00:30:14.360 --> 00:30:18.400 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:19.400 man. 00:30:19.400 --> 00:30:23.880 He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God will be with them as their 00:30:23.880 --> 00:30:24.880 God. 00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:30.080 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more. 00:30:30.079 --> 00:30:36.000 Death shall there be mourning, not crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:37.720 passed away. 00:30:37.720 --> 00:30:44.039 When Jesus returns, the church will enjoy perfect union with her bridegroom. 00:30:44.039 --> 00:30:47.079 Then our maker really will be our husband. 00:30:47.079 --> 00:30:51.960 Then we will enjoy all the best that our bridegroom can give us. 00:30:51.960 --> 00:30:58.839 Above all, then we will be with him forever. 00:30:58.839 --> 00:31:04.679 And that means that right now we are waiting. 00:31:04.679 --> 00:31:09.599 But the closing message of the Bible is that the bridegroom is coming back. 00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:11.079 He's coming for his bride. 00:31:11.079 --> 00:31:13.159 He's coming for you. 00:31:13.159 --> 00:31:15.919 The church as bride is waiting. 00:31:15.919 --> 00:31:23.439 That's why Revelation 22 says, The spirit and the bride say, Come. 00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:32.120 And when he comes, he will wipe away every tear on his bride's face. 00:31:32.120 --> 00:31:36.640 That means that all the pain of sin-spoiled love will be healed. 00:31:36.640 --> 00:31:46.640 All the hurts of singleness, of broken marriage, of widowhood, of broken hearts, all the agony 00:31:46.640 --> 00:31:52.559 that these things can cause will be healed. 00:31:52.559 --> 00:31:58.559 The bridegroom has gone to prepare a place for you. 00:31:58.559 --> 00:32:04.799 The bridegroom is coming back for you. 00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:09.559 But that of course raises the question, why hasn't he come back yet? 00:32:09.559 --> 00:32:18.079 Well, I think the reason is because the bride isn't ready. 00:32:18.079 --> 00:32:21.639 Not in the sense of the fact that of saying that she isn't beautiful enough, not saying 00:32:21.640 --> 00:32:23.400 that at all. 00:32:23.400 --> 00:32:30.480 But the bride isn't ready in the sense that parts of the bride are missing. 00:32:30.480 --> 00:32:37.520 In other words, parts of the church are missing. 00:32:37.520 --> 00:32:41.240 Which part? 00:32:41.240 --> 00:32:49.160 It's the people who are not yet trusting in Jesus. 00:32:49.160 --> 00:32:58.840 And if you're not a Christian, that means you. 00:32:58.840 --> 00:33:03.920 And all of this brings us to the final thing that we need to remember. 00:33:03.920 --> 00:33:06.320 We're saying that the church is a bride. 00:33:06.320 --> 00:33:12.500 That means that the bride is us as believers in Jesus. 00:33:12.500 --> 00:33:15.960 We are the bride, all of us together. 00:33:15.960 --> 00:33:22.440 And that's where we see how important our collective love and unity in the church is. 00:33:22.440 --> 00:33:26.200 And this is a crucial thing to remember, and I think it's an easy one to forget, because 00:33:26.200 --> 00:33:29.640 often you will hear statements like this. 00:33:29.640 --> 00:33:35.720 You'll hear statements or see them written down where they'll say, Jesus loves me. 00:33:35.720 --> 00:33:38.799 Or Jesus loves you. 00:33:38.799 --> 00:33:40.120 And that's true. 00:33:40.119 --> 00:33:47.479 It's beautiful and precious, a wonderful thing to say, but it is not the ultimate theological 00:33:47.479 --> 00:33:50.279 truth when it comes to the love of Christ. 00:33:50.279 --> 00:33:55.079 Because the ultimate theological truth is not Jesus loves me or Jesus loves you. 00:33:55.079 --> 00:34:03.079 The ultimate theological truth is that Jesus loves us. 00:34:03.079 --> 00:34:08.239 The pinnacle of His love is not for me as an individual. 00:34:08.239 --> 00:34:13.519 It is for us together as His bride. 00:34:13.519 --> 00:34:20.000 And if we could just remember that, then surely it would make us the community of love and 00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.919 care and unity that the church is meant to be. 00:34:24.919 --> 00:34:31.679 We are His bride together. 00:34:31.679 --> 00:34:35.359 So that is the church in pictures. 00:34:35.360 --> 00:34:44.640 The church is a pillar standing firm, not wobbling, not shifting too and fro, but stable, 00:34:44.640 --> 00:34:49.039 holding steady on the truth in Jesus. 00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:50.440 The church is a farm. 00:34:50.440 --> 00:34:57.559 That means that we are workers, not customers. 00:34:57.559 --> 00:35:01.800 The church is a body, every part as its place. 00:35:01.800 --> 00:35:03.820 We must not be dislocated. 00:35:03.820 --> 00:35:08.160 We must never, ever be self-harming. 00:35:08.160 --> 00:35:13.039 The church is a mother, not a machine. 00:35:13.039 --> 00:35:19.360 We need to be maternal, not managerial, not mechanical. 00:35:19.360 --> 00:35:31.480 And the church is a bride, not a spoiled, demanding diva, but a beautiful, obedient, 00:35:31.480 --> 00:35:35.119 united bride. 00:35:35.119 --> 00:35:39.199 Please God, may we be a church like that. 00:35:39.199 --> 00:35:42.199 Let's pray. 00:35:42.199 --> 00:35:50.400 Father, we thank you for all that you are teaching us through your word and for these 00:35:50.400 --> 00:35:54.800 beautiful images of your church. 00:35:54.800 --> 00:36:02.600 And we pray, Lord, that as a church that we would be a pillar of truth, that we would 00:36:02.600 --> 00:36:07.320 be a farm working, sowing seed and building each other up, feeding one another, helping 00:36:07.320 --> 00:36:11.360 each other grow and reaching out into the harvest around us. 00:36:11.360 --> 00:36:16.320 That we would be a body working together really well with us all playing our different parts 00:36:16.320 --> 00:36:19.080 in with our different gifts. 00:36:19.079 --> 00:36:26.360 That we would be a mother with the most wonderful tender care towards each of us. 00:36:26.360 --> 00:36:36.679 And that we would be your bride, perfectly living for you in obedience, faithfulness 00:36:36.679 --> 00:36:39.679 and devotion. 00:36:39.679 --> 00:36:47.840 But in all of these things, we want to just acknowledge that all of that is only possible 00:36:47.840 --> 00:36:50.720 because of Jesus. 00:36:50.720 --> 00:36:55.000 He's our bridegroom and we love Him. 00:36:55.000 --> 00:37:21.000 Amen.