QUES. 3.-What authority from Scripture have we for this common expression, "the Bride of Christ." used in reference to the Church?

Answer 1.-In Gen. 2:22, we read, "And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made He," or rather, builded He, (into) "a woman, and brought her unto the man." It was the bringing the woman to Adam that formed the union, not the making the woman. Union, or marriage, is the joining of a man and a woman together-the making them one. Eph. 5:2:2-32 clearly applies this to Christ and the Church. It is by the Spirit that union is effected. Hence union, or joining to the Lord began at Pentecost. It is still going on and will continue until the complement of the members of Christ is filled up. When that is accomplished, the wedding feast will follow. At this feast the one who is united to Christ-the woman-will be ready-she will have her adornments on (Rev. 19:7, 8) so that Christ will present her to Himself a glorious Church, not a spot or a wrinkle on her. Now Eve, in Gen. 2:22, when brought to Adam became a bride, a wife. So, too, the Church of Eph. v, 22-32, when Christ presents her to Himself will be a bride, a wife, and thus it is perfectly according to Scripture to speak of the Church as the Bride of Christ.

Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it. He is now building it, and sanctifying and cleansing it. She is preparing herself for the wedding feast, for the place she is going to occupy when the marriage is consummated-the place of a bride and a wife. Then she will be displayed in the adornments she is now through grace preparing for herself. God, in manifesting her as thus arrayed, will " show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us " (Eph. 2:7).In that eternal wedding day, the Christ so long despised by men and whose sacrifice has been, and still is disowned, will have abundant glory and honor as the hosts of heaven and earth gaze on the glorious beauty of the Bride (Eph. 3:21; Rev. 19:7).

Christ, the Lamb, Head overall things, will have a partner to share His glory, but whose place in His affections none not of His Church, whatever their blessing may be, shall have part in. The tribulation martyrs will reign with Him (see Rev. 20:4), but will not be a part of what is called "the fulness of Him that filleth all in all" (Eph. 1:23). This is reserved for His body. It alone will be the Bride. C. C.

Answer 2. The Christian, like a married woman who has been free from her first husband by death, has been freed from law by Christ's death in order to be ''joined" (R. V.) to Another, the risen Saviour (Rom. 7:1-4).Again, Christians have been "betrothed" to Christ. to be presented,"a chaste virgin," unto Him (2 Cor. 11:2).Both these views are emphasized in Eph. 5:22-32, and there applied to the whole Church, which (1)already stands in the relation to Christ that a wife does to her husband, and (2) in another aspect is like one "betrothed" to Him.

1. The Church is already Christ's "bride"because already united to Him (Eph. 5:30-32; comp. 1 Cor. 6:17).Hence the Church is "subject unto Christ " as her Head, as a wife should be to her husband (Eph. 5:24,33).

2. But the Church is also like one "betrothed"-one whom Christ loved, for whom He gave Himself, whom He is now sanctifying of His Word, and whom He will soon present unto Himself" glorious."
Thus even now. during her time of humiliation on earth, the Church is "joined " to her glorified Husband and is "one Spirit" with Him. But she waits till He shall have made her "glorious" like Himself, when He will formally "present" her to Himself and openly celebrate their nuptials. This public "marriage supper" we find in Rev. 19:7:''the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready." But notice that she is already His "wife." This marriage conies in between the judgment of the false "church" (Rev. 17:, 18:) and the return of the saints with Christ to judge the world (Rev. 19:11-21). Thus the "Lamb's wife" here is doubtless the Church, and the invited guests are other heavenly saints.

But the "bride," "the Lamb's wife," of Rev. 21:2, 9, is not the Church, but the "New Jerusalem."The heavenly city is the Lamb's wife in His character as " the Father of eternity " (Isa. 9:6, Heb.).Christians, with all saints, are viewed as the "children" of this wife, for she is that "Jerusalem which is above, . . . which is the mother of us all" (Gal. 4:26).This is the great "free woman" of Scripture and of the prophets, of which Sarah was a type (Gal. 4:21-31).It is a symbolic representation of that great bosom of grace and new creation which God, in His counsels, espoused to Himself as the fruitful principle by which He would beget all His spiritual children.

Of course there is no contradiction. The Lamb is the Husband of the heavenly city whose mighty bosom of grace claims us all as her free born children. The Lamb is also the Husband of the Church. And He will yet be the Husband of a Jewish bride on earth. In His love unto death He espoused all these and He will make them fruitful. F. A.

Answer 3.-The expression " the Bride of Christ" does not occur in Paul's Epistles and he is specially the minister of the mystery of the Church; but that Christ regards the Church as espoused to Himself is evident from 2 Cor. 11:2, "I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."

A consideration of Eph. 5:22-32, will also show that the marriage relation in the human family is a type of the relation of Christ and the Church. Thus the expression has sufficient Scripture warrant.

That it has been used extravagantly by some we cannot deny, but we ought not to discard it on that account. W. McC.