At a passing glance she wouldn't appear remarkable. With her hair disheveled from battle, face streaked with dirt, dressed mottled from flight, she may seem unattractive. It's said men have entertained angels unawares. Perhaps we've entertained queens with the same ignorance. Would you be terribly shocked if you've heard that you've sat in the presence of royalty? That the hobbled woman down the road carrying a tattered bible and a cross around her neck, also stood in the courts of heaven----that even the middle aged woman filing away at his desk is also "queen"? "How can that be?" , you may ask. I say this because the most glorious woman on Earth is not a normal woman. She is the Church, or all those who believe in Jesus. She's the Bride of Christ :
...we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church [1].
When Adam first saw Eve he exclaimed “ this is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh”. In other words “this is my self. I see you, and I see me too.” Just like Eve was taken out of Adam’s side, the Church was taken out of the side of Jesus: When Jesus was pierced, outpoured blood and water. From this the Bride of Christ was born. Therefore the moment we individually say yes to Christ, we become his. With one “yes” we are his Bride. Because both men and women compose the Church, both are apart of the Bride. God created "man" in his image as "male and female". We are all equally in the divine image. Therefore, God uses both genders to represent humanity. In the spirit, the Church is female. Rich, poor, plain, beautiful---the Bride is all those who confess Jesus the King of Kings. She may not look beautiful according to the flesh, but she is beyond compare to those who look with the Spirit.
The Most Beautiful Woman
The beauty of the Church doesn't come from herself. Unlike the women of the earth, she doesn't spend hours primping in front of the mirror. Her only foundation is Jesus. Lipstick isn't needed to make her lips pop. Her eyes draw you in with the light of Christ, rather than with shadow and mascara. I say this not to disparage the use of make up ( I wear it occasionally) , but to draw attention to the fact there is a superior cosmetic called holiness.
The Church wears the holiness of Jesus.
.........Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. [2]
As we can see the Church is made holy by Christ. When two people get married, everything they have belongs to the other. Jesus who knew no sin became sin for his Bride so that she can become the righteousness of God, just like him. Her sin died with him on the cross so that both of them could be free from sin. Three days after Jesus died, God raise him from the dead and seated him at his right hand so that only his perfect righteousness would remain. The Bride has received Christ's righteousness , which is her wedding garment.
The Most Important Wedding
At the end of the age there will be a wedding ceremony called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The Church officially married Jesus at the cross. However the marriage is in the style of the ancient Jewish wedding system. The Jewish wedding is two -part. The first stage is kiddishin (bethrothal) and the second is nussin (full fledged marriage). In the betrothal phase, a young suitor would first approach a young woman’s father. If the father and the girl agreed, then the couple would sign a marriage contract. The moment the couple signed the marriage contract, they were considered husband and wife. However , the Jewish custom was to not to live together until they had the wedding ceremony and communally celebrated their marriage. This living apart phase was generally for a year. During the wait period, the suitor would return to his father's house and prepare a wedding chamber. Like the Jewish wedding tradition, salvation is two-part with an interim period. Jesus died for our sins in the first part. He then returned to his Father's house to build a home for us. Now the Church awaits his return during this current intermediate period. In the last part that's coming soon, Jesus will come again and give every believer a new glorious body (Hebrews 9:28).
At the end of the age, the Church will be unveiled as the wife of the Lamb. In that day her beauty and worth will be known to all. Jesus will make her enemies who fight her daily bow at her feet and acknowledge that he has loved her (Revelation 3:9). As for our now, if you have believed in Jesus, enjoy your status as his Bride, though no one around you may know your true worth. If you haven't believed, believe so that you too can become the most glorious "woman" on Earth. Believe so that you too can enjoy the priviledge of belonging to the King of Kings.
[1] Ephesians 5:31-2 NIV
[2] Ephesians 5:25-27 NASB
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