THE BRIDE ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURE
Rom 5:12-14
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
13(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
KJV
Rom 5:12-14
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
13(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
KJV
The account of Adam and Eve in Genesis chapters one through three provides us not only with the one true account of man’s beginning, but the account also provides us with the original type of Christ and His bride. God has interwoven great spiritual lessons into the account of man’s historic beginning, reflecting upon the person and work of His Son.
Adam was the first man upon the earth. He was also a type of Christ, the Second Man, the Last Adam:
1 Cor 15:45-47
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
KJV
The experiences of Adam and Eve prefigure the experiences of Christ and His bride. The basic principles relating to the formation of the bride and the redemptive work of the Son in relation to the bride are set forth in these chapters and remain unchanged throughout Scripture.
THE FORMATION OF THE BRIDE
Gen 1:27
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
KJV
Gen 2:18
18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
KJV
Gen 2:21-22
21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
KJV
Adam was the first man upon the earth. He was also a type of Christ, the Second Man, the Last Adam:
1 Cor 15:45-47
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
KJV
The experiences of Adam and Eve prefigure the experiences of Christ and His bride. The basic principles relating to the formation of the bride and the redemptive work of the Son in relation to the bride are set forth in these chapters and remain unchanged throughout Scripture.
THE FORMATION OF THE BRIDE
Gen 1:27
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
KJV
Gen 2:18
18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
KJV
Gen 2:21-22
21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
KJV
1. OUT OF THE BODY
Eve was created in Adam at the very beginning, but was not brought into existence as a separate entity until a later point in time. Adam was put to sleep, his side opened, and from this open side God took one of his ribs and formed Eve. Eve was taken out of Adam and then presented back to Adam for “a helpmeet.” Eve a part of the very being of Adam; and now, a separate entity from Adam; deemed Adam incomplete without her. In this respect, Eve, being presented back to Adam for “a helpmeet,” completed Adam. In the highest sense, God looked upon the existing union as “one flesh”
Gen 2:21-24
21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
KJV
The bride of Christ has existed in the Son from eternity past. The bride’s existence and salvation dated from “before the foundation of the world”
Eph 1:4
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
KJV
Rev 13:8
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
KJV
The bride, however, could not be brought into existence as a separate entity until after the Son had been put to sleep and His side opened.
This occurred at Calvary. The Son died, and His side was opened. Out of His opened side issued forth “blood” and “water” – the two elements necessary to bring into existence the bride, separate from the body, but still part of the body: [John 3:5 “Except a man be born of water and the Spirit…..]
John 19:34
34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
KJV
Once the complete, redeemed bride has been brought into existence through the means which God has provided, the bride will be presented back to the Son, completing the Son. In the highest sense, God will look upon the existing union as “one flesh.” (Eph. 5:26-32).
God’s past work of bringing Eve into existence and His present work (to be completed in the future) of bringing His Son’s bride into existence must be studied in the light of one and other. In Genesis 2:22 God took a rib from Adam’s side and “made he a women.” The Hebrew word translated “made” in this verse is banah, which means, “to build.” Eve was created in Adam at the beginning, later taken out of Adam, built into a bride, and then presented back to Adam. In Matthew 16:18 Christ said, “…upon this rock I will build my Church.” The Church (in the sense in which the word is used in Matt. 16:18), created in Christ from eternity past, is presently being called out of the body and built into a bride. And the time when this process will be completed and the bride presented back to the Son lies in the future.
Eve was created in Adam at the very beginning, but was not brought into existence as a separate entity until a later point in time. Adam was put to sleep, his side opened, and from this open side God took one of his ribs and formed Eve. Eve was taken out of Adam and then presented back to Adam for “a helpmeet.” Eve a part of the very being of Adam; and now, a separate entity from Adam; deemed Adam incomplete without her. In this respect, Eve, being presented back to Adam for “a helpmeet,” completed Adam. In the highest sense, God looked upon the existing union as “one flesh”
Gen 2:21-24
21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
KJV
The bride of Christ has existed in the Son from eternity past. The bride’s existence and salvation dated from “before the foundation of the world”
Eph 1:4
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
KJV
Rev 13:8
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
KJV
The bride, however, could not be brought into existence as a separate entity until after the Son had been put to sleep and His side opened.
This occurred at Calvary. The Son died, and His side was opened. Out of His opened side issued forth “blood” and “water” – the two elements necessary to bring into existence the bride, separate from the body, but still part of the body: [John 3:5 “Except a man be born of water and the Spirit…..]
John 19:34
34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
KJV
Once the complete, redeemed bride has been brought into existence through the means which God has provided, the bride will be presented back to the Son, completing the Son. In the highest sense, God will look upon the existing union as “one flesh.” (Eph. 5:26-32).
God’s past work of bringing Eve into existence and His present work (to be completed in the future) of bringing His Son’s bride into existence must be studied in the light of one and other. In Genesis 2:22 God took a rib from Adam’s side and “made he a women.” The Hebrew word translated “made” in this verse is banah, which means, “to build.” Eve was created in Adam at the beginning, later taken out of Adam, built into a bride, and then presented back to Adam. In Matthew 16:18 Christ said, “…upon this rock I will build my Church.” The Church (in the sense in which the word is used in Matt. 16:18), created in Christ from eternity past, is presently being called out of the body and built into a bride. And the time when this process will be completed and the bride presented back to the Son lies in the future.
(The word “Church” comes from the Greek word [ekklesia], which means “called out.” And this word is used in the New Testament in more than one way. It is used during the present dispensation relative to all of the saved, for the bride has yet to be singled out and set apart from the remainder of the saved. That is to say, the bride, though presently being called out of the called, has yet to be set apart as a separate entity [e.g. Rev. 1-3]. However, looking beyond this present dispensation [following the time when the bride will have been set apart in the preceding manner], the use of the word ekklesia becomes more restrictive in the way the matter is looked upon in the NT.
Referring to time beyond the present dispensation, the word ekklesia is used relative to those who will be placed as firstborn sons, adopted [“adoption” (Gk. huiothesia) means son-placing] – placed in a position to rule and to reign, for, within the human realm, firstborn sons alone can rule:
Heb 12:23
23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
KJV
Referring to time beyond the present dispensation, the word ekklesia is used relative to those who will be placed as firstborn sons, adopted [“adoption” (Gk. huiothesia) means son-placing] – placed in a position to rule and to reign, for, within the human realm, firstborn sons alone can rule:
Heb 12:23
23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
KJV
And those sons, looked upon in another respect, will rule as consort queen with God’s Son, Jesus. These will be the ones who, in accord with Genesis chapter two, will be removed from Christ’s body, forming the bride of the Second Man, the Last Adam.
The “called out” being removed from the “called” is what is in view in Paul’s reference to an “out-resurrection” in Phil. 3:11 [“resurrection,” KJV; Gk. ex anastasis, “out-resurrection”]. Ex anastasis is a compound word which literally means “to stand up - out of.” It is one group standing up out of a single larger group – the “called out” being removed from the “called.” And this will result from issues and determinations emanating from the judgment seat of Christ.
Remaining within the future scope of the matter and the exact meaning of the word ekklesia [called out], the clear teaching of Scripture attests to the fact that those who will form the bride in the coming day are not those presently being removed from the world. Those taken from the world are the “called.” The “called out” are to be taken from the “called,” [the saved, the body].
So we see then, the Church in the coming day - will be the body of Christ [cf. Col. 1:18] in the same sense that Eve was the body of Adam. She was bone of his bones, and flesh of his flesh [Gen. 2:23]. ALL of Eve was Adam’s body, but she was not ALL of Adam’s body.
“We are members of His body, of His flesh, of His bones” [Eph. 5:30]. ALL of the bride will be of Christ’s body, but not ALL of His body will be the bride.)
Thus, contrary to that which is commonly believed in Christendom, the bride – in either the type or the antitype – does not constitute all of the body. Just as Eve was taken out of Adam’s body, the bride of Christ will be taken out of His Son’s body. The entire body over which He is the Head consists of all the saved during this present dispensation. But the bride consists of a smaller group which is presently being called out of the larger group, i.e. called out of the body.
All of the saved are “called” and form part of the body, but only the “called out” – those to be taken out of the body – will form the bride of Christ. The bride will be a selection out of a selected.
Matt 22:14
14 For many are called, but few are chosen [lit. ‘few are called out’]
KJV
The “called out” being removed from the “called” is what is in view in Paul’s reference to an “out-resurrection” in Phil. 3:11 [“resurrection,” KJV; Gk. ex anastasis, “out-resurrection”]. Ex anastasis is a compound word which literally means “to stand up - out of.” It is one group standing up out of a single larger group – the “called out” being removed from the “called.” And this will result from issues and determinations emanating from the judgment seat of Christ.
Remaining within the future scope of the matter and the exact meaning of the word ekklesia [called out], the clear teaching of Scripture attests to the fact that those who will form the bride in the coming day are not those presently being removed from the world. Those taken from the world are the “called.” The “called out” are to be taken from the “called,” [the saved, the body].
So we see then, the Church in the coming day - will be the body of Christ [cf. Col. 1:18] in the same sense that Eve was the body of Adam. She was bone of his bones, and flesh of his flesh [Gen. 2:23]. ALL of Eve was Adam’s body, but she was not ALL of Adam’s body.
“We are members of His body, of His flesh, of His bones” [Eph. 5:30]. ALL of the bride will be of Christ’s body, but not ALL of His body will be the bride.)
Thus, contrary to that which is commonly believed in Christendom, the bride – in either the type or the antitype – does not constitute all of the body. Just as Eve was taken out of Adam’s body, the bride of Christ will be taken out of His Son’s body. The entire body over which He is the Head consists of all the saved during this present dispensation. But the bride consists of a smaller group which is presently being called out of the larger group, i.e. called out of the body.
All of the saved are “called” and form part of the body, but only the “called out” – those to be taken out of the body – will form the bride of Christ. The bride will be a selection out of a selected.
Matt 22:14
14 For many are called, but few are chosen [lit. ‘few are called out’]
KJV
The type has been set, and the antitype MUST follow the type in exact detail.
Note that man had no part in God’s work surrounding the formation of Eve – from the time of her creation in Adam; neither can man have a part in the formation of the Son’s bride. It was Christ, not man, Who said, “…I WILL BUILD my Church.”
Note that man had no part in God’s work surrounding the formation of Eve – from the time of her creation in Adam; neither can man have a part in the formation of the Son’s bride. It was Christ, not man, Who said, “…I WILL BUILD my Church.”
