True Church. Bride and Wife of Christ

Gennady Gumilevsky
Introduction: What is truth!? Wikipedia: “Truth is the only, absolutely, correct information.” If a person has chosen a church for himself and attends it, then it can be a true church for him. However, does it correspond
is it the Word of God? This article talks about it:

After recognizing the Apostle Peter Jesus as the Son of God (Matthew 16:16), Christ said to him: “And I say to you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). What kind of church is this that “the gates of hell cannot prevail against”? Is there such a true church on earth? Why doesn't the Bible say anything about it? The Lord in His Message to the then existing churches did not name such a church. There can be only one answer: such a church existed and it exists NOW, but it cannot be called a church according to the concept of people: the word CHURCH is a collection of believers in one BUILDING. However, such a church was and is, and it is spoken of in the Bible.
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According to the explanations of Christian preachers and writers, the True Church is composed of the full number of believers (Born Again) from the Day of Pentecost until the First Resurrection. This is the Bride of Christ. The word “composed” says that it is not finished. How many such people there are currently in each Christian church is known only to God, and to each Born Again - only about himself. The Bible reveals to us the concept of the True Church in the New Testament. (2 Cor. 11:2) says that the True Church is the bride of Christ. “For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God; because I have betrothed you to one husband, that I might present you to Christ as a pure virgin.”

“The Body of the Lord” (“And you are the body of Christ” 1 Cor. 12:27) refers to the time of the Jerusalem Heavenly Church, to the time when a certain number of Gentiles will enter (Rom. 11:25), and this time is also the time of the Bride of Christ becoming His wife. “For I do not want you, brethren, to be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should dream for yourselves that a hardening has taken place in Israel in part, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Rom. 11:25). The Body of the Lord (Wife) and the Bride of Christ is a figurative comparison of the closest state of sincere believers to the Son of God Christ.

In order to receive the Body of the Lord COMPLETE (to become the Wife of Christ), He must also be united, bind all believers together, so that they become so close when their separation would be painful for them, that is, make the separation of the Children of God from each other impossible. This comparison helps us understand the existence (dwelling) of the children of God in the Jerusalem Church. But already on earth the Church has the role of making a beginning for this. The Lord speaks about this in His Commandment to Peter in Matthew 16:19: “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

So, here it is said that the Church on earth, consisting of local churches (temples) with the parishioners located in them, CANNOT be called the Body of the Lord, since: 1) His Body is only composed in time from true believers, and not from all those who come, among whom there may be newcomers who have not yet known God. The fullness of the formation of the True Church belongs to the future. When the Apostle says: “we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones,” then this is indeed so, but this is the Body of the Bride of Christ, but not His Wife. And it already exists now from the Born Again. This is the True Church, which DOES NOT HAVE A COMMON building.

2) Not all members in local churches belong to the Body of the Lord, but only sincere believers (Born Again). How many such people there are currently in each Christian church is known only to God, and to each Born Again - only about himself. The words of the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to Titus about the first Christian churches, about their ministers and parishioners, also apply to the existing Earthly Church. Here they are: “For there are many disobedient, idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose lips must be stopped: they corrupt entire houses, teaching what they should not, for shameful gain. They say that they know God, but deny by deeds, being vile and disobedient and incapable of any good deed.” (Ch.1:10,11,16).

This article continues the theme in proze.ru, indicating that the main purpose of the Church on earth is contained in the commandment of the Lord: (Matthew 16:19). Believers need to know it in order to understand that in order to receive the FULL Body of the Lord (the wife of Christ), the full number of pagans predetermined by the Heavenly Father must become believers (Rom. 11:25), and also all believers must be united together so that they become so close that their separation would be painful for them, that is, to make the separation of the Children of God from each other impossible.

For further reading, see here: https://bible.by/lexicon/btd/word/2986/
The Bride of Christ: One of the metaphors in the New Testament denoting the Church. Christ is depicted as the Husband of the Church, and she as His Bride. Addressing the Corinthian church, the Apostle Paul affirms that he has given this Church to Christ as a pure bride to her husband (2 Corinthians 11:2-3).

In ancient times in the Middle East, a father, giving his daughter in marriage, would assure the groom of her purity. Paul considered himself the spiritual father of the church (1 Corinthians 4:15), and the church as his daughter. In order to be a pure bride of Christ, the church must maintain purity and faith. Paul, as a caring father, worried that the young bride (the church) might commit adultery by accepting "another Jesus," "another Spirit," or "another gospel" (2 Corinthians 11:4).

The relationship between Christ and the Church, like that between spouses, is based on a covenant of mutual fidelity. Infidelity violates the covenant. The image of the church presented in Paul's epistles has analogues in the Old Testament. Often, the covenant between God and Israel is described there as a marriage covenant, in which Israel is the bride of God. The Lord said to Israel through the prophet Jeremiah: "I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride" (Jeremiah 2:2).

Further, He complains about Israel's infidelity; by beginning to worship other gods, the country committed adultery (Jeremiah 3:6-9). The theme of Israel's betrayal of her beloved (God) is also developed in Ezekiel 16 and Hosea. The unfaithfulness of the people of Yahweh and their turning to other gods is defined as "adultery." Thus, adultery and idolatry become synonymous. The prophet Hosea, himself suffering from his wife's infidelity, grieved over God's suffering, longing for His bride, Israel, and yearning for her return. Hosea describes future times when God will be forever united with His people and will live with them in faithfulness and love (Hosea 2:19-20).

Perhaps it was this vision that allowed Paul to transfer the image of Israel as God's bride to the Church, the Bride of Christ. In Ephesians 5:22-33, the relationship between Christ and the Church is compared to the relationship between spouses. This image is based on the prevailing understanding of the relationship between husband and wife at that time. The Church's obedience to Christ is compared to a wife's obedience to her husband, but the emphasis in this passage is on the husband's role: he must love his wife as Christ loves His Church and dedicate himself to her. Christ is bound to the Church by sacrificial love. Just as a husband is one with his wife, as they become one flesh and depend on each other, so Christ and the True Church have become one Body. Just as a man's love for his wife should be all-encompassing, so Christ's love for the True Church should be complete and perfect. A variation on this theme is present in John the Baptist's testimony about Jesus (John 3:29).

John considered himself the "friend of the bridegroom," who, according to Jewish custom, takes care of the wedding preparations. The Messiah is identified with the bridegroom, to whom the bride belongs and who has come to claim his right. In Revelation chapters 19 and 21, the metaphor of the church as the bride of the Messiah is further developed. In the vision in Revelation... Revelation 19:7-8 describes the wedding of the Lamb (Christ) with His Bride (the Church).

In Revelation chapter 21, we see the descent from heaven of the New Jerusalem, "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" (Revelation 21:2). Then the prophet is invited to look at "the wife, the bride of the Lamb" (Revelation 21:9) and the Holy City, "which came down from heaven from God" (Revelation 21:10). The New Jerusalem is the same as the people of God, the bride of Christ, with whom God will dwell forever. The Bride of Christ – Great Biblical Dictionary: https://bible.by/lexicon/btd/word/2986/.