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This article is the last in our study of our creation in God’s image. Beginning next week will be a miniseries on what worship is, and I am really looking forward to the impact it will have on all of us. In preparing for it I have been challenged and hope you will join us next week!

That being said this week should finish our studies on imago dei on a high! In the first article of this series we concluded that one of the key aspects of being created in the image of God is that God, within the Trinity, is in eternal relationship with Himself, and therefore that we have been created to be in relationship. This week I would like to specifically address one aspect of this. God the Father is in eternal relationship with God the Son (Jesus), and Christians are also in relationship with Jesus.

The church is one

Jesus’ words leading up to his betrayal and arrest in John’s Gospel speak to us clearly about his view of the church. He prayed to God ‘that they may be one, even as we are one.’ (John 17:11) This idea that the church is one has been visited earlier in this series and while we will not deal with it in enormous depth at this point it is important to call it to mind again. Jesus’ prayer and plan for the church is that we would be united so tightly that we would be one entity in the eyes of God!

Jesus’ relationship with the church

While we are in personal relationship with Jesus it is clear from the above verse that Jesus’ plan is for the church to be one, and therefore for there to be one relationship between us and Jesus. While this is not easy for us to grasp the biblical concept is clear, and has been throughout history.

Jeremiah 3 talks about Israel as an adulterous wife in a marriage with God. The entire book of Hosea is a picture of God loving Israel as he loved his prostitute wife. Even the Song of Songs, that famous saucy love song, is often regarded as an analogy of God’s love for Israel. The very picture of Jewish marriage is a reflection of God loving His bride, Israel.

This picture is fulfilled in the New Testament. Paul explains in Romans 11 that the church is the fruit of the root, Israel, and the picture of the church as Jesus’ bride is a familiar one. The Bible’s instructions for marriage are always compared immediately to Jesus’ relationship with the church, and the description of heaven in Revelation 19 is of the wedding supper of the Lamb (Jesus). Perhaps the clearest analogy is found in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, where he writes, ‘I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ’ (2 Corinthians 11:2).

We are the bride!

Whichever passage you find the most inspiring the truth is simple. We are seen by Jesus as one ‘item’ as it were, and we as one are to be Christ’s bride in heaven. This truth is astounding! A good husband and wife share wonderful tender moments of intimacy, sacrifice, and love. A good husband and wife are best friends and work together to strengthen their relationship; they are the best team imaginable. Today, as the church, we get to enjoy this incredible relationship with the King of Kings, and we will share eternity with our loving husband in heaven.

With this article I do not wish anyone to feel that their marriage is not good enough; I am married, and mine is nowhere near as the perfect relationship we will have with Jesus – that’s the point! I also do not want any of us to think that we have to act silly and romantic when it comes to Jesus; Mike Pilavachi once said that we sing too many ‘Jesus is my girlfriend’ songs and he is right. That being said my hope is that we are all made more aware of Jesus’ ever-giving, loving kindness to us as the church. He is shocked when we commit adultery by sinning, but is always ready to forgive us and love us as his bride.

Let’s thank Jesus for his love today!

"Point of Reference" from Fred Price

In His Glorious and Awesome Name Deut. 28:58