The Mystery of One Flesh
The Church, The Bride
It is generally accepted around Christian circles that The Church is The Bride of Christ. I have found this for me to not adequately explain all the other references such as The New Jerusalem being the Bride. Also, if we collectively are the Body of Christ how is it that He is male so His body must be male. How can we be The Body of Christ and be female His Bride?
It has been because of this conflict that I have come the conclusions I have stated above and earlier. I think the main problem is that we think in human terms of Male and Female that has resulted in contradictory ideas. We are told that in Heaven there is no Male or Female, yet the scriptures talk about Husbands and Wives, Christ and The Church, being Married to Christ.
So, I feel we need to take a fresh look at all that is presented to us in the scriptures.
As a starting point lets consider just how God can accept us with our sinful traits and be reckoned righteous able to enter into the presence of God. In our bodies we still act in sinful ways. If we try to control or stop these sinful acts, we are going to fail and set up ourselves into works that does not please Our Father.
Now consider this. If we acknowledge that our new life source is the Spirit of Christ, then we are acting under the umbrella of Christ’s Life. Since we are “hidden” in Christ then we are able to come into the presence of our Heavenly Father. This is how we can be seen to be part of Jesus’ Body. Just as Adam was One Flesh with the woman so we are One Flesh with Christ. It is not time to go deeper into this idea here, but I think you can get the sense of it.
Let me try to wrap all this up together. Adam and Eve were originally One Flesh. In order for each of them to act independently – free willed – they needed to be separated. Although now two separate beings, still in the One Flesh relationship in which, they needed operate. This is why any other form of relationship other that the One Flesh relationship of Husband and Wife – a lifetime relationship, so distresses Our Heavenly Father because it is the ultimate imagery of the Three-In-One God relationship.
In a final summary let me tie the loose ends together. As a free willing being a person can acknowledge that they can not do anything to obtain God’s Favour. God’s Favour is given regardless of what a person might do. The only thing that person can do is accept the Free Gift that God Our Father has prepared.
When a person come to the realization that all they need to do is accept the New Life that is offered through the Cross and Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Then when they claim that for themselves the old Adamic life is replaced by the Life of Christ. The old Adamic habits are still in the body, but the new Life inside has the power of prevent this. This New Life operates through the will of that person as they change the 'old self' and declare they are the New Self. The more that person focuses on the fact that they don’t have to allow the old habits from having dominance in their action the more that New Life shines out.
The trick is not focus on the problems of the old self but reflect of the new character of Christ their New Life and the old just falls away. In fact, all of Christ’s Characteristics are available to draw on just by focusing on the Love of God that has poured into our being and allowing that life just to flow out.
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PaulT