A reader recently asked me a question. They wondered if there was a difference between the “Body of Christ” and the “Bride of Christ”. It is a great question because both metaphors are used in the New Testament in relation to the Church. I thought making a post related to the answer I gave might be helpful to others. Let’s first look at some passages related to “The Bride of Christ”.
The Bride of Christ
Ephesians 5:25-27
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.[a]
2 Corinthians 11:2
2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
Revelation 19:7-9
7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9 And the angel said[a] to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
Revelation 21:2
2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Revelation 21:9
9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
These passages establish the Church in the most intimate connection with Jesus using the marriage metaphor. Next, let’s look at some passages about the “Body of Christ”.
The Body of Christ
1 Corinthians 12:12-27 (ESV)
One Body with Many Members
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves[a] or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts,[b] yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
Ephesians 4:11-16 (ESV)
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds[a] and teachers,[b] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,[c] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Romans 12:4-5 (ESV)
4 For as in one body we have many members,[a] and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
The point of the “body” metaphor is unity in Christ, but different callings and gifts as believers. It addresses how we relate to each other in Christ.
Parallel to the Old Testament?
Many scholars and teachers point out how the Ten Commandments have two focuses. The first is our relationship with God, the second is our relationship with each other. Let’s take a look
Relationship to God focused
- Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.”
- Exodus 20:4-6 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
- Exodus 20:7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”
- Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
Relationship to each other focused
- Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”
- Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder.”
- Exodus 20:14 “You shall not commit adultery.”
- Exodus 20:15 “You shall not steal.”
- Exodus 20:16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
- Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
I believe many will see the parallels between the Ten Commandments and “The Body” and “The Bride” metaphors in the New Testament. The Bride metaphor is used to create an image of our relationship with God. The Body metaphor is used to create an image of our relationship to each other in Christ. What a coincidence!
I know that some teaching available online claims there is a distinction between “The Body” and “The Bride” metaphors in the New Testament. They suggest this creates a special class of Christian. At the Rapture, only the Bride of Christ is taken. I disagree with that distinction. I believe the point of the separate metaphors in the New Testament was to create a image of our relationship to God and others. For me, both are referencing the Church in total. They are just giving different views of how we relate.
Conclusion
“Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2)” and “For by one Spirit all of us—Jews and Greeks, slaves and free—were baptized into one body and were all privileged to drink from one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)”. Therefore, how could part of the body not be included into the Bride? For me there cannot be a distinct group of people being talked about. Suggesting “The Bride” is a subset of “The Body of Christ” misses the metaphors’ point. This argument is used by people who think there might be a “partial rapture” of the body. In my opinion, that isn’t supported by the entirety of scripture.
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