"This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"

“Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" John 6:53-60

I had an interesting revelation recently… although, this particular revelation has been unfolding over a period of time, and it has just recently “clicked” with me. Like most Christians I have spent the majority of my Christian walk reading every other book in the Bible except the gospels. We like to read the Old Testament and the “letters” of Paul, Peter and John… but the gospels, not so much. They are read maybe at Christmas or Easter… or at random times throughout the year but, in my experience we typically don’t dwell in them on a regular basis, right?

Well, about 8 years ago Tom and I were reading a book about “House Church” and the author shared a great discipling tool they used for new Christians. They would have them read the gospels over and over again and let the Holy Spirit teach the new Christians who Jesus was while they read these 4 books. Tom and I thought that was brilliant!!

“Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Matthew 8:19-20

I think this teaching tool idea marinated in Tom’s heart and mind for a while and then he said one day, “You know, the creator of the universe came here and lived among us, it might be important to hear what He had to say!” So he started reading the gospels over and over again himself and found that to be quite revealing in many ways! He wanted to focus on what Jesus said, who he said it to, and how it applied to him personally. Tom had studied the Bible for decades and had read the Gospels many times, but he said it was like reading them for the first time. He was amazed at how many of the doctrines we had been taught were either not taught by Jesus or were specifically spoken against by Him. He was also amazed at just how much Jesus focused on “The Kingdom” and yet we don’t hear much about that today.

“Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."  Matthew 8:21-22

It took me a bit longer to get on that band wagon but June of last year I had come to a place where I was not finding satisfaction in any books I was reading or listening to (audio books and messages) and I remembered what Tom did and decided to do the same thing and only read the gospels, over and over again, until God said to stop (actually I am listening to the audio version as I work and cook in the kitchen). That is what I have been doing for the last year now and it has been blowing my mind! I am hearing things I have never heard before and understanding things that had been confusing to me. Each time I listen I get a new understanding and/or revelation… It has been life changing for me!

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26-27

Now comes the “revelation” part. A few weeks ago after I finished listening to the gospels again I wondered to myself why it is that so many of us don’t spend time in the gospels. And then I heard the Spirit say “Because Jesus’ teachings are too hard”!! Then the scripture   "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" Came to mind. And that is when the light of revelation and understanding came!! Oh my goodness, YES! Jesus does say some REALLY hard things…! And then all these scriptures that I have posted in this blog started to come to mind. Is this truly the reason we tend to “avoid” spending more of our time in the gospels?

“Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." Luke 9:61-62

What Jesus says IS hard!! And I think we have a really hard time accepting that these truly are things we need to do! We say, “He can’t REALLY mean we have to HATE our father and mother, wife and children… How can He say that?” “Why can’t I go say goodbye to my family or go bury my dead father before I follow you??” These are “good” things right? And yet, He seems so harsh and unyielding to us. But the more I think about this, Jesus is our example and He isn’t asking us to do anything that He Himself didn’t do!! He did only what His Father in Heaven asked him to do… without hesitation. He was not rich, he did not have a family, or a home. He gave up all the “luxuries” of life to serve US and to die for US! I guess He is expecting us to respond to Him the way He responded to God??

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn " 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law-- a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:34-38

Haven’t we as a “body” turned from the teachings of Jesus and gone back to the “law”?? (“From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” John 6:66). The law is so much easier to understand… and to control!! The Old Testament is full of law and things we can understand; I do “good” things and I get blessed, I do “bad” things and I get cursed…  Stop “sinning” and things will go good for you! The teachings of Jesus aren’t as easy to understand or control. He is ALL about “Relationship”, “absolute surrender”, “sacrifice” and dying to “self”… those are HARD things to do… when we are trying to hang on to the world and luxuries of life!! But we say to Him “I don’t want to give up what I like or stop doing what I want to do… I don’t want to deny myself of these “good” things…” and He says “Then you cannot be my disciple”. Ouch.

“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Matthew 10:21-2

Why are the things Jesus says so hard for us? Because with Jesus, this is not a negotiation of terms(“So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:16)

. Jesus demands absolute, unconditional surrender and obedience. There are no half measures, you can’t “sorta” follow Him, you have to leave everything of your old life in order to be fully His.

This reminds me of what Oswald Chambers repeatedly says. In essence it is: “If we are to be a disciple of Jesus then we need to be ABOSLUTELY and completely and entirely devoted to, and dependent upon HIM, and nothing else”!!

May 7^th excerpt: “This verse teaches us [Luke 14:26] that the only men and women our Lord will use in His building enterprises are those who love Him personally, passionately, and with great devotion, those who have a love for Him that goes far beyond any of the closest relationships on earth. The conditions are strict, but they are glorious.”

June 19^th excerpt: “…Discipleship is based solely on devotion to Jesus Christ, not on following after a particular belief or doctrine. "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate . . . , he cannot be My disciple" (Luk_14:26). In this verse, there is no argument and no pressure from Jesus to follow Him; He is simply saying, in effect, "If you want to be My disciple, you must be devoted solely to Me…"

July 12^th excerpt: “To fulfill God's perfect design for me requires my total surrender --- complete abandonment of myself to Him. Whenever I only want things for myself, the relationship is distorted.”

There are SO many more devotions from Oswald highlighting absolute devotion to Jesus… But, most of us think we can have our life and serve Him too. Tom heard a teaching one time with a good analogy of trying to walk in the Spirit and the world at the same time: it is like laying on the edge of a pool with one arm and one leg in the water and one arm and leg on the land and trying to walk and swim at the same time. You will fail at both.  What a great visual that is, and yet isn’t that what we try to do each and every day?

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”  Matthew 16:24-25

Tom and I have made some very tough choices over the last few years. In choosing to follow Jesus, and be obedient, we have lost a great deal. We have lost our reputation, our credit, our integrity, our standing in the church and with our family. It has been a very hard road, mostly because we had a hard time letting go of the world and our desires, but, I would not go back and change a thing! In our sacrifices and obedience we have seen the Lord in ways we never dreamed were possible!! We have seen and experienced miracle after miracle in His provision for us but more than anything else our relationship with the Lord has increased exponentially. Each time we choose Him over other things, namely “our desires” or preferences (you know… the “easy” less painful road), He reveals Himself to us in new and wonderful ways. My faith and trust in Him has grown huge because HE has grown huge in my life! I have learned that He functions much better when I take Him out of my little box!

“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”  Matthew 10:32-33

A very consistent message from Jesus is that you can’t serve God and the world at the same time…Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10 While I was listening to the gospels today I picked up on a nice contrast for this blog. In most of the scriptures I have posted, people are saying “I will follow you but first let me….” And in essence Jesus’ response is “…you are not worthy of me” Or “you are not fit for service in the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 10:34-38, Luke 9:61-62). Today I picked up on when Jesus called the disciples and this was their response: “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew… Come, follow me, Jesus said… At once they left their nets and followed him.” Mat 4:18-20. Did you catch that?? AT ONCE they LEFT THEIR NETS and followed him! They didn’t say, “Ok, but wait until I…”  or “Dude, can’t you see we are fishing here? When we are done we will follow you!” NO! They dropped everything and followed Him “at once”!. (Peter was also married at the time). Let’s look at another one: “Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John... Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.” Matthew 4:21-22 Again, IMMEDIATELY they left their boat AND their father!! Ok, let’s do one more: “As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.” Matthew 9:9. It is important to note here that Matthew is a tax collector and more than likely had money in his booth… Matthew got up and walked away from his MONEY to follow Jesus!! Hey… you know what, I just had a little epiphany… Looking back at each example, they left their jobs, family and money! Aren’t those the very things we use as an excuse why we “can’t” follow Jesus??

“Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Matthew 19:21

While the sacrifices I have made have been painful, the blessings of HIM have made these sacrifices MORE than worth it!! YES, His teachings and words ARE hard but they are LIFE! My heart for the Body of Christ is that they too would take the chance and follow Jesus… with absolute surrender and dependence on HIM. Not choosing to turn back (to the law) but truly going all out to follow Jesus! Are we willing to give up “everything we have” to follow Him? My prayer is that there would be more of us that would drop everything immediately, and at once, to follow Him when He calls us! Lord, give us eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to follow YOU! Lord, help us to be more like Peter when he said “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” John 6:68

   

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:28-33

By Linda and Tom

Who is our Teacher?

By Linda and Tom

“But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Matthew 23:8-12

I have to confess something. Years ago when I read the above scripture I only “saw” one part: “And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.” I think it was because Tom was raised Catholic so I picked up on the “father” part and wondered why, since it so clearly states “do not call anyone on earth 'father”, they opted to call their priests “father”?? That just seemed so strange to me… hadn’t they read this scripture??

But, fast forward a few years, I realized that I was just as guilty of not reading the scripture because that is not all this scripture is saying!! Apparently God, being “God”, knew what we would end up doing as a church and he warned us against it ahead of time! The Catholic Church isn’t the only ones who missed this scripture. Don’t we as believers call our Pastors, Leaders and Ministers “teachers”? Don’t we look to THEM for our insight into God? Apparently the Catholic Church isn’t the only ones who missed this!

Just to make sure I was understanding what Jesus was saying, I looked up the words Jesus said NOT to call people to get a better feel for His meaning. Here are the definitions for the words from the concordance:

Rabbi = Of Hebrew origin with pronominal suffix; my master, that is, Rabbi, as an official title of honor: - Master, Rabbi.

Father = apparently a primary word; a “father” (literally or figuratively, near or more remote): - father, parent.

Teacher = a guide, that is, (figuratively) a teacher: - master.

(Just as a side note, I was raised Hindu for a few years and was taught to call the Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda, “Master” when I prayed to him. DOH! I find this so interesting that the very words Jesus said NOT to use are being used by different religious groups!)

So, going back to the above scripture, I think the key statement Jesus makes is “…for you have only one Master and you are all brothers…”! His point being that we are all equals and on the same “level”. We are not to be above or below each other, although we can be ahead or behind someone on our journey’s road. Another reason we should look to God as our Teacher is that we are all human and broken and we see things through very different “filters”, and if we look to one another to be taught, won’t we lead each other astray? I know I am guilty of that!! I don’t mean that we shouldn’t share our testimony or experiences on our journey with the Lord, that is good stuff and it helps and encourages us. Jesus even calls us to be “witnesses” (Acts 1:8) but there is a big difference between “witnessing/sharing” what I have personally experienced or learned and imparting the experiential “knowledge” of God.  When a person teaches it is “gnosis”, which is intelligence or head knowledge. What the Spirit teaches is “Epignosis” which is experiential knowledge (“My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” Job 42:5 …“Taste and see that the LORD is good” Psalm 34:8). Paul prays that the Holy Spirit will give us the “knowledge” of God (Colossians 1:9 and Ephesians 1:15-19). And He is the only one who CAN do that. We, as a body and individual believers should look to God alone to reveal Himself to us so that we can truly “know” Him (Epignosis), and not just “know about” Him (Gnosis).

Just so you don’t think I am making all this stuff up, here are some scriptures I found of Jesus confirming who our Teacher should be:

“When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say." Luke 12:11-12 (see also Matthew 10:19-20)

“Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.” Mark 13:11

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me…” John 6:44-48 (“All your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children's peace.” Isaiah 54:13)

 “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29

“… These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” John 14:24-26

(Did you catch that?? Let’s read that last part again: “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”)

“However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all Truth; for He will not speak things originating from Himself, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will make known to you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will receive from what is Mine and make it known to you.” John 16:13-14

Here is another scripture in 1 John:

“I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit--just as it has taught you, remain in him.” 1 John 2:26-27

I think we have all have fallen into a trap of looking to each other to be taught rather than looking to God! Jesus tells us in the above scriptures that we need to look to the Holy Spirit (ultimately it is God) for our teaching, understanding and knowledge. He didn’t say for us to set up a hierarchy, or look to each other, placing the more educated over the less educated.

 I believe the trap we have fallen into is what Jesus mentions in this scripture:

“Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,  and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:25-27 (see also Mark 10:42-45 and Luke 22:25-27)

Have we become more like “the rulers of the Gentiles” and taken up the world’s ways, placing ourselves above one another and “exercising authority” over each other?? He says “NOT SO WITH YOU…” Yet… isn’t that what we have become?? Aren’t we told that our “leaders” have authority over us? Don’t they claim to be our “covering”? Jesus demonstrated a “Bottom up leadership model, not a top down one “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,” We need to lead by serving and not serve by leading. (“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Matthew 23:12)

Here are a couple more scriptures to consider. In 1 Corinthians and Galatians Paul is saying that he was NOT taught by any man but by the “Spirit of Jesus”. And he made it his mission to tell people about Jesus so they too could learn from Jesus themselves, through the Spirit, about who God is.

“When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God... I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power…-- but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit…  This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:1-16

“I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.” Galatians 1:11-12

In conclusion, this is “my” understanding, and can even say my experience, of who our Teacher should be, but I want to encourage you to seek, and to ask God for yourself if these words are true! Don’t just take my word for it :)

“You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” John 13:13-17

I want to echo Paul’s prayer for us all: “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” Ephesians 1:15-19

Father, I thank you that you have given us everything we need for life and godliness and You are fully able to teach, guide and direct us when we look to You for all things, but especially when we seek to KNOW You and love You with ALL of our hearts. With all my love, your daughter, Linda :)

The BODY of Christ…

Part 2 - The Continuation of “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb”…

“Bridal Theology is found nowhere in Scripture. It is a false teaching that has its roots in the Roman Church as far back as the third-century A.D. The church is most often described as Christ's body, but again, never as a "bride". http://www.looktotheeast.com/bride_of_christ.htm

In my last blog I wrote out the first part of the process of my astonishing discovery that the “church” is NOT the “Bride of Christ” as I had been taught and believed for most of my Christian walk. And initially, my first thought was that Israel was the bride, but after some more research I am not convinced of that either. So, at this point in time, I am inclined to believe what the Revelation 21:9-10 scripture states very clearly, that the bride of the Lamb is the Holy City of Jerusalem. Not the Church, and not Israel (I know, it is kind of weird to think of a “city” as the bride… but that is what it says). Then I listed all the scriptures that stated what Jesus called the Jewish believers and He mostly called them Friends and Guests (of the wedding banquet) and a couple times, children, sons and daughters. Never did he call them “bride” nor did he ever allude to it. Again, if the church or Israel WERE the bride, I would think Jesus would have said SOMETHING about it… right?

Jesus spent most of His time with the Jewish community, but it is understood that Paul’s ministry was to the gentiles so in this blog I wanted to address the terminology Paul used, which is that we are the “body” of Christ. In some of the websites I researched on the “bride” topic there appears to be some confusion regarding a couple scriptures (two in particular) that Paul used in his writings to the gentile believers. These scriptures are being used to back up the belief that the church is the bride. But, if we remove the “bridal theology” filters, we can clearly see that most of what Paul talked about was that we are the BODY of Christ and he never says we are the bride. The scripture in 2 Corinthians 11:2-5 is one of the scriptures used to back up the bridal theology:

“I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough…” 2 Corinthians 11:2-4

The following is an excellent explanation regarding the above scripture that I couldn’t have said better: “Paul’s point was to encourage the Corinthians to remain faithful to Christ and his gospel (1 Corinthians 15.1-4). Paul constantly had to defend his ministry–from both unbelievers and believers. From his words in this passage he recognized he was not the most polished speaker. But in terms of knowledge, he was far ahead of anyone else: he was God’s apostle to the Gentiles (Romans 11.13). The risen Lord had commissioned him and revealed to him secrets no one else knew.³ Paul’s choice of words to the Corinthians, “present you as a pure virgin” was to illustrate his desire for holy living for these believers, not to teach that the Church is the bride of Christ–any more than Paul taught that he was their mother (Galatians 4.19) or their father (1 Corinthians 4.15).” (doctrine.org)

Here is the other scripture that is used to promote the church as the bride, but they stop short and don’t finish reading the statement Paul is making. He never says we are the bride and if we keep reading, he clearly says we are the BODY several times:

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church-- for we are members of his body. Ephesians 5:22-30

I think that Paul, like God, uses the analogy of “marriage” to try to help his readers understand the “intimacy” aspect of our relationship with Christ. The goal of pursuing God with all our hearts is so that, as we get to know Him, we become more and more like Him. Being renewed and transformed into HIS likeness. “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you…” Galatians 4:19 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18. Which makes more sense when we think of being a part of His Body.

The two scriptures I mentioned above are the only ones that can remotely be used to promote the bridal theology but in most of the letters Paul wrote he used the Body of Christ analogy more than any other, and never does he use the term “bride of Christ”. Oh, and just as a side note here, Paul is the only New Testament writer that uses this “body” terminology. None of the other writers use this term and neither does Jesus. This seems to be strictly a “Paul’ism” and a term only he used to describe our purpose here on earth until Jesus returns. Here are the many scriptures where Paul uses the “body” analogy:

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:4-5

“Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.” 1 Corinthians 10:16-17

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-- whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

“And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” Ephesians 1:22-23

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called“   Ephesians 4:1-4

“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-13

“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” Colossians 1:17-18

“Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.” Colossians 1:24

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:15

If nothing else, these 9 scriptures clearly stating we are the body, in my mind, overwhelm the two scriptures that, if you try real hard, and are looking through a “bridal theology” filter, can sort of make a case for the bride… So, the next question is, can we be the body and the bride?? Possibly…?? But, I am not seeing this in scripture either. I keep going back to what JESUS said, and He didn’t say anything regarding this at all. He just says that we are His friends and guests. His words have the most weight and authority in my mind.

So, to wrap this up, this is how I now see this whole Bride and Body thing. Again, not that I have figured this all out, and I get that there is still a lot I don’t understand, but this is where I am right now. During Jesus’ ministry here on earth He referred to us as friends and guests. Once Jesus died, was resurrected, and ascended to sit at the right hand of God, He commissioned us, the Christian believers (Jews and Gentiles alike), to be His hands, feet and voice spreading the gospel until He returns. Paul’s terminology for this is that we are His BODY here on earth, and Jesus is the HEAD. We are doing His work and, as we pursue our relationship with the Lord, the Holy Spirit will move in and through us directing us to do His will, for His Kingdom purposes. When it is all said and done, after the current heavens and earth pass away and the new heaven and new earth is formed, we will be invited to the wedding banquet (or supper) of the Lamb, as friends and guests of the Son of God, and celebrate with Him in the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, His bride! (Tom is pretty sure there is major significance to the City being the bride and we are asking the Lord to show us)

Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' " And he added, "These are the true words of God." Revelation 19:7-9

Father, I thank you so much for this opportunity to search the scriptures to find Your truth. I know I have SO much more to learn and I pray that I am able to see and hear Your truth as you remove the “religious” and “doctrinal” filters that I have incorrectly believed for so long. YOUR truth, Lord, is all I want! Only You. With all my heart, Linda :)