Would Jesus express His Love for His Bride any less than how we are called to Love our wives (or husbands as the case may be)?
Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in Ephesians 5:
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also Loved the church and gave Himself for her,
26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word,
27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
Paul provides us with THE STANDARD of how Jesus sees His Bride! He cherishes her and only wants the best for her. He would in no way put her in harm’s way to suffer the wrath of GOD. A Loving FATHER will not hurt HIS Son’s Bride with judgment meant for the lawless!
28 So husbands ought to Love their own wives as their own bodies; he who Loves his wife Loves himself.
29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.
For those of you who have truly been in Love, you can appreciate this passage. You will steer away your spouse from any risk of pain, affliction, or death. Instead, you will protect your spouse by any means necessary at your disposal. Would you expect Jesus to be any less Loving toward His Bride?
30 For we are members of His Body, of His Flesh and of His Bones.
31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so Love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Why is this such a great mystery? It is because people do not understand the brevity of Agape Love and Its application toward us. The Love of Jesus is beyond our understanding but that should not dissuade us from pursuing a deeper understanding every single day of our life.
Would you separate yourself from all who Love you to pursue certain death for those who not only don’t Love you but don’t even know you? Would you willingly suffer extreme pain and death for the ungodly? Would you do it for your son or daughter?
It is rather easy to put a plan together, but implementing the plan is where the challenge lies. Jesus suffered full separation from FATHER for you and me. Why would He put His Bride in harm’s way?
Paul ends this passage with a very critical phrase: let the wife see that she respects her husband.
What is your level of respect for Jesus? The word respect means: a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements. How frequently I see people place certain people on a pedestal: movie stars, athletes, singers, wealthy people, etc. Where is Jesus in your level of respect and admiration?
What is the point of Paul’s comparison? He knew that the Bride would be taken from the earth before Jacob’s Trouble. His two letters to the Thessalonians reveal this. If you focus on what he said in these letters, you will find that he wrote about the rapture in his initial visit to their church.