THE CHURCH as the Universal Church which is the Body and Bride of Christ, and the local Church.
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.
Col 1:18 (NIV)
Now you are the body of Christ,
and each one of you is a part of it.
1 Cor 12:27 (NIV)
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.
"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother
and be united to his wife,
and the two will become one flesh."
This is a profound mystery —
but I am talking about Christ and the church.
Eph 5:25-32 (NIV)
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.)
Rev 19:7-8 (NIV)
Let us not give up meeting together,
as some are in the habit of doing,
but let us encourage one another —
and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Heb 10:25 (NIV)
