Speaker 1: 0:07

Hello friends.

Speaker 2: 0:08

Welcome to the Rooted and.

Speaker 3: 0:09

Grounded podcast.

Speaker 2: 0:10

How are you guys doing?

Speaker 1: 0:11

Good it's a wedding day, so to speak.

Speaker 2: 0:14

Wedding day Wedding bells in the air.

Speaker 1: 0:16

That's always special. So, as we get started today, and before we get into the serious stuff, I'm curious guys started today and before we we get into the serious stuff, I'm curious guys.

Speaker 2: 0:27

Um, thinking back to your brides, when did you know, or did you know that, uh, she was the one well, I knew that aaron was the one when I told a joke and she laughed because I knew she was saying bless his heart, don't nobody ever laugh at those jokes.

Speaker 3: 0:49

He needs help, I can help him.

Speaker 2: 0:52

I knew I needed to snag that, because if I didn't, I may not ever catch one again like that.

Speaker 3: 1:01

Don't let this one off the hook.

Speaker 1: 1:05

Real baby. It hasn't worked in a long time, but this one Real real Finally worked. I got that one on the shore quick boys Wayne.

Speaker 3: 1:16

I guess after like the third time Davey asked me to marry her. I hope she misses this episode, no. You know, it happened really quick for us because we met and we're engaged in a month and married three months later. Because, listen, in all seriousness, I knew real quick, man, I can't let this one get away Like whenever your father told you this was your bride I bet you're gonna give that I want her that is right yeah, and I would say for mine, um, just like knowing me, there was no one else um that was willing to tolerate me.

Speaker 2: 2:02

And then Andrea came along, thankfully, and you said thank you Lord, thank you Lord. Yeah, well, and you?

Speaker 1: 2:09

hear people say like oh, it was the way the sunlight hit them, or this, Like I don't think there was an exact moment, but I think pretty quickly.

Speaker 2: 2:16

It's like there's something different about this one.

Speaker 1: 2:19

Yeah, we ask that question today because we are going to talk about the bride of Christ, and obviously not a physical female bride like the three of us have, but the bride of the church, and last episode we spent time looking through the gospel of that set what the church is as the way, and it's the way to Jesus. And today we're going to look at another facet of the church, and that is the church as the way and it's the way to Jesus. And today we're going to look at another facet of the church, and that is the church as the bride of Christ. And so, matt, why don't you kick us off? Talk some about that aspect of the bride and how the church shares in similarities to the brides that we think of today.

Speaker 2: 2:59

Yeah, I think it's no coincidence that this setup or this mindset of the church being something that the Lord, just you know, loves and adores and cherishes. But you know, we kind of were all talking about this and I'm glad we did for the setup, because this is true, that when you first meet that girl, that when you first meet that girl, you don't I mean, people may say, man, it was love at first sight, but you ain't talked to them yet, you know, and and basically what you're going off of, if you haven't even spoke to him, is the looks, right, no doubt. But I think you start liking that person because you can communicate with each other. You're thinking the same things. You start, you know, you, you're able to carry on good conversation and now, all of a sudden you move from.

Speaker 2: 3:52

I remember, you know, being with Aaron for a little bit and I, you know, I'd always thought in my mind, just thinking, and I'm like I, she may be somebody I could marry. And as time went on, I'm just like this is it. And it moved from that like to I love her. You know, and I always joke about that. The first time I told her I loved her, she didn't say nothing back. I'm like well, does she love me? My?

Speaker 1: 4:24

future bride needs hearing aids.

Speaker 2: 4:28

I mean I worked the whole deal up and said, and she's crickets. I'm like okay, well, I'll see you later.

Speaker 3: 4:38

I don't know what to do.

Speaker 2: 4:39

Maybe not right, I didn't know, but it was at EYC. I talked about this idea of the beauty of the bride and one of the things that I was talking about was this idea of you know, the groom looks at that bride and we're going to talk about it in the next episode, but but she's beautiful to him and you know there's a lot of thoughts that are going through his mind that have led him to that point. You know the idea of we're going to get to have a relationship with each other forever. You know that idea of you know she loves me just as much as I love her and the appreciation that they have for each other.

Speaker 2: 5:25

And I just think that when you you think about the wedding and that ceremony and you think about the things that are said there, it's through thick and thin, it's through. You know the good and the bad. You know you are making a promise to the Lord and when we're talking about this in a spiritual way, that you know I'm going to hang with you. But the beauty of what we see in scripture is oh, I'm hanging with you because I picked you. You know like I picked this, this, this is my bride, and the confidence that comes with that. I think God shows just how much he appreciates the bride.

Speaker 3: 6:06

Yeah, and you know you were thinking there about all the happenings, the events, the things you do together, the conversations, the special moments that led to that love. It just didn't, you know, like you said, love at first sight, yeah, you better open your eyes Right.

Speaker 3: 6:22

Okay, you're kind of squinting right now, but the reality is it takes time for that to develop. You know, you may recognize quickly, you know that boy. There's something special about this individual. Never felt this before, never thought this before. But that happens over time, over events, over just being together, sharing, sharing your heart, sharing your dreams, sharing your hurts, times of joy and excitement.

Speaker 3: 6:59

And when I think about Christ and the church, the way becoming and being the bride of Christ, you know it's the same thing. It didn't happen by accident, this wasn't an afterthought of God, this wasn't because well fell out of love with that one. I'm going to go ahead and do this. When you go back and look in the Old Testament and we could look at several prophecies you know, and find the fulfillment of them in Acts 2. But really, when you think about the relationship of Jesus and the church as his bride, it goes all the way back. I just want us to mention one for time's sake.

Speaker 3: 7:37

You look at Isaiah 40. That's just a beautiful passage when he says in verse 3, I'm making a way now. He says a voice is calling clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness. How are you going to do that? He says well, you're going to have to make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, every mountain and hill be made low. Why Verse 5.?

Speaker 3: 8:11

So when I read that passage and, as we said, many, many others, what I see is this is something very special. It was already prophesied here. It was talked about all the way back in the book of Isaiah and even earlier. If you wanted to, you go all the way back to the book of Genesis. But because of that beautiful relationship as the bride of it was, it was prophesied and you know, it's one thing to prophesy it or to predict it, or to tell you it's going to happen, but to see the fulfillment of it is the, is the depth and the riches of it. And you know, and when you come to the new testament, man, we find that taking place you know, yeah, yeah, the.

Speaker 2: 8:57

I think when you said something about Genesis, when you go all the way back and you think about what God said, you know it'll be the man and the woman come away from their parents and they become one flesh. Well, you think about the beauty of the church and you think about what we are. We're the body, like we marry into this relationship and now, all of a sudden, we become one flesh, like we become the body of Jesus. And you know, the power of this is talked about long ago.

Speaker 2: 9:30

It was something, and this is why I love the Bible, because this was not an afterthought. But what he does is he. It builds through time and I mean what a blessing we have the 2020, because we get to look back and see the whole thing unfold, because you know, just like this was prophesied, now, all of a sudden, we see John taking the next step, you know, into this reality of something that's coming and you know it's something that's beautiful, it's something that you know is. You know I talked about it again, I said this at EYC during Christmas was it's breathtaking and it's about to unfold, and it unfolds in these certain ways and then, when it's fully revealed, it's like wow unfolds in these certain ways and then, when it's fully revealed, it's like wow, yeah, we see it prophesied in Isaiah.

Speaker 3: 10:23

But then we see John the baptizer clearing the way for the way. That's right.

Speaker 1: 10:25

Yeah Well, and to that point you think about a wedding or even a relationship, the work that other people do to make things happen. And so I think about my wife and I. We were introduced through mutual friends, and so I think about my wife and I, like, we were introduced through mutual friends, and had it not been through those friends who knew, who knows if we would have ever met Right, or you think about every wedding.

Speaker 1: 10:45

Most every wedding has a wedding party and it's friends and family who are there to share in the joy but also to help make sure that the wedding goes smoothly and that everything is how it needs to be. And when we look at John, I can't help but just kind of think of him as the best man.

Speaker 1: 11:00

Yeah, and and and listen to these words from John, chapter three, beginning of verse 26. And they came to John and they said rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness, look, he is baptizing and all are going to him. The Jordan, to whom you bore witness, look, he is baptizing and all are going to him. John answered a person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bore me witness that I said I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.

Speaker 2: 11:46

Preach it boy.

Speaker 1: 11:47

Yes, and so John the baptizer. He prepares the way. He fulfills that prophecy, Wayne, that you read from Isaiah. That's right, he's the voice of one calling in the wilderness. And now that the groom is here, john says I'm done.

Speaker 2: 12:01

Yep my work is complete.

Speaker 1: 12:02

My joy is full. It is time for him to increase and for me to fade away.

Speaker 2: 12:08

You know, I think, the what is John. You know he knows the Spirit is, you know, giving him some information and you know he knows the Spirit is, you know, giving him some information. We know that the Spirit is upon him and you know he's being, you know, told these things that he needs to proclaim and the things that he needs to say. But in that moment when he sees Jesus and he uses think about the terminology that he uses he says it's the bridegroom, there he is, and look at what he understands and what he's seeing is these people being baptized. He's seeing this development, real early on, of something that is just so joyful.

Speaker 2: 12:49

Now to what understanding. I don't know what John was fully seeing and I'm not trying to get into that, but what I am saying is John recognized that something special was here and he says I got to decrease because that guy has got to increase, because he's got a love for somebody that is beyond what I could even dream of doing. And I think you know it is such a beautiful picture that we can see and understand when we think about what that bride looks like and how beautiful that bride is, and just the things that are developed in order for that relationship to be. You know, bride and groom together as one. I think it paints such a perfect picture of what the relationship is between Christ and the church picture of what the relationship is between Christ and the church.

Speaker 3: 13:39

Yeah, and you know you mentioned there about John saying he must decrease, fade away, you know, get into the background. And because he understood something we talked about in the last episode, he wasn't the way, guys. He wasn't the way. Jesus was the way, he was not the way. And Jesus is the bride.

Speaker 1: 13:56

Yeah Well, and just kind of staying at the wedding analogy, you think about the entire bridal party and I just imagine John, I imagine the apostles, I imagine Paul, just kind of all these early individuals who helped. But when you are at a wedding you don't remember the wedding party, but when you are at a wedding, you don't remember the wedding party, your focus isn't on the people that are the support staff your focus is on the people that are getting married, and for us, we get to be part of that wedding.

Speaker 2: 14:30

And we're not a groomsman, we're not a bridesmaid. We are part of the relationship and I think that's a beautiful thing, and so.

Speaker 1: 14:41

Wayne why don't you talk to us more about this promise that Jesus makes and gives for us to be part of that wedding?

Speaker 3: 14:44

Yeah, because that's exactly what Jesus pictured it to be. You know, if Jesus was going to paint a picture of the church of the being the way it's found in Matthew 16. And you know, jesus comes into this district or this area called Caesarea Philippi and he was asking hey, what's people saying around here? You know what's people thinking. I mean, what are you guys hearing? You know what's the word on the street. We might say you know who do people say that I the Son of man am.

Speaker 3: 15:13

And they started giving a variety of answers. You know, well, you know it's a little bit of confusion, because some say well, you know, is he Elijah or is he, you know, jeremiah? I mean, he's got to be one of these famous prophets. But then he gets down, he kind of hones down then and he focuses in and he says, okay, that's what all they say. But how about you guys? You've been my followers, what do you got to say? And Simon Peter answered up and said oh, hey, there's no doubt, we don't have to guess about this. I know that you are the Christ, that you're the promised one, that you're the Messiah, you're the one, the son of the living God. And Jesus, you know, in our terminology today, we might say good answer, good answer, correct answer, peter. And he even said blessed, are you First time? Good job buddy First time.

Speaker 2: 16:05

That's right, you've been messing up like a goofball all these times but now you got it.

Speaker 3: 16:10

Okay, you got it, man. Hey, he's arrived, Okay. And he says you're exactly right. And you know, because of that, there's this beautiful promise. He says and you know what I'm going to do, I will build my church. Talking about relationship. You know, when you talk about my wife, my husband, there's a relationship the bride and the bridegroom. And so when Jesus is talking about I will build my church, he's talking about a relationship. He's talking about a relationship. He's picturing something that is so wonderful and so beautiful and exciting that you're part of that family.

Speaker 2: 17:02

Again to go back and look at what we just started with today about.

Speaker 2: 17:04

We're part of something that is so unique and something so special that we've kind of seen the development of it going all the way to that point of love that he was willing to die for her. You think about the vows that they make and they say you know, repeat after me, I love you, blah, blah, blah. People make them up, but all of those things are vows to the spouse. We make a vow that we believe that Jesus Christ is the son of the living God, and that confession for these people in this time was a big deal. I mean, you know, like, how many sermons have you heard? And the illustrations on? You know Caesar wants you to claim him as Lord. But here these people were, you know, confessing that they believe that Jesus was that Christ, the son of the living God. And they're making a declaration, they're linking their self up to say, no, that's my man, that's my guy, that's the one you know, just like the bride.

Speaker 2: 17:52

You know, a lot of times when I perform weddings, one of the things that I'll say at the end of those vows is you know, spouse say to you know, or groom say to the bride I choose you to be my husband and I choose you to be my wife. That's very powerful because now, all of a sudden, I could pick anybody. But who did I pick? And I think you're on one when you're talking about the groomsmen and all the ones that are part of it. We, as God's people, are in that wedding. That is an incredible. We are the spotlight, you know and we're going to talk about it a little bit later, but you guys, it just spurred in my mind what Paul said in Philippians four, verse one. Therefore, my beloved and long for brethren, my joy and crown. So stand fast in the Lord. His joy and his crown was to elevate the people, to understand how important they are. They're the bride of Jesus Christ man that just is incredible.

Speaker 3: 18:52

And when he made the promise in Matthew 16, I mean, that was a commitment that he's going to carry, Just like in the vows. You know, I promise to do this. I promise to do that sickness. I'm building my church. I'm building my church. You're talking about a commitment that you're going to care for it. You're going to.

Speaker 2: 19:15

That's. I mean you just saying that he's saying his vows and we say our vows. I mean it truly is like marriage. Who could? Yeah, I mean it truly is like. Who could draw that up better? And it's all in the Bible. This just connection to this marriage between God and man, and this picture is being painted right here in the middle, really, of the gospel account in Matthew.

Speaker 1: 19:38

No, very, very true. And guys, I want to ask this question and if this takes is completely off the rails, I'm sorry.

Speaker 3: 19:45

Just say you're not going to answer.

Speaker 1: 19:49

But a lot of the language that is used is that we, as part of the church, are the bride of Christ, and I think for men specifically, that's kind of problematic, Like.

Speaker 1: 20:04

I don't want to be a bride, I've been a groom, I'm the man, I'm the protector. But it kind of flips and Christ says, no, you're going to be part of the bride, I'm going to be the groom. How do you reconcile that? Or what advice would you give especially to a man who may be reading that for the first time or newer, to thinking of the church as the bride of saying, okay, I can be part of the bride of Christ and everything's okay, I can still be the husband to my spouse, I can still serve in the body and all of this. What advice would you give for someone like that?

Speaker 2: 20:41

Well, I think I mean if you read Ephesians, chapter five, and you read that thought where he says in verse 23, for the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church and he's the savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let wives be to their own husbands and everything it's painting this picture, and really Ephesians five is that relationship between the church and Christ. Like when I'm looking at the illustration. I have to separate those two in understanding I'm not becoming a bride and putting a dress on.

Speaker 2: 21:22

That's not what I'm doing. But what I am doing is I have to realize that somebody loves me so much and I think that you can connect to that the men can when you realize what you looked at when your bride walked down the aisle, or when, when a, when a male watches a wedding and sees that it doesn't matter in in the world's view of whether that that girl is a one or a ten on the beauty scale. It does not matter if you're at a wedding and you're not married, but you're watching this and you see that bride, when everybody stands up and you see her, they're like there's something different about that. That's what I believe, that that that we're trying to draw people to, and that's what the bible's drawing them to, and that's what john was drawing them to. The bridegroom's here, but you're the bride it's a relationship it's the relationship that men get by.

Speaker 3: 22:17

In my mind, that's how men get by, that, yeah, it's not male or female, bride or groom, right, it's relationship, that's right, just like you have in a marriage. And so what we have is a marriage to Christ, because we've both seen in all the weddings we've been blessed to do, right. I've been standing there and you see this big, robust mustard guy and she pops through that back door and maybe he's seen her in that dress for the first time. I mean tears, just start flowing.

Speaker 3: 22:46

He's up there wiping snot and wiping his eyes and everything. Why? Because of relationship, and when we see what the church is as a relationship with the Savior of the world, it brings us to our knees in appreciation.

Speaker 2: 23:01

I think that it does press on the humility of the manly man. It presses on your humility to say there is somebody that loves you this much.

Speaker 1: 23:13

Well, and I think a good kind of counterpoint to that is if Christ loves the church as his bride, how do you love your bride?

Speaker 2: 23:23

And is it that same affectionate love?

Speaker 1: 23:25

And if it is, great, then you know and understand the longing that Christ has for you.

Speaker 3: 23:30

If not, there's things to consider. Yes, sir, relationship.

Speaker 1: 23:35

No, so thanks for letting me derail us there for a second. I love it I think this is episode 25 and I try to keep us on track as much as I can, but maybe, like every 25th episode, I can have a pass derailed that was a good day right, it was I mean well, while we're derailed just 30 seconds.

Speaker 1: 23:53

It was my first wedding to perform I was 21, 22 it was a a middle-aged couple rough around the edges, I think would be the polite way to do it, and like I, I've been going for like four or five minutes and he just becomes hysterical, like not tears flowing, like is he going to pass out, like oh like he was bawling and I'm lost. I don't have a clue what to do. I'm 20 years old, um, and then the wife.

Speaker 2: 24:25

She's like keep going, keep going great.

Speaker 1: 24:29

So, um, I was scarred to perform weddings. After that I've done a few more that have been a little better, but nonetheless, just always. I haven't thought about that in a while. This episode is taking me.

Speaker 3: 24:38

Let's say she knew him. Yeah, she knew he was going to be okay.

Speaker 2: 24:41

That's right.

Speaker 3: 24:41

That's right.

Speaker 1: 24:44

Y'all go ahead and kiss and let's go home.

Speaker 2: 24:46

Look, before we slide on past this, I do think that it is a good point that you brought up about men kind of on the surface, struggle with this idea of being considered the bride on the surface, struggle with this idea of being considered the bride. But I do think that you know, just like Wayne said, the relationship that they can connect with real quick is how much they love their bride. And you, you hit it Like when I understand how much I love my bride, then now all of a sudden I'm like, oh, it's a light bulb moment. You're like, oh, he's trying to say you know that feeling of how much you care for your spouse, Think about how much Jesus cares about you and how important you are to him. That's the game changer.

Speaker 3: 25:33

And that's far deeper than caring for your bride. Yes, because Jesus demonstrated that he showed it. Yes, because Jesus demonstrated that he showed it?

Speaker 1: 25:40

Yeah Well, and I think, while we've been at the wedding for so much of the episode, do you love your wife more today? No or did you love her more on the wedding day? More now?

Speaker 2: 25:52

Yeah, by far.

Speaker 3: 25:54

No comparison.

Speaker 1: 25:55

And I think with us and the church and with us in Christ. That's got to be the example of he loves us unconditionally, but just as our love for our wives has grown throughout our marriages. It's got to be the same with the church. And we have to commit and invest and do all those relational things to make sure that we present a healthy bride for the groom.

Speaker 2: 26:17

Absolutely Okay, this is good, good boys.

Speaker 1: 26:21

Yeah, so, um, thinking about kind of this idea of protection. And, matt, you touched on these briefly, but let's look at Ephesians five and I'm going to read verse 23 and verse 27 for us. And it says for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its savior, 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. And so guys talk a little bit about the protection that the bride has from the groom.

Speaker 2: 26:57

You just touched on this. What this does for the man is it presents us with a hard task, because what we say is we love our wives, but then it's like, how much do you? Because what he did was he nourishes and cherishes his wife. He actually did something that was very different in the fact that he, without spot or wrinkle, made us become perfect in his eyes. So I think there is a little bit of a separation in the fact that we're learning to love our wife more and more. He's always loved us. He's loved us before we were even created, and so now, all of a sudden, this elevates this idea of how much do I love my wife If I'm going to be, you know and we're talking about this marriage now, but you know because we're in Ephesians 5, but this idea of how much do I love my wife Well, how much I love my wife is showing this idea of how much I should love the church, and while people who aren't married can say, well, I don't know how it feels to love a wife because I'm not married.

Speaker 2: 28:12

You understand the principle, though. You do understand the principle because you've seen it in grandma and grandpa, mom and dad, and you've seen it in. You know, you see it in these, these pictures of boyfriend and girlfriend and how you like, you know people and so there is that feeling that you have in that understanding. But I think what elevates this idea is and just for me, and it does make me a little bit emotional this idea that we should be holy and without blemish. This idea that we should be holy and without blemish, he gave everything to create dirty, nasty people, perfect, holy, set apart. And you know that we always you've heard lessons on I'll build my church, the ecclesia, the set out people, the set apart, the ones who are separate, and that's an incredible thing. How am I elevating, you know, my love for the Lord? Is it that way or is it just superficial?

Speaker 1: 29:21

I think it creates another layer of depth of love for the Lord. Well, and I think, as you read Ephesians five, like, is it a passage about the husband and wife or is it a passage about Christ in the church? Because I think the language is so strong for either one that it's impossible to separate. But they don't need to be separated Right, because if you have a spouse and you're reading Ephesians, then chances are you're in the church and vice versa. If you are reading about how the church loves the bride or how Christ loves the church as his bride, then you have to have the same mind, you have to be the servant, you have to be willing to die for the spouse and for what that creates. And I love that passage in Ephesians 5 because there's not a better analogy for the church and I don't think there's a better analogy for marriage than those two.

Speaker 3: 30:09

Right, I don't think we need to be trying to separate them. No, because there is no separation really.

Speaker 1: 30:16

No, and kind of along those lines. 2 Corinthians 11 too, paul says For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

Speaker 2: 30:26

So there's more of that language that we've talked about the whole episode. Yeah, that's great.

Speaker 1: 30:32

So, guys, obviously another really intriguing discussion as we think about what the church is and what the church should be, and our role within that. But what's our takeaway, wayne? Make it real for us.

Speaker 3: 30:44

Oh, just what a blessing it is to be able to think about being a part of the bride, being the bride of Christ, the church a part of it, and to be able to be presented to God whole and blameless Guys. What a blessing that is for us to be able to be cleansed because we're married to Christ.

Speaker 2: 31:04

Yeah, I would say physically speaking, if you're married or if you're not married, you're married to Jesus Christ. You are I mean, you are the bride of Jesus Christ. That's something that's unbelievable.

Speaker 1: 31:23

He picked you so yeah, well, and for me is what kind of spouse are you? You think about all the phases and things that a human marriage goes through, the ebbs and flows, the good and the bad, but both parties have to make that decision that they are going to commit, that they're going to stay faithful. And we ask that same question with the church what kind of spouse are you? Are you committing to Christ? Are you committing to the church, no matter what happens? Are you going to be there in the good times, in the bad times? And just as Christ is always going to be faithful to us, we have to ask that question of how faithful are we going to be to him. So, guys, great discussion and we'll carry it on you.