Is the Bride of Christ an Individual or a Group?

Question from a reader:

In your Heaven book, you say that at the wedding feast of the Lamb we’ll not be guests; rather, we’ll be the bride. Does that mean as a group? Or as just one person?

Answer from Karen Coleman, EPM Ministry Assistant:

We can think of the Bride as one entity. But it’s like all the students of a school can be called together “the school.” Many students make up one school. Or even better, all believers in Jesus can be called together “the Church.” It’s one thing made up of many members.

That seems to be the metaphor of the Bride of Christ as well. All the saints together make up one Bride of Christ. When Randy pictures it in his book, he’s not saying each of us will have an individual wedding with Jesus. He writes in Heaven, “We aren’t individual brides of Christ; we are collectively the bride of Christ. Christ is not a polygamist. He will be married to one bride, not millions.”

How does that work? Ultimately, some of our questions may not be answered on Earth. We may have to wait until we get to Heaven to understand many of the things that puzzle us here. I like to remind myself of what King David said in Psalm 131:

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.

David recognized that some things are just too great and too marvelous for us. But we can hope in the Lord, because we know He has all the answers and He will reveal them to us in His perfect time. 

Karen Coleman served as a ministry assistant at Eternal Perspective Ministries for three and a half years. She spent 23 years in Cameroon, West Africa involved in Bible translation and missionary care. Before going to Africa and before EPM began, she served as Randy’s assistant when he was a pastor. In June 2018, Karen went to be with Jesus. 

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