is the Ecclesia the bride?

Does Paul teach in 2 Corinthians 11:2 that the Ecclesia is the bride of Christ? A few considerations.

the covenant as a marriage relationship

In our so-called “Old Testament” (the Hebrew Bible), the relationship between God and the people of Israel is often described in terms of a marriage relationship. The old covenant that was made at Sinai therefore had the character of a marriage covenant (Jer. 2:2), with the land of Israel as the marital dwelling. When Israel went after other gods, this is consistently labeled as prostitution (Ezek. 16:32). Now, in our days, the old covenant has been terminated (Heb. 8:13), but the promise is that God will make a new covenant with a restored and believing people (Jer. 31:31). To this day, that still lies in the future, and the wedding is still waiting (Hos. 2:18,19). But the identity of both the bridegroom and the bride is fixed in advance. It is YHWH GOD who, represented in the Messiah, is the Bridegroom, and Israel is the bride.

no different in “the New Testament”

This line is assumed as known and confirmed in the so-called “New Testament” (the Greek Bible). During Jesus’ ministry among the people of Israel, He presented Himself as the bridegroom (Matt. 9:15; John 3:29). In the book of Revelation, the theme of “the bride of the Lamb” and the wedding (Rev. 19) again comes emphatically to the fore. The wedding is the Millennium (“the third day”; compare John 2:1), in which all nations are invited as guests to celebrate the wedding feast of the Bridegroom and the bride, Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2).

in Paul’s letters no bride…

In Paul’s letters, the words “bride” and “wedding” do not occur at all. The Ecclesia is never presented as bride, but as “one body,” in fellowship with Christ, who is the Head. This fellowship is not reserved for the future, but is already experienced now. It is an even far more intimate relationship than that between bridegroom and bride!

one exception?

Now there is one verse in Paul’s letters that is often brought forward in support of the idea that the present Ecclesia too would fulfill the role of bride. People then point to 2 Corinthians 11:2, where Paul writes:

For I am jealous over you with a jealousy of God. For I joined you to one man, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

Although the word “bride” is not used here, that association does suggest itself because of the words “one man” and “a pure (=clean) virgin.” But before drawing conclusions from this, we would do well first to consider the context in which this verse stands.

Paul’s jealousy

For Paul, a holy jealousy is at play in his relationship to the Corinthians because of preachers who were trying to infiltrate Corinth and, in doing so, were discrediting Paul. Paul calls them false apostles and deceitful workers (11:13). They brought “another evangel” than the one he himself had proclaimed to them (11:4). He could not possibly tolerate them, and that is why he is jealous. He wanted to bind the Corinthians to himself so that they would remain with the message they had received through him. It is for this reason that by “one man,” Paul is referring to himself: he wanted to keep the Corinthians virginally pure.

foolishness

Naturally, such words could be experienced by the Corinthians as an exaggerated claim. Paul is aware of this, and that is why he begins by apologizing to them.

1 Oh, that you bore with me in a little foolishness. But do bear with me. 2 For I am jealous over you with a jealousy of God. For I joined you to one man, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

Just as a jealous man cannot bear it when his virginal betrothed involves herself with other men, so Paul does not tolerate the Corinthians flirting with the false apostles. He realizes that this is a daring comparison, and therefore he apologizes for it in advance. Later he repeats this apology (11:16).

conclusion

That Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:2 would be teaching that the Ecclesia is the bride of Christ is not only explicitly absent from this text. It is also not in agreement with the thrust of this passage, which in any case does not have a teaching character. Paul writes non-rationally (“foolishly”) about his own relationship to the Corinthians and apologizes for the rather inflated comparison. But in any case, it has nothing to do with the idea that the Ecclesia would be the bride of Christ.

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