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We are both the body and the bride of Jesus Christ. These expressions are analogies to help us understand our relationship with the Lord and one another. As the body of Christ, we are each members just as our physical bodies are composed of many members. As the body, Jesus is the Head, which indicates that He exercises authority over the members of the body. As the bride of Christ, we are connected to Jesus as a bride is to her husband. Both of these expressions describe the believers as a group in their relationship with the Lord. We are not the body or the bride individually but only as members of the group (the church).
The book of Ephesians describes the church as the body of Christ with Jesus as the head (chapters 1 and 4) and as the bride of Christ with Jesus as the husband (chapter 5). It also describes the church as a building with Jesus as the Chief Cornerstone of the foundation (chapter 2). Each of these analogies expresses our connectedness and total dependence on Jesus Christr.
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