EPHESIANS 5:21-33

In this passage, Paul quotes from Genesis 2:24 about the union of Adam and Eve and applies it to the union of Christ to the church. This sort of analogy appears in several other places in the Bible.

Isaiah, in 54:5-8, treats Jerusalem (Israel) as the bride of God.

Hosea 2:16-20 uses Hosea's marriage as a type of God's marriage to Israel.

2 Corinthians 11:2 shows that Paul treats the particular church at Corinth as the intended bride of Christ.

In Revelation 19:7, 21:2 & 9, and 22:17, the city of New Jerusalem (standing for the whole church, according to most commentators) is the bride of Christ.

In all of these images, it is the corporate body that is compared to the bride. However, this does not exclude the idea of the individual believer being “married” to Christ. This more personalized application of the Genesis passage is seen in Ephesians 5:30. There, according to the Anchor Bible commentary, “Paul wanted to assert that what is valid for the church as a whole also benefits 'each one' of the saints.” This idea is also expressed in Ephesians 4:25 where we are each said to be members of one another.