Our relationship with God is very unique. I was thinking about it recently, and it struck me as unusual that, on one hand, we are called "sons and daughters of God" (John 1:12-13), and on the other hand, we are the future "Bride of Christ" (Rev. 19:7-8). That means that He has not only adopted us as sons and daughters, but He also has given us as His Son's Bride.
The reason why that is so important is that means that we are not merely "in-lawed" to God the Father, but we are legally adopted as His very own, AND legally united with Christ as His very own. That is huge!
I love this picture, because it gives us a clearer understanding of what Jesus really did for us. As the perfect Groom, Jesus rescued and cleansed us by making the ultimate sacrifice and taking upon Himself our sin and wretchedness, absorbing the righteous wrath of God that was piled up against us (propitiation - Eph. 2:13-14).
Not only that, but He went even further by then purifying His Bride by imputing to us His righteousness (expiation - Eph. 2:4-6). In other words, He loved us so much that He not only gave Himself for us in death (first gift), thereby taking on our sin, which means that He emptied Himself of His righteousness (Phil. 2:5-8), but He then gave us a second gift of grace by filling us with His righteousness (Rom. 3:21-26). We are a part of the greatest love story in history!
Random thought: Where does the Holy Spirit fit into this picture? Could it be that the Holy Spirit acts as our "pre-marital counselor?" Think about it, as the betrothed to Christ, we have been justified (sanctified) by Him, but as we wait, the bible says we are being sanctified by the Holy Spirit and His word so that we look more and more like Christ (Rom. 15:15-16; Eph. 5:25-27; Heb. 10:13-18).
I love how these relationships (especially the triune relationship - Father, Son, & Holy Spirit) work together for the good of the Church and the glory of God. It puts a new light on our relationship with God, His love and passionate pursuit of us, and the very nature of our salvation. We are the beneficiaries of God's elaborate plan to glorify Himself. In the end, our salvation is the blood-bought gift of seeing and savoring the glory of Christ. The saving love of God is the gift of Himself.
