The Pure and Chaste Bride
Paul tells the Corinthian church that they are to be presented as a pure and chaste bride to Christ. This means Paul is acting as the matchmaker between Christ and the Corinthian believers. The Corinthians have not seen Christ with their own eyes, yet when Paul speaks of accepting Him as their Bridegroom, they accept it. Likewise today, believers who have not seen Christ in person agree to become His bride when preachers call them to do so. Paul wants to present the Corinthians to Christ as a pure virgin. "Pure virgin" means having no relationship with other men and being without blame or reproach. Today's believers too should be like pure virgins — free from blame, unstained by defilement.
"Betrothed you to one husband" — this refers to the act of betrothal and matchmaking. Believers have not yet married Christ; they will marry Him only after being carried up to heaven in the rapture. "To present you to Christ" means Paul's responsibility is to present the Corinthians to Christ. Preachers too have this duty: to present believers to Christ as a pure, blameless bride. When presenting them, he wants them presented like a pure and chaste virgin — without sin or blemish, without reproach, especially free from any relationship with other men. Likewise, believers must be free from the defilement of sin. What makes believers unclean? Worldly things. Anything loved more than Christ, anything that feeds you, anything valued above Him — all these make one unclean. Jesus Himself said: "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me." (Matthew 10:37-38). Christ does not want us to love anything above Him. One might ask, "Is this even possible?" — Yes, it is possible. He does not say we must hate our parents and children; rather, we must love them less than Him. Yet today believers love their spouses, parents, siblings, jobs, money, hobbies, ethnicity, politics, positions, and power more than Christ. Therefore what Christ says seems completely impossible. But if Christ is the most beloved, all these things become secondary.
"Jealous for you with godly jealousy" — Paul is deeply concerned about the Corinthians falling away and becoming defiled. Why does he worry so? Because he is their matchmaker. A matchmaker worries greatly when the woman she has betrothed falls back into sin. Though he himself will not marry her, because he loves his friend, he wants to entrust the woman she prays for to her fiancé with great care. Once married, his responsibility is fulfilled and he no longer worries or grieves, because the husband will now protect and guard her.
Today's believers too could be pure and blameless like virgins. But it is very sad that believers live defiled lives because they love this world more than Christ. Instead of hoping to meet their Bridegroom — Christ — they eagerly pursue what the world offers. Even preacher-matchmakers themselves live defiled lives, so believers become defiled through worldly things. Rather than worrying for believers as Paul did, these teachers themselves live defiled lives through their own attachment to this world.
"I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ." (2 Corinthians 11:3) — Paul compares the Corinthian church to Eve. Eve was deceived by Satan the serpent and ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil without fully understanding God's word. Satan's words are lies that destroy one's life. The woman saw that the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil was good for food, pleasing to the eye, and desirable for gaining wisdom (Genesis 3:6). Today Satan deceives believers through worldly things — jobs, money, houses, cars, entertainment, education, ethnicity, politics, social status. Thinking these are important, they follow them and abandon God's word. How do they abandon it? By not reading Scripture, not listening to sermons; if they listen, they lack interest, wanting to finish the sermon quickly. Because of their attachment to worldly things, believers do nothing for their spiritual life or prepare themselves.
Paul writes: "just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless." (Ephesians 5:26-27). The church — the bride — is to be received as pure, blameless, free from defilement and blemish. How can this happen? Through being washed in the Word of God. But how does one wash with the Word? The Word alone cannot cleanse a believer; only through reading, studying, and memorizing it can one become pure.
The Lord Jesus washed His disciples' feet. When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter then asked Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “Never shall You wash my feet!” Peter told Him. Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.” “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!” Jesus told him, “Whoever has already bathed needs only to wash his feet, and he will be completely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” (John 13:6-10).
Christ says that one who has bathed is completely clean; therefore only the feet need washing. So what does bathing mean? What does foot-washing mean? Bathing is for the whole body. Scripture says, "We have been sanctified through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Hebrews 10:10). Paul writes to believers everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: "To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:" (1 Corinthians 1:2). Therefore every believer is placed in the position of being clean and pure through Jesus Christ — not by their own effort, but by Christ's work. All believers have been bathed through Jesus Christ.
Bathing happens at a well or river. After bathing, on the way home one's feet become dirty from walking on the road. When arriving home, those feet need to be washed again. Believers are already clean and pure through Jesus Christ. But on this world journey, their feet get dirty again and need washing. The spiritual "feet" is the heart/mind. Because they love this world with their hearts, they become defiled. Through daily TV, computers, phones, and worldly things, the heart becomes unclean. Worldly trash enters the heart, making a person like a garbage bin — smelly and rotten. That stench comes out through the mouth and body parts. Christ said: "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34). Believers do not put pure Scripture into their hearts but only worldly things, so their hearts cannot be clean. Thus thoughts, words, and actions become defiled. To avoid this, one must read Scripture day and night (Joshua 1:8), study sermons carefully to know what is true (Acts 17:11), meditate on God's law continually (Psalm 1:3), and store God's Word in the heart so as not to sin against Him (Psalm 119:11).
Summary: Paul calls the Corinthian church a pure virgin bride presented to Christ, acting as their matchmaker. Believers must remain blameless — free from worldly defilement. Jesus said loving anything above Him makes one unworthy of Him; yet today believers love jobs, money, and power more than Christ. Satan deceives through these same worldly attractions. Paul warns that the church risks falling away like Eve was deceived by the serpent. To stay pure, believers must wash their "feet" — their hearts — daily through Scripture (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 119:11). Only by reading and memorizing God's Word can one resist worldly contamination and remain a spotless bride for Christ.
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