I want to elaborate on the the correlation between Adam and Eve and Christ and the Church . .
Eve was given to Adam as his bride . . she became his wife . .
She came out of his side while he slept . . and when he took her to himself he said
Gen 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
for she literally came out of him . . of his flesh and bone:
Now we turn to see Christ hanging on the cross . . He has died for our sin . .
Now a soldier pierces
His side with a spear and
out pours His blood - blood and water . .
From His side, while He "slept" in death while hanging on the Cross, came forth
OUT OF HIS SIDE that from Him from which the Church would be born . . His blood and water, just as
out from the side of Adam, while he slept, came forth that from which Eve would be made . . . His flesh and bone.
As Eve came from that which came from the side of Adam while he slept, so does The Church come from that which came from the side of Christ while he "slept" in death . .
As Eve was given, flesh of his flesh, bone of his bone, to Adam as his bride after being brought forth from his side, so is the Church given to Christ as His Bride. Christ presents His Church to Himself as His bride as Paul speaks of in Eph 5. after being brought forth from His side.
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
It is interesting that the "it" in these verses referring to the Church are the neuter pronoun . . and can mean "she, it, he" . . . It is also interesting that
no translation translates it as "him" . . most as "it", but some do give this word a gender in our English . .
and when they do, it is "HER"
Here is one Literal translation:
(ALT) The husbands, be loving your* own wives, just as also Christ loved the Assembly and gave Himself [or, handed Himself over] on her behalf,
Here is another translation:
(EMTV) Husbands, love your own wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
No translation says "and gave Himself for him"!
That is because it is understood that the context mandates that if any gender is asigned, that it must be the feminine gender . . .
To bring this further home, Paul goes on to say:
Eph 5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
"SO" - what does this word above signify?
Let's look!
G3779
οὕτω
houtō
hoo'-to
Or, before a vowel, οὕτως houtōs hoo'-toce.
From G3778; in this way (referring to what precedes or follows): - after that, after (in) this manner, as, even (so), for all that, like (-wise), no more, on this fashion (-wise), so (in like manner), thus, what.
G3779
οὕτω
houtō
Thayer Definition:
1) in this manner, thus, so
Part of Speech: adverb
A Related Word by Thayers/Strongs Number: from G3778
Paul is clearly telling husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the Church linking the idea of marriage between a husband and wife to the relationship of Christ with the Church . one in which the Church is His Bride.
That Paul goes on to speak of the Church being the body of Christ as well only serves to cemment and bring home the idea that just as Eve came from Adams body and is flesh of his flesh and bone of his bones, so the Church comes from Christ's Body .. and IS His Body as well as, like Eve, His BRIDE!
It is so simply understood when one takes the plain reading of the text and does not try to force an understanding demanded by a belief system that is not based on anything solid . .
To sawdust and others, I hope you will look at this passage simply keeping mind the above.
Peace to all!