Quotes on “From Eternity to Here” by Frank Viola (Ch 5)

The church, the bride of Christ, is the Second Eve.

She is Christ in another form for she was taken out of Him.
She takes the name of her Bridegroom. Just as Eve had Adam’s name before the fall, so the bride of Christ takes the name of Christ. It’s customary for a newly married woman to take her groom’s last name. In the ancient Hebrew world, a person’s name was the equivalent of their person. The bride of Christ is so united to her Bridegroom that she is called by His name (1 Cor 12:12; Rev 22:4).

She is a new creation. In Eph 2:15, she is called “one new man.” or more literally, “one new human.” Like her Bridegroom, she is a new species on this earth, a new creature, a new race. She does not belong to this old creation with all of its earthly distinctions (1 Cor 10:32; 2 Cor 5:17; Gal 3:28; Col 3:11). Instead, she is a new creation in Christ, for she came forth on the eighth day, the day of resurrection. (In the Bible, the number eight always refers to the newness of resurrection. Seven is the number of completion. Eight is the beginning of a new series after seven.)
She is the masterpiece of God. In Eph 2:10, Paul says she is God’s workmanship. The word workmanship is translated from the Greek word poiema, which means “masterpiece.” The Lord has only one masterpiece. It’s His beloved bride. Every artist creates his masterpiece last. Calvary ends the old creation, and the bride of Christ was formed after the old creation was finished.
She is uncreated. She was built–fashioned–out of Jesus Christ Himself. She is spirit of His spirit just as Eve was flesh of Adam’s flesh (1 Cor 6:16-17). Her DNA is identical to that of Jesus Christ. She is by Him, to Him, and for Him. She has the genes of God; His seed is in her (1 Peter 1:23; 1 John 3:9). The bride of Christ carries the life of Jesus. This includes His nature, His character, His impulses, and His tendencies. She is the bearer of God’s DNA. In the words of Peter, she is a “partaker of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).
She is flawless. In the eyes of God, she is every bit as holy and as pure as Christ. Recall that when Eve made her appearance on earth, she was perfect, spotless, and without blame. (She made her appearance before the fall.) In the same way, the bride of Christ is flawless. She was in Christ before creation and before the fall (Eph 1:4). Thus she was extracted from ultimate perfection, the Son of God Himself. Adam could not give his heart to that which was less than himself. And Jesus Christ cannot give Himself in marital love to anything that is less than Himself. Therefore, she is as pure as He is, and she cannot be condemned.