Mystery of the Bride

Part 5

Vicky Moots

Gen. 2:22 “And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.”

Perhaps by now you are wondering why God would choose such a small and seemingly insignificant part of the human body, such as a rib, to fashion a bride for Adam. Maybe it’s simply because a rib could be removed and not even be missed by the rest of the body.  In order to explore this further, I would like to discuss this from a medical standpoint, since this was a surgical procedure.  Let us examine the various characteristics of the ribs and their purpose and position in the physical body, and then apply that information to the spiritual body, the church.

First of all, ribs are a hidden part of the body. They are covered with fat and muscle and are therefore not noticeable unless a person is malnourished. They don’t even make any noise to attract attention to themselves.  No one ever brags on how beautiful or how big their ribs are. They seem to be less important than the rest of the parts of the body. However, the work that they do continues day and night, and it is necessary for life.  We could not live without our ribs.

Keep in mind, as we study the ribs, that the rib is a spiritual picture of the bride of Christ, and that all of this has a spiritual meaning, which I will discuss as we go along. In the spiritual body, the bride is also unnoticed because she does not brag or boast concerning her beauty or her works. She desires that all the glory be given to Christ, so she quietly and humbly continues to do the work that she was called to do without any fanfare or desire for recognition. She does it as a labor of love for Him.

Our ribs form a cage, called the thoracic cage, around our heart, lungs and major blood vessels to protect them from harm. But that is not all they do. They are necessary in order for us to breathe.

There are twelve pairs of ribs, which vary in size and type of movement in order to allow equal expansion of both lungs at the same time. The number twelve in Scripture is God’s governmental number: there were twelve tribes of Israel and twelve apostles.

All of the ribs are connected to the spine. The upper ten pairs are also connected in some fashion, by bone or cartilage, to the breastbone (sternum). The lower two are only connected to the spine. The number ten in the Bible speaks of responsibility according to ability, as in the Ten Commandments. The spine symbolizes our ability to stand.  We must recognize that our ability to stand before a holy God is only in Christ. The breastbone speaks of affection, for we read that John, the beloved, leaned on Jesus’ breast.

The ribs are also connected to each other by muscles so that they will all move together in harmony when we take a breath. Underneath each rib there is a groove which contains a nerve, artery and vein (a trinity). In order to breathe, the brain signals the rib muscles to cause the chest wall to expand as the ribs move outward.  At the same time, the diaphragm muscle, which is attached to the inside of the lower ribs, pushes downward. This creates a negative chest pressure which causes air to flow into the lungs.

This whole process is called “inspiration.”  In II Tim. 3:16 we read that “all scripture is given by inspiration of God…” This means literally that it is “God breathed.”  God breathes life into us through His Word as we read it, in the same manner in which He breathed life into Adam.

During inspiration, all of the ribs must move out at the same time, in one accord, together as a group.  Spiritually that would speak of the Holy Spirit who gave the breath of life to the church on the Day of Pentecost, when they were all in one accord in the upper room.

Inspiration in the physical body is an active process that requires muscle contraction, or work.  But then the brain sends a second signal which causes all those muscles to relax, and the air flows out of the lungs carrying the waste products with it. This is called expiration, or exhalation. It is a time of rest, because it does not require any muscular contraction.

This cycle of work and rest, inspiration and expiration, continues until we take our final breath, which ends in expiration. The ribs work together, consistently, persistently, always yielding, never tiring, even when the rest of the body is asleep, but they must also do an equal amount of rest.

What does this mean to us spiritually? I mentioned previously that the bride performs a labor of love for her Bridegroom.  However, she also takes time to sit and rest at Jesus’ feet and hear His Word, as did Mary in the story of Mary and Martha, in Luke 10:38-42.  Jesus performed many good works, but even He took time out to rest and commune with His Father in order to be strengthened.  The bride also is strengthened for her labor as she sits at His feet and studies His Word.