In typology, Adam and Eve became one flesh (Gen. 2:23-24). In actuality, Christ and the church are one spirit, because he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). Figuratively speaking, all the believers of Christ are "members of His Body." The marriage union between husband and wife is a great mystery "with regard to Christ and the church" (Eph. 5:29-32).
If we have such a vision as we read the Bible, we will understand the Song of Songs: Christ is our love and we are His beloved. Also, we will understand the whole New Testament in the way of life, not in a natural way or in the way of knowledge. We will realize that we have all been reborn and recreated with Christ, that we are now one spirit with Him and with one another, and that on earth today we are living a marriage life with our husband, Christ. We are not just waiting for the future; we are living a corporate marriage life today. In one sense we have the marriage life already and we are living with our husband. In another, fuller sense we have only the foretaste today and are awaiting the full taste of the marriage to come. This marriage will be carried out in Revelation 19. Following that, the church will be consummated as the New Jerusalem, which will be the completed bride of Christ for eternity. Christ and the completed wife will enjoy a marriage life for eternity. This wife, of course, will not be an individual person, but will be a corporate, builded expression, the New Jerusalem.
In Genesis 2 we see the creation of man and the tree of life which denotes God as man's life and life supply. As God works Himself into man, man begins to experience the flow of life, and at the flow of life there are the precious materials—gold, pearl, and onyx stone. At the end of Genesis 2 we see the building of a woman. All the precious materials mentioned earlier in this chapter are for the building of this woman. If we only have Genesis 2, we cannot understand this matter adequately and clearly. However, at the end of the Bible we also find a woman, the New Jerusalem. This woman is a city built with gold, pearl, and precious stones. In Genesis 2, these materials were found at the flow of life, but were not yet builded. At the end of the Bible all of these materials have been built up into a city, which is the ultimate and eternal woman. In Genesis 2 we can see the New Jerusalem foreshadowed by Eve and in Revelation 21 we can see Eve consummated in the New Jerusalem, the corporate bride of the Lamb built with the three precious materials. Thus, we see once again that nearly everything found in Genesis 1 and 2 is a seed that grows throughout the Bible and ripens into a harvest in the book of Revelation.
Today we are neither at the beginning nor at the consummation—we are on the way. I am not even satisfied to be in Ephesians 5. I want to be in Revelation 19:7-9, at the marriage supper of Christ. In order to get there we must put off all the natural things—the cattle, the turtles, the horses, etc. Perhaps your natural disposition is like a strong horse. We must put off this natural life. Praise the Lord that within us we have another life, another element—Christ as the life-giving Spirit. We must live by this life, day and night putting off the old man and putting on the new man. In this way we will be transformed and conformed to His image, prepared for the wedding feast at the time of His return. Eventually, we will be the New Jerusalem, and God's eternal purpose will be completely fulfilled.