Is the marriage relationship between Christ and the bride a sexual relationship?
No. The marriage relationship between Christ and the bride is merely positional, not sexual. The union is spiritual—being joined to the Lord is one spirit—and the sexual aspects of earthly marriage will pass off the scene. Paul uses marriage only as an analogy for a spiritual reality.
Les teaches that the marriage relationship between Christ and the bride is not sexual but positional. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul is grieved that a believer would be united with a harlot, stressing that any sexual union outside God's bounds is wrong. He then quotes verse 17: "he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." Les clarifies that when Paul speaks of Christ as groom and the bride in a marriage relationship, it is only a positional analogy, certainly not a sexual thing, because that will all pass off the scene. Paul uses this marriage analogy more than once, including Romans chapter 7, verse 4.