I am flying to San Francisco shortly for the purpose of seeing a good friend of mine get married. It is amazing to me that he is about to embark upon another lifelong illustration before a watching world as to what it means for Christ to be the husband of the bride.The illustration of Christ as our husband and his church as the beloved bride always intrigues me. Specifically, when Paul writes:
Ephesians 5:25 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her;
Then he goes on to say in the next few verses as to the purpose of this sacrificial love:
Ephesians 5:26-27 26 that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless.
The instrument that Christ uses to sanctify his bride is (get this...):
1) The washing of water with the Word (I take to be the Word of God).
The goal of washing his bride with the Word is to sanctify her so that she may be a glorious church without any spot, wrinkle or any such blemish -- but rather, that she would be holy and blameless.
What a awesome (and yet terrifying!) responsibility for husbands! Men, may we really seek to understand how to love our wives in a sacrificial way. If you ask, "Well, how do I do that?" Read a passage of Scripture that talks about the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ and that will be all the marital application you need. Observe how Jesus humbly, willingly, sacrificially and completely gave Himself up for His bride -- that is our application, Go, therefore, and do likewise!
To God be the glory in our marriages. May we be modern examples of the way God intended marriage to be in the beginning:
Mark 10:6-9 6 "But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. 7 "For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, 8 and the two shall become one flesh; consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 "What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."
Posts
