This week we are asking the question “Why does marriage
matter so much to Jesus? What is marriage for?”, by looking at a section of a letter that is preserved and
recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Ephesians.
So far this week, in Ephesians 5:25, we looked on as the Apostle Paul commanded husbands
throughout history to selflessly and sacrificially love their wives, just as
Jesus selflessly and sacrificially loved humanity all the way to the cross. Paul
points husbands throughout history to Jesus as the example to follow.
Paul then revealed two
specific results that Jesus' selfless and sacrificial love had when it came to
His relationship with the church. First, Paul states that Jesus loved the
church selflessly and sacrificially so that He might sanctify her. Paul’s point
is that Jesus love for His church resulted in those who were once on the
outside when it came to having a relationship with God were now being able to
be an insider and a part of the family of God as a result of Jesus life, death,
and resurrection.
Second, Paul revealed the
reality that Jesus love for the church was so that the church would be made
glorious. Jesus loves His church and desires that the church possess an
inherent quality of splendor and purity that is extraordinary. Jesus loves the
church so that the church would be without spot or stain or blemish. Jesus
loves the church so that the church would be without any cracks or flaws. Jesus
loves the church so that the church would respond to His selfless and
sacrificial love by being devoted and dedicated to Him. And Jesus loves the
church with the desire that the church would respond to His love with a life
that reflects His character and His conduct; a life that is faultlessly focused
on pleasing Him.
After revealing the results
that Jesus selfless and sacrificial love had when it came to His relationship
with the church, today we will see Paul transition to applying Jesus’ love for
the church to the relationship between a husband and a wife in Ephesians 5:28-30:
So
husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves
his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh,
but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are members of His
body.
Now
when Paul uses the word ought here, this word literally means to be under an
obligation to meet certain expectations. So, Paul here is proclaiming that
husbands have an obligation to love their wives as their own bodies. Paul then
makes an interesting statement that we sometimes pass by when he states, “that
he who loves his own wife loves himself.” But what does that mean?
Paul
here is anticipating the potential pushback to his commands by drawing another
parallel between a marriage relationship and the relationship that Christ has
with the church. We see Paul begin to unpack this parallel in verses 29-30.
First, in verse 29, Paul states that, when it comes to men, no one hates his
own flesh; instead they nourish it and cherish it.
In
the athletic culture of the city of Ephesus, the physical body was of
exceptional importance. And just like today, men in the city of Ephesus trained
and worked out to compete in games. And just like today, men took care of their
bodies when it came to what they ate. They made sure they had the proper
nourishment so that they could perform well. In addition, when Paul uses the
word cherish here, this word conveys the sense of comfort.
The
point that Paul is making here is that just as men intuitively take pains to
provide for the care and comfort of our physical bodies, men are to do the same
when it comes to how they treat their wives. Paul here is calling husbands to
strive to provide and to care about the comfort of their wives physical,
emotional, relational and spiritual needs.
Paul
then explains that the reason that husbands are under obligation to provide and
to care about the comfort of their wives physical, emotional, relational and
spiritual needs is because that is exactly what Christ does for His body the
church. As we have talked about in the past, the church is divinely designed to
be the vehicle that God uses to reveal Jesus to the world. Jesus Christ is the
head and we are the body or the vehicle that reveals and reflects Jesus to the
world. And Jesus provides and cares for the physical, emotional, relational and
spiritual needs of His body, the church.
After
revealing the obligation that husbands have when it comes to how they live in
relationship with their wives; after explaining the reason behind the obligation,
Paul provides a second parallel between a marriage relationship and the
relationship that Christ has with the church.
Friday
we will look at the parallel and discover the timeless answer to the question “Why
does marriage matter so much to Jesus? What is marriage for?”…
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