I was privileged yesterday to witness a miracle. Probably a hundred people or more witnessed it as well. It was a miracle performed in full view of everyone. I witnessed a marriage ceremony. In Matthew 19: 4-6 Jesus says this:
"And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Two Shall Become One - Marriage As Metaphor
Marriage is the great metaphor that is used in Scripture to explain the relationship that we as Christians have with our Lord. Just as a husband and wife are "no longer two but one flesh" so also do we become one with our Lord. Paul tells us in Galatians 3: 27-28 that we are all, male or female, slave or free, Jew or Greek, one in Christ. This union with Christ is present during Communion. Paul explains in I Corinthians 10: 16-17 that although we are many, we are all one bread and one body because of Christ.
Christ Awaits His Bride
As the bridegroom awaits his bride during their engagement, so Christ awaits His bride the Church until the end of the age when the Church and Christ attend the marriage supper of the Lamb referred to in Revelation 19: 6-9.
Our Marriage - Our Relationship With Jesus
The Bible, the God breathed scriptures that we declare, as Christians, to be the very word of God, tells us about the relationship between husband and wife and how that relationship should mirror our relationship with God. In Ephesians 5: 22-33 Paul tells us how this relationship should look. It should be a mirror image of our relationship with Jesus.
Submit to Christ
As Christians we are told to submit to Christ. We submit to Him because of His great love for us. We know He would never harm us or ask us to do evil. Christ died for us "while we were yet sinners" His love was so great.
A Great Mystery
In this chapter Paul tells us wives are to submit to their husbands in the same way and for the same reasons. Our husbands are told by Paul to love us as Christ loved the Church. In other words, our husbands are to love us unconditionally and always seek our good. Our husbands should build us up in our faith. Paul tells us that we are one in our marriage as we are one in Christ. This miracle is a "great mystery" one that can not be fully comprehended while we are in the flesh.
Men - The Spiritual Head Of The Home
Notice that Paul's instructions are for wives to submit to their husbands, not to all men. As the spiritual head of our home husbands have a great responsibility to lead by example and ensure that Christ is the true head of our home.
Women Submit To Your Husbands
In I Peter 3: 1-6 Peter reiterates this by saying again that women should be submissive to their husbands, even those who are not Christian. He says that wives should be focused on inner beauty, by cultivating a gentle and quiet spirit that God loves. This spirit in turn can be a motivating factor in the conversion of their husbands. In verse 5 Peter tells us that these women in former times, like Sarah, were role models who "trusted in God". He doesn't say that they trusted in their husbands or in their own strength. By trusting in God they will not fear the future. Peter goes on to say in I Peter 3: 7:
"Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered."
Husbands Honor Your Wives
So husbands should understand their wives, should honor them, because both husband and wife are heirs of the grace of God. Why should they do this? Peter says so that God will hear their prayers. When Peter calls women the "weaker vessel" he is most likely referring to the fact that in most cases women are physically weaker than men. The misuse of these scriptures by people who took these verses to mean that men should control their wives in every aspect without honoring them or even truly loving them, is the main reason why these scriptures are so despised in modern culture.
Being loved, honored, and understood by my husband sounds wonderful to me. Submitting to my husband is necessary according to the Bible. It does not mean that I should accept mistreatment. Submission is not abuse. Submitting to every man is not what the word says. Women played and do play a major role in the work of the church. Read more about this here.
Marriage Takes Work
Marriage, much like our relationship with God, is a challenge. Marriage takes work. Marriage takes forgiveness. Marriage takes putting God first in all things. Although we may not always succeed 100%, we know that we trust God to make a way, because we go before Him now not as two individuals, but as one who seeks the right path.
I pray God's blessings on this beautiful young couple as they walk forward now as one in the Lord.
Enjoy "Two Becoming One" by Jonathan and Emily Martin
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