A Marriage Model For Relating To God

TITLE: A Marriage Model for Relating to God

Essence of the Sermon in a Sentence ESS: Biblical marriage lessons dealing with intimacy, faithfulness and submission are applicable as well to our relationship with Christ.

TEXT: Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

INTRODUCTION –

I have had two weddings this past week, and will have another one this coming Saturday. Bachelors are biting the dust like crazy these days!

I would like to turn our thoughts today to the subject of Christian marriage and in particular how the relationship of marriage parallels our relationship to Christ.

But before we go there, I thought you would enjoy these tidbits of wisdom from children (collected from the internet) concerning marriage:

“HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY?”

You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you

like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should

keep the chips and dip coming. - Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who they’re going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later

who you’re stuck with. - Kirsten, age 10

“WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?”

Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then. - Camille, age 10

No age is good to get married at. You got to be a fool to get

married. - Freddie, age 6

“HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?”

You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids. - Derrick, age 8

“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?”

Both don’t want any more kids. - Lori, age 8

“IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?”

It’s better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need

someone to clean up after them. - Anita, age 9

“HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?”

Tell your wife that she looks pretty even if she looks like a truck.

- Ricky, age 10

SOME REFLECTIONS ON MARRIAGE AND OUR RELATIONSHIP TO GOD

Over the years as I have counseled with couples who are intending to get married, I have thought more and more about why God has a vital interest in marriage.

Though many people today dismiss marriage as an ancient tradition, a relic that has no place in modern society, God has taught us in his Word, the Bible, some vital principles about marriage. I am convinced that Biblical teachings about marriage are not merely arbitrary “rules” made by God. Rather, I believe God has a divine purpose in his every teaching about marriage.

You see, the relationship that we have with Christ is often paralleled to the relationship of a husband and wife.

-Jesus referred to himself as the bridegroom, (and the church as his bride):

Luk 5:33 They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”

34 Jesus answered, “Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? 35 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”

-Paul follows Jesus’ lead and makes a very direct comparison between the relationship of husbands and wives to the relationship of Christ and the Church.

Eph 5:22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing a her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” b 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.