OUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST #3
“The Bride of Christ”
Adapted from a message by James Steen
Ephesians 5:22-25
September 1st, 2013
Solid Rock Baptist Church
Rev Dan Bauder
INTRODUCTION
For the last 2 weeks we have been looking at our identity in Christ. First, we saw who we are as a child of God. Last week we who we are as priests of God. This morning we are going to see what it means to be the Bride of Christ. (Read Eph 5:22-25)
There are numerous about marriage throughout God’s Word. The first one is in Gen 2 (Read Gen 2:18,21-24) God created marriage to be a picture of the relationship He desires to have with everyone of His children. Because we are the bride of Christ Jesus desires a relationship with us that includes:
I. INTIMACY (Read Eph 5:25)
A. The Song of Solomon is a perfect example.
1.The book is a passionate and graphic love poem about the love of a man and a woman. And yet scholars have for centuries seen it as more than that. It has been viewed as having another layer of meaning. Allegorically it speaks of God’s overwhelming love for his people. God desires an intimate relationship with us and He desires us to desire Him as much as He desires us.
II. FAITHFULNESS (se Exodus 20:2-5)
A. God will accept no rivals. It is the same in a marriage relations.
B. Do you remember the book of Hosea? The book is a living object lesson. Hosea, the prophet marries an adulterous wife, Gomer. Just as Gomer has played the harlot, so has Israel played the harlot by lusting after other gods. They lusted after false gods, idols. They had been unfaithful to the one true God. They were spiritual adulators and adulteresses.
C. I believe God, from the foundation of the world, created marriage to teach us the reality of faithfulness. He insists we commit our lives to Him and Him alone because he alone is God and worthy of our worship. And he gives us an earthly model for that faithfulness - a commitment to our marriage partners - that we should take just as seriously.
III. SUBMISSION (see Eph 5:22-23)
A. This doesn’t mean becoming a door mat. (God could have taken a bone out of Adams foot but instead he took a rib)
1. Here Paul is teaching us the need to be submissive to the leadership of Christ.
2. Christ is the Groom. We are the bride.
CONCLUSION
God has a vital interest on marriage. We cannot take it too seriously. To truly understand the marriage relationship is to begin to understand our heavenly relationship with Christ. Having said
that, perhaps there are those present who have not taken as seriously as they should their vows to Christ. You may be a person that would never commit adultery against you spouse, but you have not been so committed to Christ. You have followed other Gods by putting other things or persons first. Christ would call you back to an intimate, faithful submissive relationship.
