Christ and the Church
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it. (Ephesians 5:25)
Genesis lays out God's blueprint. It lays out His pattern for His design of both male and female. We meditated on this topic last week. In the modern era today, society often questions: "What does it mean to be a man?" "What does it mean to be a woman?"
You may have heard of this little story. There once were three men walking down a beach that came across a lamp buried in the sand. They picked it up and began wiping it off. A genie popped out and told them, "I'll grant each of you one wish."
The first man rubbed the lamp and whispered, "I wish I were ten times smarter."
"You are now ten times smarter," announced the genie.
The second guy took the lamp and rubbed it and murmured, "I wish I were a hundred times smarter."
The third man rubbed the lamp and said, "I wish I were a thousand times smarter."
The genie pointed at him and declared, "You are now a woman."
Let's take a look at God's blueprint. In His original design, from Genesis chapter 1, we see that God created humans to be more like God than the rest of His creation, and that male and female share this status equally. They are both image-bearers. "Then God said, Let us make man in our image. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (v. 26-27).
Scripture says that God created sons and daughters for His glory, to display the wonder of who He is. In Romans 8:20, Paul explains that there are two very important truths about God that are displayed in creation for everyone to see. "Ever since the creation of the world, His eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things He has made, so people are without excuse" (Romans 8:20).
From the time of creation until now, gender and sex, manhood and womanhood constantly display truths about God. Our bodies tell the truth about God. Paul says that people are without excuse because God's story is displayed everywhere, and it is even displayed in gender and His creation.
Also, according to Paul, God created things the way that He did in order to teach His people. He wants us to know who God is and what God does, and He imprinted that story on us as male and female. Because the same roles given to man and woman are given to Christ and the Church.
Parallels in the Bible
Ephesians 5 connects and indicates that manhood and womanhood and marriage, all point to the story of the Bridegroom, the Son of God, who loved and gave His life to redeem His Bride, the Church.
Turn with me to Matthew 25: 1-13. We all have read and learned about this scripture portion. “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Gender exists to display the love story of the gospel, and that is why God created male and female.
God had the story of Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom, and the redemption, the Church, His Bride, in mind before He even created male and female. We are told that before the foundation of the earth, He had this plan of redemption in mind. Some may say, this was the parallel that God was thinking when He said, “Let us make man in our image” and created us male and female.
Genesis 2:7 shows the first point of difference. Notice that the male was the firstborn. “Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” Genesis 2:7. Note during the creation, God created man first. Some might think this is trivial or unimportant. But the firstborn son held a very unique role and position in the Hebrew family.
He ranked second after his father, and he carried the weight and responsibility of his father’s authority. He was the one who was responsible to carry out his father's instructions. He was responsible for the oversight and the wellbeing of all of his siblings and family. He also served as his family’s representative. Whatever happened in the family was his responsibility. If a younger brother or sister got into trouble, the father would corner the oldest brother and hold him accountable.
Now, it is the husband’s position to be the first born. This is not just a cultural idea that the Hebrew people came up with. God gave them these directions. God gave them the family structure and the responsibilities according to the pattern that He gave. If you look at the story of the Hebrews in bondage in Egypt, the Lord sent the angel of death to kill the firstborn sons. Why the firstborn sons? Well, because He was holding the firstborn sons accountable and responsible for the sins of the nation of Egypt. The accountability and responsibility went with the position of first born.
Adam was the firstborn of the human race. He was responsible for the oversight and wellbeing of the human family. God held Adam accountable for the fall of humankind even though Eve sinned first. It was Adam who took the weight of the responsibility on his shoulders. The New Testament states, “For as in Adam all die" (1 Corinthians 15:22). That's not to say that Eve wasn't personally responsible for her sin, she was responsible for her sin. But Adam was corporately responsible because he was firstborn.
But understand, the authority and responsibility that God gave Adam was not just for or about Adam. God gave Adam the position of firstborn because He was pointing forward to The Firstborn of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ became flesh and took Adam’s place. He bore the authority of the firstborn. Jesus, being the firstborn of God, carried the responsibility for the sins of the whole world. So He was able to properly represent us when He died on the cross.
Christ’s Relationship with the Church
The relationship between a husband and a wife is paralleled with the relationship between Christ and the church. The same responsibilities given to a husband and wife are also given to Christ and the church. And for this reason, God designed marriage to reflect and mirror the relationship of Christ and the church. Nothing that God does is without purpose or reason.
We meditated last week about the different realms of responsibility of man and woman. A man’s realm is as a leader, or head of the house, who provides for the physical and spiritual needs of his family. He builds the foundation for his family and takes complete responsibility. Like the first born, a husband carries the weight of his family. This responsibility is paralleled to the role of Christ. Jesus Christ became the leader and head of our lives who provides for our needs. He placed the foundation of faith in our hearts and sent the Holy Spirit to guide us. And most importantly, even though we all sinned, Christ took the full responsibility for our sins and, as a blameless lamb, was slain.
And, in the same manner, we also meditated on the realm of a woman. A woman’s realm is as a life-giver, a nurturer, a home creator, and mother to the next generation. Even though Mother's Day has passed, we are thankful everyday for our mothers. For many of us, our mothers prayed and fasted many nights for us. They taught us the ways of God and the scriptures. Our mother provided for our needs and also helped others in need. Our mothers were strong warriors in faith and prayer. And we are here today because of the prayers of our mothers. And in the same way, God calls on the church to be like our mothers. To fast and pray like our mother. To teach others the ways of God and the scriptures. To provide for the needs of the church and those outside the church who are in need. God is calling for the church to be a strong warrior of faith and prayer. Like a wife, God wants the church to be a life-giver, a nurturer of faith, and a leader to the next generation.
Do you remember the quote; “For a man can build a house, and a woman makes it a home”? This is also similar to Christ and the church. Christ built the foundation of the church. He preached and taught many people of the scripture. It is through Him that we are all able to have salvation and eternal life. But it is our responsibility as the church, or Christ’s bridegroom, to establish and strengthen the church, to make it a home. We are to nurture the children and future generation to walk in the ways of God.
Conclusion
Dear brother and sisters in Christ, nothing by God’s design is by mere chance. Our existence, our image, our relationships, and our stories were designed by our God before the world came to be. God wants you to live out the way He designed. Just like the different realms of responsibility given to man and woman, there are responsibilities given to Christ and the church. You are the body of Christ. You are created and designed to carry out God’s plan. This is the responsibility that God has given to the church: to pray, to fast, to give, to nurture, and raise up the next generation of the body of Christ.
During fasting prayer, men and women’s fellowship prayers, and outreach prayer, God is calling you to fulfill your responsibility as the church, the body of Christ, the bridegroom of Christ. He is coming, but are you ready? Are your lamps lit? For the groom is coming soon, and the bridegroom must be ready. Amen.
