The Mystery of Marriage

In his book, “Desiring God”, pastor and best-selling author John Piper shared this beautiful insight on marriage. (Found at https://www.desiringgod.org/solid-joys/the-mystery-of-marriage.)

The Mystery of Marriage

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:31-32).

In Ephesians 5:31 Paul is quoting Genesis 2:24, which Moses spoke — and Jesus said God spoke through Moses (Matthew 19:5) — “A man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Paul says this word of God, spoken before the fall into sin, is a reference to Christ and the church and contains therefore a great mystery.

What this implies is that when God engaged to create man and woman and to ordain the union of marriage, he didn’t roll the dice or draw straws or flip a coin as to how they might be related to each other. He patterned marriage very purposefully after the relationship between his Son and the church, which he had planned from all eternity.

Therefore, marriage is a mystery — it contains and conceals a meaning far greater than what we see on the outside. God created (us) male and female and ordained marriage so that the eternal covenant relationship between Christ and his church would be imaged forth in the marriage union.

The inference Paul draws from this mystery is that the roles of husband and wife in marriage are not arbitrarily assigned, but are rooted in the distinctive roles of Christ and his church.

Those of us who are married need to ponder again and again how mysterious and wonderful it is that God grants us in marriage the privilege to image forth stupendous divine realities infinitely bigger and greater than ourselves.

This mystery of Christ and the church is the foundation of the pattern of love that Paul describes for marriage. It is not enough to say that each spouse should pursue his or her own joy in the joy of the other. That is true. But it is not enough. It is also important to say that husbands and wives should consciously copy the relationship God intended for Christ and the church. That is, each should seek to live after the distinctive model of God’s pure and glad design for Christ and the church.

I hope you will take this seriously whether you are single or married, old or young. The revelation of the covenant-keeping Christ and his covenant-keeping church hangs on it.

Perhaps you have been married for many years. If you have a good marriage, thank God for making that mystery a part of your life. If you are about to be married, make sure you understand something about the mystery of marriage. If you are struggling in your marriage, don’t be afraid to admit that. Ask God for guidance to find the help you need. And if you are single, thank Jesus that He is the Great Love of your life – the One who loves you just as “He loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25) on a cross, paying the penalty for sin that we could never pay and enduring the wrath against sin that we could never endure. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us (1 John 3:16).

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This Sunday, May 17, we will continue our series, “Home Improvement,” at the 10:35am worship service. What does the Lord want to do in and through your marriage? This Sunday? “The Mystery of Marriage” (Genesis 2:23-24). Please invite someone to join you in the building or online for the Live broadcast on either Facebook (Honolulu AG) or our YouTube channel (Honolulu Assembly of God). We Livestream every Sunday to both locations and would love to have you join us!

Coming Up: Pentecost Sunday is May 24 and we will celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the birth of the church (Acts 2). June 21 is Father’s Day and all Dads in attendance will receive a gift so be sure bring the Dad in your life with you that day.

Aloha ke Akua!