Video Transcript: Marriage and the Mystery of the Church

Hi, welcome back. In this lecture, we're going to talk about PeaceSmart marriage relationships.  What does it mean to walk in the midst of marriage conflict in a manner that pleases God? 

In order to talk about marriage conflict, we need to talk about the purpose of marriage.  So in this session, we're going to focus on God's purpose in marriage.  And then in the next session we'll talk about the roles of the husband and wife in marriage.  And then the session after that we'll talk about marriage Wildfires and how we can to respond to those in light of what we talked about in this section and the next. 

In Ephesians 5, the apostle Paul writes about some fascinating passages about marriage, the role of a husband and a wife but he makes this comment in Ephesians 5:31-32, “For this reason, the man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery. But I'm talking about Christ and the church.” 

So as much as a PeaceSmart marriage is going to be focused on the relationship between a husband and a wife, there's something more going on in marriage, and it impacts that relationship of husband and wife.  So what does Christ in the church have to do with marriage? 

Some of that mystery is revealed to us by going back to when God created and established marriage, all the way back to Genesis 2.  Genesis 2 tells us that God formed Adam from the dust of the ground, and brought all the animals to him to find a suitable helper for him.  And that no suitable helper was found among the animals.  

God had put Adam in the midst of the garden and he ate from the trees of the garden except for the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  The Lord told him not to eat from that tree.  And after the search for the helper was unsuccessful with the animals, God put him in a deep sleep and He removed something from Adam’s side.  And He formed woman; Eve.   And Eve was created to be a suitable helper for Adam, and she was taken from Adam.  And when Adam awoke from his sleep, he said, “This is now bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh.”  

And God ordained marriage and He said, “For this reason,” as the apostle Paul wrote, “a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one.”  

Now at that time, Adam and Eve were naked, and they knew no shame; they were innocent.  Adam said, “This is now bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman for she was taken out of man.”  That is why a man leaves his father and mother and his united to his wife, and they become one flesh.  “Adam and Eve were both naked, and they felt no shame.” (Genesis 2:23-35) 

Of course, then the fall of man occurred at some time after Eve was formed, and she was deceived by the serpent.  She disobeyed God's word and she ate of the fruit of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and she gave some of that fruit to Adam and he disobeyed God's word.  Eve listened to the serpent.  Adam, listened to Eve.  And they knew that they were naked, they lost their innocence.  And something changed.

The Lord removed them from the garden and access to the tree of life.  And He gave a prophecy, the first prophecy in scripture, in Genesis Chapter 3 that He would send seed of the woman to crush the head of the serpent.  

And that’s what Jesus Christ came to do; to restore life, to crush the head of the serpent.  In John 10:10 Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, but I've come that they may have life and have it to the full.” And in 1 John 3:8, the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 

Jesus Christ lived a sinless life.  He never was deceived by the serpent.  And he never was deceived by man to disobey God’s Word. 

In John 8:29, Jesus said, “The one who sent me is with me, He has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases Him.” 

Mark 8:33, “But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, He rebuked Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan, you did not have in mind the concerns of God but merely human concerns.”

Jesus always did what pleased the Father. 

“Now while He was in Jerusalem, at the Passover festival, many people saw the signs He was performing and believed in his name, but Jesus would not entrust Himself to them, for He knew all people who did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.” (John 2:23-25)

Isn't it amazing to consider that the Lord knows what's in each person?  And He still went to the cross, was raised from the dead, and now offers life to everyone who will receive it.  This is the love of Christ for the church. 

Romans 15:3, “For even Christ did not please Himself.”  So Jesus Christ didn't live to please man, didn't leave to please Himself, but he lived to please the Father; lays down his life and becomes the fruit of another tree.  

Just as Adam and Eve were banished from the garden for eating, from the fruit of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Jesus Christ hangs on a tree to break that curse.  And He says, “Very, truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, you have no life and you” (John 6:53).  He becomes the fruit of the tree. 

Just as Adam's side was opened and something removed to form Eve, Jesus’ side was pierced on the cross. In John 19:34, “Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.”

Jesus Christ slept three days in the grave.  Then he's raised from the dead.  And Colossians 1:18, we read, “He is the head of the body, the church.”

From what was taken from Jesus side, a new man is formed.  A new body is created, and He is the head of that body; the church. 

Just as a husband was commanded to leave his father and mother, to be joined to his wife in marriage, we’re called as members of the Body of Christ, to leave the life in this world, and follow Him. 

Jesus said in Luke 9:23-24, “Then he said to them all, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me, will save it.”

Just as Eve was formed to be a suitable helper for Adam, the body of Christ, you and I, and all those who love His appearance, become members of His Body to be suitable helpers for Him.  But even that we're not able to do. 

 Have you come to the place in your walk with Jesus Christ that you've recognized that there isn't anything that you can do in yourself to please Him?  That our best efforts are filthy rags before Him.  But when He comes in and changes us and transforms us, He can do amazing and astonishing things through his people. And that's illustrated here. 

After Jesus is raised from the dead, He told the disciple to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came.  And the Holy Spirit is our helper.  And He empowers us to become suitable helpers in Jesus Christ, suitable members of his Body, each member connected to the head.  

Each member is intended to have a personal, vital life-giving relationship through the Holy Spirit to Jesus Christ, the head of the body.  And as Christian leaders, your relationship to other members of the body can be of two types. 

You can see yourself as a leader over other people and lead as Gentiles do and lord your authority over them.  Or you can lead the way that Jesus leads, and serve.  And encourage them to develop their relationship of relentless reliance on Jesus Christ, each one receiving instruction from the Lord, each one serving the body, each one being sent somewhere in the earth, into conflicts, into marriages, into families, into businesses wherever the Lord sends his people.  And each of us only finds those assignments and receives those instructions as we seek Him, and as we spend time with Him.  

I pray that you'll be a Christian leader in your marriage, in your church, in your work, wherever the Lord has you in a position of leadership, to be someone that the Lord can use and in your relationship with the Lord as He instructs you to bless others, to serve others, to encourage them to be vitally connected to the head of the body and as each member fulfills its purpose, in vital relationship and relentless reliance on Jesus Christ. He is glorified in the earth and he accomplishes His good pleasure through his people. 

This is the mystery of the relationship between the church and Jesus Christ; the mystery of marriage.  As we understand the redemptive purpose of Jesus Christ coming to the earth, and that marriage is a reflection of this relationship, we can now move on to discuss the roles of the husband and wife and the marriage relationship for the glory of Jesus Christ. And we'll do that next time. 

God bless you. We'll see you then.