Showing the World Christ and the Church

We've worked our way through Ephesians 5:22-33 over the past couple of months, and we are now getting to the end of this study. We've found that God said one thing to wives - Ephesians 5:22, "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." - but He said four things to husbands.

First, husbands are to love their wives with a sacrificial love, loving her just as Christ loved His bride, the church. Ephesians 5:25 said, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her."

Second, the husband is to love his wife with a purifying love, just as Christ loved His bride, the church. We saw this in Ephesians 5:26-27, "That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish."

Third, the husband is to love his wife with a caring love just as Christ would love His own body, another illustration for the church. We saw this in Ephesians 5:28-30, "So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of his body, of His flesh and of His bones."

Fourth, the husband is to love his wife with a permanent love, just as Christ will never be separated from His bride, the church. That was the emphasis of Ephesians 5:31, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." They shall be joined so tightly as one flesh that they never will be separated in his life.

Someone pointed out that there isn't a lot of balance here; that the bride had to do only one thing - submit - while the husband had to do four things to love his wife as Christ loved the church. They suggested that somehow that wasn't fair. There are a couple of reasons for this:

First, the husband is the head of the home. Remember? So he has more responsibility to set the pace, while the wife only has to respond to her husband's lead. Naturally, the husband would have more detailed instruction. So certainly, the husband would have more specific commands. And even in saying that, you realize that we've looked only at one portion of Scripture. There is a whole big Bible filled with lots of other passages that deal with the family. We've only scratched the surface. Passage after passage address both the husband and the wife. This discussion has not been a thorough treatment of the subject, just a once over of a small section on the subject.

The second reason there are more rules for the husband is tied up in the next verse where we finally get to the concept we've alluded to time after time. This is the concept that the husband is to be a type of Christ in the home while the wife is to be a type of the church. Together we form a picture of the great spiritual relationship between Christ and His church. We demonstrate that union in flesh and blood that exists spiritually between Christ and His bride. The verse says,Ephesians 5;32, "This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church."

This long passage we thought was about marriage has not been about husbands and wives at all, but about Christ and His church. This is why it is so important how we act in our marriages. What we do is a direct reflection of Christ and His church. People are to see how that relationship works by looking at us. What we show the world is either the truth or a lie. We either show them a clear picture of Christ and His bride or we show them a distorted view, depending on how well we follow the examples we have learned in this passage.

It is such a beautiful picture, but what a colossal responsibility. Knowing that we are a type should color every decision, every action, every attitude that we have in regard to our marriages as Christians. Every decisions should be made knowing we are a reflection of Christ and his church. We should want to accurately reflect our Lord and Savior to the world.