Violating the Type

Last time, we talked about how our marriages are to be a picture of the relationship between Christ and His church. We are what the Bible calls a type, or tupos in Greek. Just as in the Old Testament where the sacrifice of the lamb pictured Christ's sacrifice on the cross where Jesus died in our place and His blood was shed for the remission of our sins, our marriages picture Christ and the church. Depending upon how well we obey the commands we've been talking about from Ephesians 5:22-32, we are either a clear picture or a cloudy picture. We either accurately show how Christ and the church interact, or we distort the view we present to the world. Therefore, everything we do in our marriages is important.

For instance, should the wife ever try to usurp authority from her husband and take over being the head of the home? No! Why? Would the church ever usurp Chris's authority? Likewise, should the husband stay at home and become Mr. Mom while his wife goes out to work and takes responsibility for feeding and clothing the family? No! Why? Would the church ever take over providing for Christ? Of course not. It says in Philippians 4:19, " And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

Do you see the importance of this? Why must husbands love their wives sacrificially? Because Christ loved the church enough to die for her. Why must he be the spiritual leader in the home? Because Christ purifies His bride with the washing of water by the Word. Why must he be the breadwinner? Because Christ nourishes His bride, the church. Why must the husband stay with his wife till death do them part? Because Christ's love is permanent. He will never leave us or forsake us. For the husband to fail in any of these responsibilities puts a blight on the reputation of Christ who would never, ever fail the church.

Now certainly, this, like every passage of Scripture, is to be interpreted with some common sense. A wife, when her husband gets into an accident and becomes a quadriplegic, or gets Alzheimer's, isn't going to say, "Sorry, Sweety Babe. I can't take care of you because the church would never take care of Christ." Of course not! She is going to take care of him. She did promise till death do them part and through sickness and health. This may not exactly fit with the typology, but it is the Christian thing to do. To not take care of her husband would be a greater blight on the name of Christ. So we have to use our head and take the Scriptures as a whole. Where the Scriptures speak, we obey. Where they are silent, we let the Holy Spirit be our guide.