2 Timothy 3:16-17 - All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
Ephesians 1:18-20 - I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
Ephesians 3:7 - …of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.
Ephesians 3:16 - …that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man…
Ephesians 3:20-21 - Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
Romans 15:13 - Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18 - And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit…
4 Spirit-empowered actions that must be present to facilitate unity in husband and wife relationships
I. Understand the Ultimate Marriage for God’s People
A. The Bible both begins and ends with a marriage
1. Adam and Eve - Genesis 2
Genesis 2:18 - Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”
Genesis 2:18-25 - Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
2. Marriage supper of the Lamb - Revelation 19
Revelation 19:7-9 - “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, Write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”
B. The Lord uses the picture of marriage to describe His relationship with His people throughout His Word
1. Isaiah 54:5 - For your husband is your Maker, whose name is the Lord of hosts; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, who is called the God of all the earth.
2. Hosea 2:19 - I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, in lovingkindness and in compassion…
3. Isaiah 62:5 - For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you.
4. Romans 7:4 - Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.
C. Our marriage to God gives us direction, guidance, power, and hope as we navigate human marriage and other relationships
Ephesians 5:31-32 - For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
II. Be Humbled because of what You Brought into the Marriage
1 Peter 5:5-8 - …all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
A. Paul has emphasized this repeatedly to the Ephesians
Ephesians 2:1-3 - And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
Ephesians 4:17-19 - So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.
B. The Lord uses stark imagery to help us understand this point
1. Ezekiel 16:4-5 - As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths. No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the open field, for you were abhorred on the day you were born.
2. The amazing story of Hosea and Gomer
Hosea 3:2 - So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley.
III. Recognize what Your Groom Did for You
A. Ephesians 2:4-7
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
B. Ephesians 5:1-2
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
C. Ezekiel 16:6-14
“When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ I made you numerous like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall and reached the age for fine ornaments; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare. Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love; so I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became Mine,” declares the Lord God. “Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. I also clothed you with embroidered cloth and put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck. I also put a ring in your nostril, earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,” declares the Lord God.
IV. Relinquish Your Rights to Another in Awe of Your Husband, Christ
- As a Pastor one of the sweet blessings is to the privilege to officiate weddings and work with couples preparing for marriage. Last weekend I had the privilege to officiate the wedding for Jason and Jill Steiner
[Insert Picture Jason and Jill Steiner from Wedding]
Weddings are a joyful marvelous day of celebration for sure. But they are also sobering because of the significance of the vows that you are making and the covenant before God that is established.
Vows like:
To have and to hold from this day forward;
For better for worse,
for richer for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish,
until death do us part;
According to God’s holy word,
I pledge myself to you.”
Now, what can give us hope to make such vows and love in such ways? Power from the Lord.
Like how much power is that…well here’s a picture for you…
[insert picture of George Setiawan]
Jason and Jill kindly gave George Setiawan a bulldozer...for being a ringbearer…
For my friends who work at CAT in town in the power systems division…you know a little bit about power and the power generation for some of these big earth movers…the kind of power that can literally move mountains of gravel and dirt and break up stony and hard ground…
There is even more power than that for us in Christ to honor the Lord in the various relationships that the Lord has given us…
Marriage seems like a big mountain…the challenges are too difficult…it’s too hard…praise the Lord we don’t do this alone…Christian’s have God’s power through the Holy Spirit.
- with that in mind, please open your Bible to Ephesians chapter 5…page ____ of the back section of the Bible under the chair in front of you…
- this is our church’s 60th anniversary – so we’ve selected the theme of Building on Our Heritage
- as part of that, we’re taking this year to work our way verse-by-verse through the wonderful book of Ephesians…
- this morning we’re starting a mini-series on Strengthening Unity in Our Relationships…because that’s what Paul focuses on at the end of chapter 5 and the beginning of chapter 6…And today focuses on the marriage relationship.
- now we know that a rather significant percentage of the people who attend our various campuses are single…so how do we plan to approach this material?...
- I suppose the answer is – the same way we teach anything from the Word of God…we just unpack what it says…
- sometimes passages are more directly applicable to a particular person than others…
- how, Paul told Timothy that…2 Timothy 3:16–17 - All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
- Even good works that one does in the marriage, with their family, in the workplace…etc.
- so even if a verse doesn’t seem at directly applicable to a Christian’s circumstances…we still consider it to be profitable…because it’s God’s Word…
- a certain percentage of the people in churches in Ephesus who originally received this letter would not have been married either, but apparently Paul still thought it was important enough to give them the information…
- I think we would also say this – if we really want to build on our heritage this year – part of that is helping every married couple know what God’s Word says about marriage…so I know you would want that even if it doesn’t directly impact you…
- After all, our Savior lived as a single-man and he cared about those who are married. And understood part of the Christian life is single people encouraging married couples to live faithful godly lives.
- Paul was single, and he spends time in many of his letters encouraging and instructing married couples what God says about how to honor the Lord in their relational circumstances.
- So singles today, this is applicable to you because of the responsibility that Christ has given you as a member of the body to know what God’s word says about these topics so you can instruct others.
- There is the reality as well that some who are single today may be married in the future.
- Others who were married, but are now single, I think some of our widows, who are regularly involved in ministry serving married couples by helping young parents, as a grandparent, or other role.
- there’s also the issue of how many of these principles are easily applied to our friendships, relationships in the workplace or with extended family members…so we’ll do the very best we can to broaden our applications out whenever possible…
- we would also want to say over and over and over that we highly value the single people in this church…Paul spoke about that in 1 Corinthians 7 when he said that often unmarried people have even more time to serve the Lord and are a special blessing and gift from the Lord…and we have certainly found that to be the case at Faith…
- if we didn’t have any single people and we lost all the ways they serve and minister here…this place would come to a grinding halt…
- Now, with that in mind, let’s read our passage – Read Ephesians 5:21-33
- As you are reading…I want you to note every-time that the marriage relationship is compared to knowing something about Christ’s relationship to the church.
- So we’re talking this morning about The Power for Marital Unity…and we’d like to use this morning to set the stage for our next several weeks together by looking for Four Spirit-empowered actions that must be present to facilitate unity in husband and wife relationships.
- Now I want to unpack what we mean by this phrase…
- throughout the book, Paul has been emphasizing the issue of people like you and me understanding the spiritual power that is available to us in Christ…
- You don’t enter marriage without the resources you need to face the mountains of challenges of two sinners whose lives are being united together…for example…remember what Paul prayed that we would understand…
- Ephesians 1:18–20 - I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
- understanding that changes the way we think about any relationship challenge…hopefully it fills our hearts…with hope…
- or in chapter 3, speaking about the ministry assignment God had given him with the Gentiles, even though he was Jewish…
- Ephesians 3:7 - of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.
- The mission and calling he received as an apostle was accompanied with God’s power to do it.
- or the way that wonderful section of chapter 3 closes with another prayer for power…Ephesians 3:16 - that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
- and then a few verses later…Ephesians 3:20–21 - Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
- it’s amazing when we stop and think about the kind of spiritual power that is available to us in Christ…
- no wonder Paul said this to the Romans…Romans 15:13 - Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- if you’re married, you might want to pause and consider any challenges you might be having and simply ask – are you viewing them through the lens of what might be achieved through your own power and wisdom…or are you factoring in the access you have to the resources of heaven?...
- now Paul picks this up again just before his discussion on the family when he says…Ephesians 5:18 - And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
- that’s one of the primary concepts that frames all he’s going to teach about the family…
- what does it mean to be a Holy Spirit-empowered husband?
- what does it mean to be a Holy-Spirit empowered wife?...
- parent, child, employer, employee?...
- All these examples of relationships are unpacking more what it means to walk in love in our relationships, to walk wisely, and what being filled by the Spirit produces in our relationships.
- you’ve heard me say many times that we are far from a perfect church…but on the other hand, we have many people in our church family who have been married for a very long time…
[My parents who celebrated their 40 year anniversary last Sunday]
- and if you asked them – what’s the secret?...
- they won’t say things like…I met my soulmate so its all come very easy…
- or, we never have to work on it…or we never have problems…
- many would say – by the power that comes from the Holy Spirit of God…[repeat Romans 15:13…]
Romans 15:13 - Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- So, Four Spirit-empowered actions that must be present to facilitate unity in husband and wife relationships.
I. Understand the Ultimate Marriage for God’s People.
- The book of Ephesians is a relatively short book…yet there’s quite a bit of real estate devoted to marriage…why might that be?...Because human marriage is to be a picture of God’s relationship to His people….
- In the upcoming weeks we are going to focus the specific of a covenant, and husband and wife responsibilities but Paul is assuming you understand the Lord’s marriage with his people, that is the standard, and example, and the ultimate reality for which you are seek to pattern your example in marriage…
- isn’t it interesting that…
A. The Bible both begins and ends with a marriage.
1. Adam and Eve – Genesis 2
- Genesis 2:18 - Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”
- Genesis 2:18–25 - Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
- God didn’t first institute government…or the church…
- He first instituted marriage…again in part because human marriage is to be a picture of God’s relationship to His people….and marriage would be a building block for civilization as image bearers of God multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.
- We also know that the Bible ends with not just any supper, but a glorious dinner…
2. Marriage supper of the Lamb – Revelation 19
- Revelation 19:7–9 - “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ ” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”
- Can you imagine what that event will be like?...it’s hard to even put into words…
- but who’s invited?...the people of God…and in what role?...
- We’re the bride of Christ…
- The overwhelming happiness because of the love being displayed…
- as the Bridegroom and Bride see each other for their first time on their wedding day in all their glory
- Family and friends, you have not seen in so long are there…
- Feasting on the best food
- Having fun listening to wonderful-amazing music…
- All the laughter and joy of recounting wonderful memories…But as awesome as this is…
- For earthly weddings there is limited resources, limited space, limited time, your ideal day and location can be booked by someone else…food can run out and get cold…musicians can sing off tune…the sound and tech fail to work…
- All this is just the faintest shadow and glimpse of what the wedding will be like that celebrates the Christ the Creator of the Universe’s eternal love for his Church.
- Not on a limited budget…lavishing with incomparable kindness.
- Time exists on his command.
- He has authority to choose the ideal place and no one get’s to overbook him.
- And I think of Jesus’s Words that he will wait to drink the cup of wine and joy with his disciples in fellowship with him in his Kingdom. How special that is going to be!!
- we also know that…
B. The Lord uses the picture of marriage to describe His relationship with His people throughout His Word.
- for example…
1. Isaiah 54:5 - “For your husband is your Maker, whose name is the LORD of hosts; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, who is called the God of all the earth.
- the same kind of terminology is used in…
2. Hosea 2:19 - “I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, in lovingkindness and in compassion,
- instead of God being aloof, or indifferent, or distracted or disgusted with our weaknesses…
- He chooses to be married to us…what kind of God is this?...
3. Isaiah 62:5 - For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you.
- I think back to all the weddings I’ve had the privilege of doing over the years…
- there’s nothing like that moment when I’m standing next to the groom and his bride-to-be comes through the door on her father’s arm…
- and the music is playing and everyone’s attention is on the bride…
- I often steal a look over at the groom and his heart is beating out of his chest…
- that’s the way God feels about his Bride…
- and the Lord chooses that imagery to help us understand His love for us?...
- Paul said…
4. Romans 7:4 - Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.
- in Jay’s CCNT, he translated the verse – “that you might be married to another man”
- and the point is…
C. Our marriage to God gives us direction, guidance, power, and hope as we navigate human marriage and other relationships.
- Ephesians 5:31-32 - Ephesians 5:31–32 - FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
- the reason you can have hope for your human marriage is because of the spiritual power available to you in and through your spiritual marriage…
- if you interviewed couples who have been married for decades at our church….many of them could speak about the integral role their faith plays in the way they think about all their earthly relationships…
They are constantly talking to their spiritual spouse about how to please Him in the way they relate to their physical spouse…
Christian…are you thankful that you have the best spouse, your bridegroom Jesus…that you have access to everyday…every moment to draw near to and talk with to help you navigate your various relationship??
How often are you talking with your spouse, Jesus, considering His interests?
One takeaway from all of this would be – how are you connecting your walk with the Lord – your spiritual marriage – with your walk with your spouse or other relationships?...
II. Be Humbled Because of What You Brought into the Marriage
What does humility have to do with it?...
- pride is one of the poison pills in marriage…or in a friendship, or an extended family relationship, or conditions at work, and certainly in the church…
- I deserve […], You owe me […]…
- You…ME!!…Monster….illustration.
- this is why Peter said…1 Peter 5:5–8 - …all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Remembering what we brought into our marriage with Jesus Christ, does that make us proud, or does that make us humble?...And if you are being appropriately humbled before God there is clear evidence in how you think, act, and respond to your spouse.
A. Paul has emphasized this repeatedly to the Ephesians
- Ephesians 2:1–3 - And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
- Ephesians 4:17–19 - So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.
- this is why it’s so important to understand that salvation is not by works…it’s by grace alone…and it’s that Jesus first loved us as sinners and died and rose again for the forgiveness of our sins that motivates us to love sinners in all our relationships…please consider this question…
- if you had the words – that would indicate a proud person…and that would indicate a person humbled by God’s grace…
- and you had to connect them to one of these appropriate phrases…a person living like salvation by works, or a person living like salvation by grace…which one matches up with which one?...
“I have to do everything, what more does [he/she] want from me.”
“As I reflected on God’s Word, you were right, I sinned against God and you. God wants me to grow by …, I am thankful for Jesus’s forgiveness and he can help me change, and I will seek to do …. because that’s what Christ would want, please forgive me.”
“What about [him/her]? I’m not the biggest problem here.”
Salvation by works is likely to make a person proud…because the focus is on all the good things that I’ve done…as the reason therefore for why I am entitled to good being done for me.
- salvation by grace is likely to make a person humble…because the focus is on how I needed someone else to die for my sin so that I could be redeemed and reconciled to a right relationship with God, and all of it was undeserved and uninitiated by me!
The more we reflect on that our salvation is by God’s kindness…
what kind of people ought we to be in relationship to the Savior to whom we’re married…
- humble people because of what we brought into the marriage…
hopefully preparing us to respond humbly
to our human spouses and other relationships…
B. The Lord uses stark imagery to help us understand this point.
God describes the relationship with his people, Israel, the birth of the nation, then their eventual marriage, and the condition that they were in when God loved them and covenanted with them.
1. Ezekiel 16:4–5 - “As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths. “No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the open field, for you were abhorred on the day you were born.
- but day after day after day you read about the covenant unfaithfulness of the children of Israel and then God…and God chose to marry people like that…anyway…
- and then we get to appreciate the New Covenant…and God was willing to marry a person like me…anyway…
One of the most amazing and graphic representations of God’s love toward his people is…
2. The amazing story of Hosea and Gomer
- where God instructs his prophet to marry a prostitute…to illustrate the way His people had been living
“Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet is committing adultery, as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods”
- and after their marriage and conception of several children…all with names dripping with theological significance…Gomer returns to her life of prostitution…
- and Hosea continues to provide food and provision for her even while she is living that way…
- and finally it becomes so bad that Gomer is being sold as a slave at an auction…
- and do you remember what God commanded his prophet to do?...
- to attend the auction…and buy her back…and Scripture says…Hosea 3:2 - So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley.
- what did she bring into the marriage?...and what did you and I bring into the marriage with our Savior?...
- the more we allow that kind of biblical truth to humble us regarding our relationship with the Lord, the better prepared we are to respond humbly to our human relationships here on earth.
In your marriage are you focused on the sin-pile of your spouse without first considering your sin against your holy Savior…focusing on your Savior’s love in your sin, will keep you humble as you address sin in relationships.
This is not the end of the wedding story…
III. Recognize What Your Groom Did for You
A. Ephesians 2:4–7
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
B. Ephesians 5:1–2
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
- you might be in a marriage relationship, or a family/friend relationship that feels fairly loveless…and be tempted to think…nobody loves me…
- friend, can a follower of Jesus Christ ever legitimately say that?...and will God’s love for His people ever fail?...assuming that you know Him personally, will his love for you ever fail?...
- the more you and I focus on God’s unfailing and undeserved love…the less I need to feel loved by others in my life, or feel appreciated, or feel affirmed…
- the more we focus on God’s unfailing and undeserved love…the more motivated I will be to love the Lord and others even when others don’t love me.
- and the Lord sometimes lays out the character of his love in rather graphic terms in contrast to our lack of love toward him…like this…
C. Ezekiel 16:6–14
“When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ “I made you numerous like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall and reached the age for fine ornaments; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare. “Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love; so I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became Mine,” declares the Lord GOD. “Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. “I also clothed you with embroidered cloth and put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. “I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck. “I also put a ring in your nostril, earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. “Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. “Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,” declares the Lord GOD.
- thank the Lord for graphic pictures in His Word intended to grip our hearts and focus our attention on truth as it really is…
- our groom did that for us…
- you know, this might sound like a strange marriage tip…but what do you think about this – your marriage toward your spouse will be sweeter, if you faithfully attend Church Family Night…
- why is that?...because we celebrate the Lord’s Table at Church Family Night…
- Jesus said – do this, in remembrance of me…
- and as we remember His great love for us, we’re freed up to serve and love others because we don’t need from them what we already from Him…
- As you meditate and thank the Lord for his sacrificial life-giving love for you, you want to demonstrate that toward your spouse and others…and you are especially gripped by the privilege to do it like your Savior when even others sin against you.
- if we receive any kind of love from the humans in our life – that’s great – it’s a bonus…but we don’t have to have it to survive because of what we already enjoy in Him…
- which allows us to…
IV. Relinquish Your Rights to Another in Awe of Your Husband, Christ
Last week we learned and sang a new song together…where we encouraged one another…
Your will be done, my God and father
As in Heaven, so on earth
My heart is drawn to self exalting
Help me seek Your kingdom first
As Jesus walked, so I shall walk
Held by Your same unchanging love
Be still my soul
Oh, lift your voice and pray
Father not my will but Yours be done
How in that garden he persisted
I may never fully know
The fearful weight of true obedience
It was held by him alone
What wondrous faith, to bear that cross
To bear my sin, what wondrous love
My hope was sure
When there my Saviour prayed
Father not my will but Yours be done
- “Not my will…but your will be done…”
- in the coming weeks, we’re going to be looking specifically at the role and responsibilities of husbands…and then of wives…and then of parents, and children, and slaves and masters (which has important principles for our work and jobs).
- and a lot of these have to do with submission to the instructions God gives us that are increasingly at odds in the culture in which we live…
- well, where are we going to find power for our earthly marriages and other relationships on earth?...
- from our heavenly marriage to the One who loves us like no other…
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