By Nathaniel Burson – 11/25/06
Ephesians 5:22-32 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; … So, ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
Paul spoke of a great mystery here. What is this great mystery? He gives great detail as to how a wife and husband should treat one another, but then says that it was all a parable, an allegory, which he was showing them, and he wasn’t talking about men and women at all. Nevertheless, he says, what he said DOES apply to men and women, but that wasn’t it’s TRUE meaning.
He doesn’t go on to explain this deeper meaning, presumably because the Ephesians were still stuck on the basic principles of Godliness (Hebrews 5-6), and couldn’t go on to the complicated things. Nevertheless, there is a deeper meaning to be learned.
2 Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
To begin with, the church, collectively, is the bride of Christ. But He isn’t married to it yet! He is only betrothed to it. This is important. Remember, Paul spoke to us of a great mystery concerning Christ and the church. But that, while fascinating, WASN’T the mystery of which Paul spoke!
Isaiah 62:5 For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. [Jerusalem]
That the church was to be the bride seemed to be common knowledge, both in the Old and New Testament. Thus, it clearly wasn’t the mystery. But something else, something that pertained to relationship between this future bride and bridegroom, THAT was the mystery, the one Paul was trying to tell them about in Ephesians 5.
There is actually, a typical fulfillment of this plan of Christ marrying the Church. Well, there is more than one, but one that really stands out in the Bible. And that is the story of Abraham, Isaac, and Rebekah. This story takes all of Genesis 24, of which I will only be reading the high points. We’ll pick up the story where Abraham’s servant was recapping it for Rebekah’s family…
Genesis 24:34-41 And he said, I am Abraham’s servant. And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: … And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my father’s house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son. And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house: Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.
So, first, the father sent his servant out to find a wife for his son. And he had a few very specific requirements for this woman. But she had to come voluntarily, and if she didn’t wish to come, well, that would be that.
Verses 42-49 And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go: Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink; And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master’s son. And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee. And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so, I drank, and she made the camels drink also.
So next, this servant of Abraham’s gave the prospective woman a test, something to see how she would react, so he’d know if she was the right one for his master’s son or not. And this particular woman passed the test. And after explaining all this to her family, they responded…
Verses 51-56 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master’s son’s wife, as the LORD hath spoken. And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth. … And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.
And now, after agreeing to it, her family wanted to slow them down. And Abraham’s servant was having none of that, but insisted on leaving immediately. They agreed to put the question to Rebekah, and let her decide.
Verses 57-67 And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth. And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men. And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them… And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. … And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
That was rather long, but I think it will prove to be worth it momentarily. Abraham was the father of the faithful, and Isaac was his beloved son, whom God had once asked him to sacrifice. I am going to postulate that these were symbolic of the Father and Christ, then we are going to try to plug in the other facts into that theory and see if it works.
First of all, the main point of this story was that Abraham sent his servant into a far country to get a bride for his son. This bride was to come, of her own free will, and marry a man, sight-unseen. Imagine the faith involved in making such a commitment!
Now, keep that story in mind, we’ll be coming back to this analogy. Meanwhile,
Revelation 19:7-9 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
This happens before the battle of Armageddon, but after all of the terrors in Revelation, and after the judgment of the Great Whore. This helps us nail down the time, prophetically speaking, of the time when the betrothed Church becomes the married Wife of Christ, at this great marriage supper.
Having laid sufficient groundwork now, it is time to start tying up some of these loose ends. Christ’s betrothed, the Church of God, has the spirit of Christ living in them. And the Church is supposed to take this spirit that He has given them, and with that spirit, learn to KNOW Christ, by learning how He thinks and what He is like! And through this process, they can learn whether or not they like Him!
No one wants to vow to spend the rest of Eternity with a being they don’t even know! And so, this betrothal time we are even now fulfilling is designed as a courtship period! This is the time in which the husband and wife learn what each other is like; the wife learns whether or not she is going to be able to commit to obey her husband throughout all eternity, and the husband learns whether or not He can trust His wife to obey Him, and be faithful to Him!
The husband and the wife each have unique spirits; Christ has His, and every prospective member of the future kingdom of God and the bride of Christ has theirs. But in order for their relationship to last, they must align their spirits behind a common direction!
Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
Christ and His church can’t be squabbling like all of the married folks I’ve ever known, throughout all time, or their house will be as unpleasant as the house you probably grew up in! And Christ WILL NOT MARRY a wife that He cannot trust ABSOLUTELY to align her spirit with His, because He will not risk spending the vastness of eternal time with an obnoxious, rebellious woman!
Proverbs 21:9 It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.
And so, as a part of this courtship process, Christ has given the church His spirit. The very mind of Christ. “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, this is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21)
And this mind of Christ literally lives in us, if we let it, and it will tell us at each step which way to turn. And through this courtship of Christ, both potential spouses learn whether the bride will obey and WALK this way. Remember, just as Abraham didn’t want a wife for his son that wasn’t willing, the Father will not introduce a woman to Christ for a wife who doesn’t wish to be there.
And yes, I did just now say the Father. Because FINDING the potential wife is the job of God the Father. Just as Abraham sent His servant to find a potential wife for Isaac, so also the Father sends His servants off to find the possible wives of Christ.
John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
It is the Father who finds potential members of His Family, and who then introduces them to His son. His son then gives them His spirit to find out if the wife will humble her will under that of her future husband!
Jeremiah 17:10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
Christ SEARCHES the hearts of those in His Church, and He watches them through their life, and learns how they react to different experiences, to see if, when His spirit in their mind says one thing, his wife will “seek not her own will, but the will of him who sent her”, as it says that Christ did in John 5:30, or stubbornly live life her own way, independent of her betrothed husband! And now, we have finally arrived at the solution of the GREAT MYSTERY which Paul mentioned all those millennia ago!
Ephesians 5:22-24 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
This parable, which the Ephesians understood only literally (and which, as Paul said, applied literally just as well), but which had so much more meaning behind it, was describing this courtship, and ultimately, marriage, of Christ and His bride-to-be, the Church of God!
And, just as Christ, the future husband, had a duty to learn the character of his blushing bride, so also, SHE must find out if she can trust this new husband which she has never seen, or met, and yet has agreed to marry! She must learn whether he is abusive, or lazy, or selfish, or given to being an alcoholic, and if, when push comes to shove, he will give his life for her and her children!
Ephesians 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
And through the sacrifice of Christ, every member of the Church of God now knows that they CAN trust Christ to give Himself for the Church, assuming they do their part and are obedient to their future husband!
Ephesians 5:28-32 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
And finally, this man will be joined to His wife, and they two shall be one flesh! How will this come about? By this lifetime of being betrothed to Christ, with HIS SPIRIT, HIS VERY NATURE living IN you, directing your every move and correcting your every mistake! If you continually align your nature with that of Christ, IT MUST ONE DAY BECOME THE SAME NATURE!
2 Peter 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
And when you finally have become a partaker of the divine nature, at the marriage supper between the Lamb and the Church, YOU AND THE LAMB WILL HAVE ONE SPIRIT, ONE NATURE, and ONE PURPOSE! And so throughout all the ends of time and anywhere in all of Macro-Cosmic space, you will be united, as a husband and wife SHOULD BE!
Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
And you will be working hand in hand with your husband, Christ, whose spirit now lives in you, to give the spirit of God, the waters of life to creatures throughout the universe! Truly, if you align your spirit with that of your beloved betrothed, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)
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