We’ve heard mixed messages about marriage.
15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
- Ephesians 5:15-17
God intended marriage to mirror the message of the Gospel.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
- Ephesians 5:25-32
What does the Gospel message teach us about the love of Christ for us?
“The gospel is the good news that God became man in Jesus Christ. He lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died—in our place. Three days later He rose from the dead, proving that He is the Son of God and offering the gift of salvation and forgiveness of sins to everyone who repents and believes in Him.”
- Dr. Rice Broocks, Every Nation co-founder and author of God’s Not Dead
He rejected sin to remain committed and exclusive.
He sacrificed His life.
He created a covenant.
He cleansed us and sanctifies us.
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification. 1 Thessalonians 4:3
What does this teach us about God’s will for marriage?
Marriage is committed and exclusive.
Marriage is built on sacrificial love.
Marriage is a covenant.
Marriage sanctifies us.