The Profound Mystery Revealed

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

THE PROFOUND MYSTERY REVEALED

Eph 5:22-33

22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."   32 This is a profound mystery — but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

NIV

Because we have looked at this in terms of the family structure, we need to see this as it was intended to be seen, the profound mystery. As often throughout the scriptures illustrations of the human experience are used to explain the experience between the divine and humanity. The explanation of marriage and the ensuring roles of both the husband and wife have merely given us a picture of how we are the bride of Christ. Jesus fulfills husbandry perfectly. How well do we fulfill the role of his bride? Are we truly submissive and recognize him as our head, as our Lord? He gave himself for us. We have to always be aware that he gave himself for us. He left heaven, a perfectly holy and spotless paradise and came to earth as an infant, and in a time and place where a man had little comforts and only hard work, with, what we would consider, rudiment tools. He lived with little and gave so much. He put our need first above his own. Is that how we husbands are supposed to be concerning our wife? We are told to love our wives as Christ loves the church. Jesus has cleansed us and made us holy. Jesus has presented us to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any blemish, but holy and blameless. Do we really act like we are radiant? Do we really see ourselves without any stain or wrinkle or blemish? Maybe if we looked at each other as Jesus does, we would not have any ill feelings among us. If we really saw ourselves in the way Jesus has washed us, then we would do no harm to each other in any way whatsoever. Just as Paul uses the example of the husband loving his wife as himself, and who would do harm to his own body, or hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it. This is how we should behave toward each other as the bride of Christ. We should have no hatred for ourselves, but rather feed and care or our body, which is the body of Christ, the church. As we are to leave our father and mother, or the world, and be united to our husband, Christ, and the two shall become one. We are to be one with Christ. So then we do not have any of our own agendas, but only live to please our husband, Jesus, as the illustration reveals this truth to us. True, it also applies within our human experience in marriage, yet the profound mystery has been revealed.