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[0:00] In Ephesians chapter 5, and our focus today is going to be specifically verse 33.! Now, in verses 22 to 33, we see within the household code that which is called to wives and husbands.

[0:20] And we see in this section that the creation-rooted nature of marriage, so the very nature of marriage being rooted back to creation, the creation-rooted nature of marriage contains an astonishing mystery.

[0:39] And that mystery is that marriage is an illustration of the new creation union of Christ's union with the church. Marriage, therefore, is to be understood or to be interpreted in the light of that union of Christ with the church.

[0:59] This understanding and orientation of marriage transforms marital relationships. So the best way to mend or to grow your marriage is not to look to the worldly wise men gurus, but to look to the glorious, covenantal, new creation union of Christ as head of his bride, which is the church.

[1:25] And this glorious union is the pattern of our duties in marriage. So in Ephesians chapter 5, our focus today, as I said, will be verse 33.

[1:40] But we will read verse 22 to 23. Before we do, I'll save that for a little bit.

[1:53] But in verse 33, what's going on in this verse is that all that has been discussed is now brought together into one word.

[2:04] That is, that the glorious union of Christ in his body is here in this verse concluded and summarized in the duties of marriage. So I'll say that again.

[2:15] The glorious union of Christ in his body is concluded and summarized in the duties of marriage. So in examination of this verse, we're going to look at, first of all, the context.

[2:28] The context that leads up to it that gives the scope of the duties. Secondly, we're going to look at husbands, what this verse says for husbands.

[2:40] And third, we're going to look at wives, what this verse says for wives. So the context, the husbands and the wives. So from verses 22 to 33.

[2:52] Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church.

[3:20] And gave himself for her, that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word. That he might present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing.

[3:36] But that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife, loves himself.

[3:49] For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it. Just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

[4:03] For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. And the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

[4:17] Nevertheless, let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself. And let the wife see that she respects her husband.

[4:29] Heavenly Father, we thank you again for supernatural revelation. We thank you that we have infallible truth. And I pray, Lord, that as we seek to understand the meaning of your word, that you would lead us into all truth.

[4:44] That you would illuminate the word to us. And that you would make the word effectual to the hearers. Help us to understand the importance of this. Help us to understand, Lord, what we individually must do.

[4:58] I pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. So, again, verse 33 is what we're going to be looking at. And first of all, the context. Namely, the context of the mystery of Christ and the church.

[5:12] So, really keep your finger on 33. Because we're going to be working through the text. See what it means. The doctrinal implications. And then where we go from there. But notice how verse 33 starts by saying, Nevertheless.

[5:24] You know, there's a greater context to this verse. And then there's a greater context to that context itself. But the verse itself starts off by saying, Nevertheless. Or maybe your translation might say, In any case.

[5:38] So, what's going on here with this word is that it's signaling a return to the point. Now, verses 22 to 24 is the duty of wives.

[5:48] So, it's directed to wives. The duty. The reason for the duty. And then the pattern for the duty. And then 25 to 27 then focuses on husbands. Gives the duty. The reason for the duty.

[5:59] And the pattern for the duty. And then it goes on to a discussion about Christ and the church. And the mystery of redemption. Of Christ and the church. Which is contained in marriage.

[6:10] So, after speaking of Christ and the church. Nevertheless. Or in any case. Signaling a return back to the point. Which was, Husbands, love your wives. And then also in 28.

[6:22] So, husbands ought to love their own wives. And then it talks about the mystery of Christ and the church. This is a great mystery. But I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless.

[6:34] So, what this is doing is it's calling to mind the discussion. Submission. And it's conclusions. Of verses 22 to 24 on submission. And 25 to 33 on love.

[6:45] Okay. So, it's calling to mind. It's signaling a return. To submission. Wives' submission. And husbands' love. And it's summarizing and concluding it in a statement.

[6:58] John Gill in his commentary on the verse. He says that it recapitulates the mutual duties of husband and wife. After he had enforced them from the instance and example of Christ and his church.

[7:10] So, this is significant to understand the greatest context of this verse. To understand what it means. Is that it is a summary of what's already been established. It's not introducing a new argument. It's summarizing and concluding what has been argued.

[7:25] Now, something that's important is the mystery of Christ and the church. This needs to be foremost in our mind as we work through it. And how the duty of husbands and wives is the reason for it is because the husband is the head of the wife.

[7:45] And the wife is his body. And the reason is because of Christ and the church. Now, as we recall, that which has been argued and the implications of it is the image or the gospel illustrating picture that is in Christ and the church.

[8:02] Namely, is how in a marriage, there's the head and there's the body. And if you recall, the illustration of a king who marries a harlot.

[8:15] All that he is and all that is his becomes hers. And all that she is and all that is hers becomes his. So, namely, all of her poverty and all of her shame becomes his.

[8:30] And all of his royalty and all of his riches becomes hers. So, also, with Christ and the church, the church being composed of believers as living stones, each individual person in the body of Christ, all that is theirs, namely their poverty and their sin, becomes his.

[8:49] That is, our sin, our poverty is imputed to Christ. Christ takes the sin of his people to the cross. It's nailed to the cross. It's paid in full.

[8:59] And just as the scapegoat in the Old Testament, the sins of the people were transferred onto that scapegoat and it was taken away, never to return. So, also, the sins of Christ's people, his bride, his church, his body, are imputed or transferred to him, taken to the cross.

[9:16] Divine justice has been satisfied.

[9:46] Because of his work of redemption. And as such, with him as their head, he goes into the Holy of Holies as her head, takes her with him. And it is as though she is without wrinkle, without spot or without blemish because of Christ.

[10:02] Not because we become perfect, but because we are in Christ who is perfect. So, this is the picture in our minds. The redemption, which is mystery hidden in marriage from the very beginning, from creation.

[10:19] Creation-rooted nature of marriage. Okay? So, nevertheless, in any case, now both duties are modeled after this pattern.

[10:31] Both duties of husband and wife are modeled after this pattern of Christ and the church and the mystery of redemption as it's contained in it. The example of Christ's union with his people in the church.

[10:44] So, we want to first understand what is the church. This is the pattern for which we're to understand 33. But what exactly is the church?

[10:54] Now, we know temporarily or locally of the local church. But does that mean then that everybody who comes into the local church is therefore the body of Christ?

[11:08] No. So, we need to understand the distinction of the local church and the universal church. The universal church is all those whom compose the body of Christ.

[11:19] All believers, all Christians, all who have looked to Jesus for salvation and have been born again. So, all who look to Christ and are saved in Christ are in the universal church.

[11:32] That is the body of Christ, the bride of Christ. So, then what is the place of the local church? Well, the local church, if you'll picture as though you were to travel abroad.

[11:44] You were going into a foreign land. You are not a citizen of that land. Your fatherland is back home should you be a Canadian citizen.

[11:55] So, you are in a foreign land. But while you are in a foreign land, there's the embassy. The embassy which represents the fatherland or which represents the place in which you are a citizen.

[12:08] In a similar way, so also the local church is like an embassy which represents your homeland or the fatherland where you are a citizen. Which for Christians, we are not citizens of this world.

[12:19] We are citizens of the kingdom of God. So, if somebody were to just come in off the street, that doesn't mean that they are automatically for entering the doors of the local church, that they are automatically in the body of Christ.

[12:33] So, we're speaking about the universal church. And the local church is a visible, tangible manifestation of the universal church on earth.

[12:48] And Benjamin Keech defined a church as a congregation of baptized believers who have voluntarily committed themselves to the Lord and one another, regularly meeting for worship and the administration of sacraments and practicing mutual care and discipline.

[13:12] So, we have the local church which represents the universal church, all believers. So, somebody doesn't have to be a member of the universal church.

[13:25] For example, the thief on the cross. He would not have had time to go and enter into a covenantal membership with the local church. But those who have been born again, who have been saved, of course, desire the local church.

[13:43] So, given the context of our understanding of the union of Christ in the church and it being a mystery of redemption in marriage, based on the nature of marriage that goes back to creation, given this understanding, the duty of husbands is modeled after Christ's loving headship of the church.

[14:07] So, we'll now look at husbands. What does this text speak to husbands? For us to understand the duty that's given to husbands here, we must understand this verse not standing as its own, but being a summary of what has already been discussed in verses 22 to 33.

[14:28] So, we understand that the duty of husbands is modeled after Christ's loving headship of the church. This is important. So, what is...

[14:39] Who are we talking about here? Is it just... Is it just really the best of husbands or just the elite husbands who have been married a long time and have got to work through a lot of things?

[14:52] Or is it those who have a PhD in a theology degree? Or... Who is it that we're talking about? Well, notice in our text, Which husbands does it speak to? It says, Nevertheless, let each one of you in particular.

[15:07] So, this is speaking to every husband. The duty... Now, the duty we see is so love his own wife as himself. And we're going to look at this in the greater context as it summarizes everything in this...

[15:24] In the greater passage. But... The word itself to love... What is it getting at? Now, the lexical meaning... A lexicon is essentially a dictionary for a particular language to draw out what in that language that word means.

[15:41] And in this case, in the Greek language, what that word means in the context of this verse. So, the lexical meaning here of love is to have a warm regard for, an interest in another, to cherish, to have affection for, to love.

[16:01] But to really expand on the duty here for husbands to love their wives, it's a summary or a recap of verses 25 to 32.

[16:15] It is summarizing all that has been covered before. So, if we are to understand what it is saying in this text for a husband to love his wife, then we are to understand that as being how Christ loved the church.

[16:31] How Christ self-sacrificially loves the church. Now, there's a lot more that we could say about that, isn't there? If we were to read in all of scripture, all the ways in which Christ loves the church, there will be far more for us to consider of how husbands ought to love our wives than we certainly have time for here.

[16:54] But understanding very simply that the model or the pattern or the example by which husbands are to love their wives is Christ's love for the church.

[17:05] The duty is given, the pattern is given, but what does this love look like as a husband? Because a husband is not Christ.

[17:18] So, what does it look like to pattern our marital relations after Christ? It is to model after or to imitate Christ's self-sacrificial love for the church.

[17:32] To the contrary of this duty would be husbands neglecting their duty, namely neglecting headship or delegating headship, domineering over their wife or being cold and heartless.

[17:47] But, positively, it would be entirely voluntary and out of the fullness of his authority. Christ's self-sacrificial love was entirely voluntary and out of the fullness of his authority.

[18:03] Christ loved the church when she possessed nothing lovable. Christ loved with an eternal, covenantal, unchanging, self-denying love.

[18:15] And this is the standard by which husbands are here called as their duty to love their wives. Now, what about the orientation? We see the duty, we see the pattern, now the orientation for husbands in their marriage.

[18:29] Now, with Christ and the church as the pattern, how then does the head love the body? Well, it's self-sacrificially. We've understood, not to go back and redo previous sermons, but we've understood that as the husband lovingly leads his wife as a head, with Christ's loving the church as orientation, the husband is to lovingly lead by following after the pattern of Christ as prophet, priest, and king, and bringing God's word to her and protecting against error and impurity and corruption and taking his wife to God in prayer, to taking her with him to worship and as king to rule, to reign, to protect, to provide for.

[19:17] Now, when we understand a king, we might picture a king as a king wears a crown, but a husband as king does not wear a glamorous crown of gold, but the crown for the husband is a crown of thorns.

[19:36] Notice in the greater context of this duty. Just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her, that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that he might present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she might be holy and without blemish.

[19:57] So the crown which a husband is called to, or the crown for the husband, is a crown of thorns. Now, in a sin-cursed world, the husband will try to let their wives wear a crown of thorns, or maybe wives will try to wield the scepter, but he can continue to wear the thorns.

[20:20] But if you do away with verses 22 to 24, submission to your husband who is your head, if you do away with submission, then you inevitably do away with 25 to 33, which is self-sacrificial loving of the bride.

[20:38] Which brings us to our next point. Wives. That the duty of wives is modeled after the church's submissive respect toward Christ.

[20:52] So the duty is summarized here. Let the wife see that she respects her husband. So I'll say it again. The duty of wives is modeled after the church's submissive respect toward Christ.

[21:07] So the duty as it's stated in verse 33 is not a new argument. It's not a new thought, or it's not something which is just stated briefly on its own. But again, verse 33 summarizes and concludes that which has gone before it.

[21:22] So we have in our minds the duties that have been given, the reason for those duties, and the pattern for those duties. And now it is being summarized or concluded or recapitulated.

[21:39] So wives, the duty of the wives is this. Let the wife see that she respects her husband. This is, as I said, is a summary of 22 to 24.

[21:50] But when we look back at 24, there's a different word that's involved, isn't there? It says, wives, submit to your own husbands. Now this is different from the summary or the conclusion that's given to husbands.

[22:01] We see husbands, the same word is used again. Husbands, love your wives. And then in 28, so husbands ought to love their own wives. And then in 33, let each one of you in particular so love his own wife.

[22:15] The same word is reused for husbands. So why do you think it's a different word that's used for the wife in summarizing or in concluding the duty of wives to their husbands?

[22:27] Well, first of all, let's look at the lexical meaning of respect. What does this word mean in the language, in the context which it's given? Respect being to have a profound measure of respect for, to have reverence, to have respect with special reference to fear of offending.

[22:49] Now we might hear that and think, well, that's kind of odd in fear of defending. And you might think, well, my husband's not a snowflake. He's not going to be offended by me. We might think of it in regards to hurting someone's feelings.

[23:05] But what's in view here is consider, for example, God. We don't offend God. God is not a snowflake.

[23:17] It's not that God's feelings are hurt. But when we offend God, again, it's not hurting his feelings. But what is it when we offend God?

[23:29] Because God doesn't suffer, but to offend as it means to commit an offense. Namely, to transgress, to violate, or to do wrong.

[23:42] Now, Matthew Henry, on this verse, or on this word in particular, he wrote that reverence consists of love and esteem, which produce a care to please and of fear, which awakens a caution, lest just offense be given, that the wife thus reverence her husband is the will of God and the law of the relation.

[24:05] So the duty is stated, and then the pattern we understand. What does this respect look like?

[24:16] The duty is to respect, which is really summarizing to submit to, and we'll flesh that out further. But what does this respect, as the duty is given, what does this respect look like?

[24:27] Submission to her husband as modeled after, or imitating the church's respectful and pure conduct toward her head.

[24:38] Now, if you're taking notes, you might want to jot down 1 Peter 3.2. In that statement, I used language in a parallel passage from, well, a supporting passage from 1 Peter 3.2.

[24:50] The wife imitates the church's respectful and pure conduct toward her head. So this respect, or this submission, is consenting to his headship with self-denial.

[25:09] Titus 2.5 says, Obedience so that the word of God might not be blasphemed. So, negatively speaking, if a wife is negligent in her duty, when wives neglect their duty, what it looks like is crushing husbands with nagging or quarreling, not being subject to or trying to rule over him.

[25:34] Now, we live in a sin-cursed world. Those whom are believers, those whom are Christians, who have been astonished by the gospel, shocked by the reality of our sins and Christ's satisfaction of our sins, those who have been transferred out of the kingdom of darkness, out of this world into marvelous light, those who have been renewed and reoriented towards God.

[26:02] In this life, we still live in a sin-cursed world, and we still have remaining corruption, and we still battle against sin. Now, we need to understand that in this sin-cursed world, there are particular things about the curse.

[26:20] Namely, for the wife, for the woman, as was told to Eve, your desire will be for your husband, but he will rule over you.

[26:32] We still live in a sin-cursed world, and there will still be a battle for wives to battle against the sin of desiring to rule over her husband, but your husband will rule over you.

[26:46] So, understanding the battle which occurs, understanding the reality of a sin-cursed world, understanding the duty, understanding the pattern, what should we consider then about the orientation of the wife and her duty to respect her husband?

[27:05] Now, again, we notice that it's a different word that's used. For husbands, the duty of husbands, as all this is concluded, the duty for husbands is to love their wives, which is the same word that was used previously.

[27:16] We know that the husband is the head, which has been previously established. That was the reason for the duty for the wives. The wives are to submit to their husband because he is their head.

[27:28] So we know that, but the duty is not to be head, but to love. Because you are the head, the way in which you are to lead is to love. That same duty is summarized with the same word.

[27:42] Let each one of you in particular love his own wife as himself. But yet the duty that is summarized for wives or concluded, it's a different word.

[27:54] Why is that? Why does it use the word respect and not submit? What's going on here is that Paul's getting to the heart of marital unity.

[28:06] The duty to wives is not merely an external going along with things. That phrase, fake it till you make it, that doesn't work here. It gets to the heart of what's going on internally.

[28:19] Now, the Puritan, William Gouge, wrote that, respect is as salt to season all the duties of subjection, which pertains to a wife, which pertains to a wife.

[28:32] So God's good and blessed order for wives is to willingly and cheerfully subject yourself to your own husbands in everything, showing respect with pure conduct and a quiet and gentle heart.

[28:48] And this is obedience to God. And it is a picture of gospel illustrating joy. There's joy in the union of Christ in the church.

[28:59] There's joy in the biblical union of husband and wife. There's a picture of the gospel illustrating joy of the church coming under Christ as head.

[29:10] So that gospel illustrating joy is illustrated in marriages when the wife respectfully comes under her husband as her head. This means she is seeking to no longer walk to gratify my own desires, but the will of my head.

[29:30] Just as the church doesn't turn to Christ, look to Christ and follow Christ begrudgingly, but joyfully and earnestly. So when we are in situations where we think, how am I to behave in this situation?

[29:46] We picture Christ in the church. We think of Christ in the church. For the wife, how does the church respectfully come under Christ's headship?

[29:56] And for the husband, how does Christ lovingly lead the church? So from this, we can draw some concluding uses. These concluding uses, first of all, I want to draw your attention to ask the question, what informs your conduct?

[30:14] We all have conduct. We all conduct ourselves in some way. So the way in which you conduct yourselves, what informs that conduct?

[30:25] Living to God in Christ requires right knowledge. And that we've seen as a theme throughout Ephesians, is that right knowledge informs right conduct.

[30:40] Namely, to know God, his works, and his will. But this knowledge in itself doesn't just end in contemplation. This knowledge informs our conduct.

[30:55] So I ask the question, do you love the doctrine of redemption? The reason why I ask that is because those whom are Christians are those whom have been radically transformed out of sin and darkness into light and life and truth.

[31:16] They have been forgiven of all of their sins. They have had Christ's righteousness accredited to their account. They who were unclean were deemed to be clean, being united to Christ.

[31:29] So those who understand the doctrine of redemption, those who love redemption, that I, having gone my own way, I have been purchased.

[31:42] I have been purchased at the price of the precious blood of Christ, shed out and poured out on my behalf to purchase me as people, as a person of his own possession.

[31:56] So those whom have been redeemed love the doctrine of redemption. So, do you love the doctrine of redemption? If you do, do you love God's work of redemption enough to know his will for you and to live for him?

[32:16] Those who love the doctrine of redemption because they've been radically reoriented, renewed and changed because of it, will love biblical marriage because biblical marriage is a picture of redemption.

[32:32] But, not everybody loves God's work of redemption. Satan does not love God's work of redemption because redemption is that work of the seed of the woman, the skull crusher, of the Christ, of his victory over the serpent, which crushed the serpent's skull.

[32:53] So, Satan does not love the work of redemption. Because Satan hates redemption, Satan hates marriage. And because Satan hates marriage, Satan hates how marriage is a picture or a mystery of redemption.

[33:10] And Satan, as we read earlier, is the father of lies. And Satan, as the father of lies, seeks to tear down marriage with lies. there are numerous lies about marriage.

[33:29] And the course of this world follows after the prince of the power of the air. You remember this previously from in the book of Ephesians. That the course of this world follows after the prince of the power of the air, who is the father of lies.

[33:46] Right? And there are numerous lies which this world fully embraces, which are lies about the very nature of marriage, which are essential for marriage being a picture, a gospel-illustrating picture of redemption.

[34:03] So, when we consider even the very things of which we learned about the nature of marriage in verses 28 to 32, we can just quickly rhyme off a couple of things.

[34:16] but lies about it being a man and wife. Lies about the biological gender of a man leaving his father and mother and cleaving to his wife, a biological female.

[34:35] Or even lies of headship. That the man is not the head in the marriage, but that the woman can be the head. Or that marriage is not a covenantal commitment, but yet just something to be used for my own gratification until it no longer pleases me, and then I'll move on to something else.

[34:54] Or even people's perspective of entering marriage, of it just being perhaps temporary, instead of a covenantal commitment of a particular union, or of a particular union being united to that person.

[35:10] Or even of procreation within marriage. A woman doesn't need a man anymore, a woman doesn't need a husband anymore, doesn't even need to be one flesh in order to have children.

[35:24] or the blessedness of procreation within marriage is under attack in multiple different ways. But, for example, even pornography, how readily available pornography is and how successful it is because of the sin-cursed world, and because of that which husbands and wives long for, what husbands as men long for, what women long for, and the devil, who is the father of lies, not only plants lies, but, for example, causes doubt that God really say and tells lies is that this is what will fulfill you.

[36:07] So, instead of keeping, for the husband, keeping their eyes exclusively for their wives, or even as wives, instead of presenting their bodies exclusively for the gratification of their husbands, there are numerous lies about marriage and we could spend much more time looking at each aspect of the biblical nature of marriage, which is rooted in creation, and how the devil is attempting to tear down marriage, attacking marriage, with all of these lies, which, as we see in our culture, the course of this world, which follows after the prince of the power of the air, abandons the nature of marriage and embraces the lie.

[36:58] So, another question, what is your orientation and pattern for your marriage? Christians, those whom are the body of Christ, are called out of this world, out of the course of this world.

[37:15] You once walked according to the course of this world, walked as the Gentiles, but according to the greatness, exceeding greatness of the almighty power of God, you were called out of death and darkness, and you he made alive.

[37:33] So, what is your orientation and pattern of your marriage? Is it the course of this world? Is it the lies of the father of the lies, the prince of the power of the air? Or is the orientation and pattern of your marriage that of Christ and the church?

[37:51] If you have difficulties in your marriage, know that Christ can mend even the most difficult marriage. So, turn to Christ. In difficult moments of marriage, turn to Christ.

[38:06] And not knowing how to handle a situation in marriage, turn to Christ. Look to the example, the model, the pattern of Christ in the church, and look to Christ for the power which he supplies.

[38:20] We're not left to ourselves. So, husbands, look to how Christ leads and loves the church, namely, in nourishing, cherishing, being concerned about her good and sanctification, and washing her in the word.

[38:35] Wives, look to how the church submits to and respects Christ, how the church joyfully looks to him, how the church intentionally follows him, and how the church is subject to him and respects him.

[38:49] So, it's really quite simple in understanding verse 33. Verse 33 being a summary of what has been discussed. But husbands, the duty to husbands is to lovingly cherish your wife.

[39:03] It doesn't end there. It's not just to love your wife. But husbands, lovingly cherish your wife as Christ does the church. So, what does the husband's love look like?

[39:14] it looks like Christ's love for the church. And then wives. Wives submissively respecting your husband as the church is subject to Christ as her head.

[39:25] So, given this and all the conciseness of one statement of the duties for husbands and wives, we might think, well, there's a lot of variables, there's a lot of different situations, there's a lot of specifics, there's a lot of what-ifs.

[39:38] What about all of these things? Notice that there's a greater context to what we're looking at, right? Chapters four to six is right conduct.

[39:51] Remember, one to three is what you ought to believe. Chapters four to six is what you ought to do. And right conduct is stated as walk worthy.

[40:02] Walk worthy, that theme is picked up again in chapter five, walk in light, walk in love, and walk in wisdom. Now, walk in wisdom, when we work through that, we get to the household code, which falls under walk in wisdom.

[40:20] Now, as regards Christian ethics or making the best choices, there are different things to consider. Sometimes we consider law, if something is as simple as law, then it's obedience.

[40:33] Sometimes it's not as simple as obedience to law, but it is a matter of wisdom, where perhaps two choices are presented, neither of which are sin, but one of them is the better choice.

[40:45] It requires wisdom to discern and understand which is the better choice, and sometimes it overlaps. Sometimes that which requires wisdom also overlaps with that as law.

[40:56] But anyways, here we have commands that are given, the duties, but sometimes the working out of it isn't exactly clear, but this is in the context of walking in wisdom.

[41:08] The application of wisdom. Walk as wise, that is walk in wisdom, the prudence of walking in wisdom requires theoretical and practical elbow grease to live for God in Christ.

[41:27] Now what I mean by that, Ephesians is both theoretical and practical, what you ought to believe, what you ought to do. Now what I mean when I say that the prudence of walking in wisdom requires theoretical, practical elbow grease, is taking that which is theoretical, that which we know from scripture, and applying it, or rubbing it in, to our life circumstance.

[41:54] circumstance. There's not a flow chart in scripture that covers every single situation that every single one of us is going to encounter. It will all be different. What we are called to do is understand the theoretical and the practical and work it into our individual circumstances.

[42:13] Petrus van Maastricht wrote that theology directs the ends of all, proper to each, to a certain common and highest end, which is God.

[42:25] So that in this discipline, God indeed might receive his own glory. But in God and in his glory, we might receive perfect blessedness.

[42:36] And these two come together if we live for God. So what's going on here with a concise statement that's concluding a pattern that's given, an example, a model that's given, what's going on here is it's like he's saying, I want you to think deeply about Christ and the church.

[42:55] As you read this text, I want you to think deeply about Christ's love for the church. I want you to think deeply about the church's duty to her head, Christ. In your marriage, I want you to think deeply about Christ and the church.

[43:10] Husbands, I want you to think deeply about how Christ, self-sacrificially loves the church. Wives, in your marriage, I want you to think deeply about how the church respectfully submits to her husband.

[43:22] When you are confronted with challenges in your marriage, I want you to think deeply about Christ and the church. It's almost as if, so to speak, God has designed it in a way that in this life, he wants to point us to Christ.

[43:38] He wants to point us towards Christ's work of redemption to save a people. Now, the church, then what is the duty of the church?

[43:52] When we understand this mystery that the illustration is of a redeemed people of God looking to Christ to be led, protected, nourished, provided for, and cherished, Christ.

[44:05] That, then, is how we should orientate ourselves as the body of Christ towards our head as Christ. So, given this, does this characterize how you personally look to Christ, or is your desire to rule over Christ?

[44:23] When we consider the curse over Eve, over the wife, and therefore the necessity for this duty to be commanded to wives, and it's a picture of Christ in the church, do you, then, desire to rule over Christ, or do you look to voluntarily, joyfully, submit to Christ as head?

[44:47] Have you looked to Christ? Do you desire autonomy from the headship of Christ, or do you look to Christ as your head, as your Savior?

[44:58] Savior? If your desire is to rule over Christ, or if you desire autonomy from Christ, you are called to repent and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ.

[45:10] Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. Revelation in chapter 21, verses 1 to 4, says, Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, but also there was no more sea.

[45:36] Then I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband, and I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people.

[45:56] God himself will be with them, and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.

[46:08] There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. And then further down in Revelation 22, 17, it says, And the spirit and the bride say, Come, and let him who hears say, Come, and let him who thirsts come.

[46:25] Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. A great God, we thank you for your word, that you have given us divine revelation, and in that you give us an understanding of how we are to see, how we are to view our marriages, and how we are to respond in our marriages, and that this is not merely a cultural thing, but that it is rooted in very creation, and as such, there's a mystery, and that mystery is that marriage is a gospel illustrating picture of Christ in the church.

[46:55] We thank you, our Lord Jesus Christ, that you self-sacrificially love the church from eternity, that you gave yourself, that you poured out your blood, that you might present your bride, that is the church, the body of Christ, as though without spot, without wrinkle, and without blemish, that as you go into the particular presence of God, that is the heavenly holy of holies, that as our head, you bring your body with you.

[47:24] We thank you for union with Christ, we thank you, Holy Spirit, that you spiritually unite us to the whole person of Christ as our mediator and as our head. We thank you for all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places which belong to the church, that is, the body of Christ, the bride of Christ.

[47:43] I pray, Lord, that for those of us who are husbands and wives, that you would cause us in our marriages to again and again and again, that we would think deeply about Christ and the church, that we would think about it often, that we would think about it with such astonishment for the love of Christ and the duty of the church.

[48:05] I pray, Lord, that this would form our marital relations, that it would mend marital relations, and that it would grow our marital relations. And for those who are not yet married, I pray, Lord, that this picture of Christ and the church in marriage, that our marriages might be a picture to our children, and that they would indeed see the glorious beauty of that union of Christ and the church.

[48:28]  I pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. I will stand and sing Gloria. Gloria. I will stand and sing this young leader and I will continue this young leader this young leader and I will continue and I will continue this young leader and I will continue this young leader and I will continue this young leader and I will continue