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Jesus Loving the Church is the Example for Marriage
Jesus Loving the Church is the Example for Marriage
David W Palmer
(Ephesians 5: 24–33 TPT) In the same way the church is devoted to Christ, let the wives be devoted to their husbands in everything. {25} And to the husbands, you are to demonstrate love for your wives with the same tender devotion that Christ demonstrated to us, his bride. … {32} Marriage is the beautiful design of the Almighty, a great mystery of Christ and his church.
Jesus’s relationship with the church is the eternal and true marriage ideal (See: Rev. 19:7–9, etc.). He wants earthly husbands to love their wives as he loves his. How then did Jesus—our eternal and perfect spouse—love the church? What does his love relationship with his eternal bride work like? First, he “gave himself for her.” But in correlation, he gave her this instruction:
(John 14:15 TLB) “If you love me, obey me …”
Jesus is Lord; this implies that he is the one to be obeyed. What’s more, he is “perfect”; so he is worthy of respect and obedience. After all, the Holy Spirit says:
(Hebrews 5:9 KJV) And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.
So, our perfect Lord Jesus loves his church—to the point of dying for her, providing for her, protecting her, and imparting to her God’s wisdom and covering. This is the yardstick for husbands. But Jesus also said, “If you love me, obey me.” This is the yardstick for wives. However, Jesus is undeniably Lord and unquestionably perfect; husbands are not, are they? So you may be wondering if this applies to us; surely the husband is not “Lord” of his wife, is he?
(1 Peter 3:6 NKJV) As Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.
The Holy Spirit is quite serious when he says that marriage is a picture of Jesus and his bride. Yes, he does want this submission. He wants wives to honour, respect, and to submit to Jesus as their Lord; and further, he wants them to illustrate this practically in their submissive attitudes towards their husbands—who, in their lives, represent Jesus’s role with his church. But we must remember two fundamental things: he clearly told us to submit to one another; and he said that submission for a wife is in the context of a husband loving her as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her:
(Ephesians 5:33 NLT) “So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”
Today, whether you are a husband, wife, fiancé, or wanting to be one, these passages are vitally important for you. It begins with your attitude to Jesus, the way he loves his bride and wants you to love and obey him. We have so much more to discuss about the marriage relationship (coming up), but right now, let’s focus on getting our relationship with Jesus right; he is the husband, so we should receive and bask in his love, provision, vision, energy, creativity, and attention. But we must also practice respect and submissive obedience to him—always. What is your eternal spouse saying to you today?
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By DAVID W. PALMERJesus Loving the Church is the Example for Marriage
David W Palmer
(Ephesians 5: 24–33 TPT) In the same way the church is devoted to Christ, let the wives be devoted to their husbands in everything. {25} And to the husbands, you are to demonstrate love for your wives with the same tender devotion that Christ demonstrated to us, his bride. … {32} Marriage is the beautiful design of the Almighty, a great mystery of Christ and his church.
Jesus’s relationship with the church is the eternal and true marriage ideal (See: Rev. 19:7–9, etc.). He wants earthly husbands to love their wives as he loves his. How then did Jesus—our eternal and perfect spouse—love the church? What does his love relationship with his eternal bride work like? First, he “gave himself for her.” But in correlation, he gave her this instruction:
(John 14:15 TLB) “If you love me, obey me …”
Jesus is Lord; this implies that he is the one to be obeyed. What’s more, he is “perfect”; so he is worthy of respect and obedience. After all, the Holy Spirit says:
(Hebrews 5:9 KJV) And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.
So, our perfect Lord Jesus loves his church—to the point of dying for her, providing for her, protecting her, and imparting to her God’s wisdom and covering. This is the yardstick for husbands. But Jesus also said, “If you love me, obey me.” This is the yardstick for wives. However, Jesus is undeniably Lord and unquestionably perfect; husbands are not, are they? So you may be wondering if this applies to us; surely the husband is not “Lord” of his wife, is he?
(1 Peter 3:6 NKJV) As Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.
The Holy Spirit is quite serious when he says that marriage is a picture of Jesus and his bride. Yes, he does want this submission. He wants wives to honour, respect, and to submit to Jesus as their Lord; and further, he wants them to illustrate this practically in their submissive attitudes towards their husbands—who, in their lives, represent Jesus’s role with his church. But we must remember two fundamental things: he clearly told us to submit to one another; and he said that submission for a wife is in the context of a husband loving her as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her:
(Ephesians 5:33 NLT) “So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”
Today, whether you are a husband, wife, fiancé, or wanting to be one, these passages are vitally important for you. It begins with your attitude to Jesus, the way he loves his bride and wants you to love and obey him. We have so much more to discuss about the marriage relationship (coming up), but right now, let’s focus on getting our relationship with Jesus right; he is the husband, so we should receive and bask in his love, provision, vision, energy, creativity, and attention. But we must also practice respect and submissive obedience to him—always. What is your eternal spouse saying to you today?