Random thought:
According to Ephesians 5, isn't a wedding (for a Christian) merely a declaration of the gospel? Isn't it a confession that Jesus is our head, and we are his body (literally), and that we are devoting ourselves to humbly imaging that for our entire lives?
Seems like weddings were meant to be a lot less about us, and a lot more about Jesus Christ and his bride, the church. Isn't that the ultimate reality?
Thoughts?
7 comments:
In posting, I didn't mean that Eph. 5 explicitly states, "A wedding is a declaration of the gospel."
I was just inferring that the last portions of Eph. 5 (something like v.25 to the end) are explicit that this huge mystery of head and body is about (primarily and really) Jesus and his bride, the church.
Much less to do about us, much much much more to do about Christ & church.
A good (short) read on this is "Stop Dating the Church) by Joshua Harris. Seriously opened my eyes to that whole passage in view of what you're saying Matt. Pay special attention to Chapter 2, where He presents this passage from Christ's view.
As well as 'This Momentary Marriage' - John Piper
It seems to me that marriage is a little more about you and your partner devoting yourselves to each other, and together serving the Lord. While "a confession that Jesus is our head, and we are his body" would be a great way to live, I don't see how it's related to marriage. You could do that while you're single.
The connection to marriage is this: Marriage is a man and woman becoming one-flesh (Gen. 3, 1 Cor. 6, Eph. 5, etc). Yes, it's definitely about us devoting ourselves to one-another, but Scripture speaks of a far deeper union between husband and wife.
In the same way God has mysteriously united all believers (the body - Eph 5:22-24, 28-33) with himself (Jesus - the head), a husband and wife live in that same reality. It's not a metaphor; in Ephesians 5, Paul calls this a 'mystery' and not a 'metaphor'. As Christians, we declare this to be both a reality and a mystery.
Scripture doesn't portray marriage like many Christian subcultures. We try to remove mystery from Scripture because it makes us uncomfortable and seems irrational. However, the Bible doesn't fear using awkward or mysterious language: "clinging," "head and body," "one flesh." We ought to see a married couple as one single creature (man is head, woman is body), which necessarily makes divorce a bloody and gruesome decapitation.
The husband, as the head, is commanded to do exactly what Jesus did, "give himself up for his bride." The wife then respectfully submits to the loving headship of her self-sacrificing husband.
Earthly marriage, therefore, is primarily a metaphor of the one true marriage that exists between Jesus Christ and the church. Surely, a devotion to one-another exists, and it must find its root in the truth of Eph. 5.
My point is that we often live as if this life is all about us... John 3:30.
That was long and redundant. Sorry.
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