The Profound Mystery of Marriage

In Ephesians 5:22-33, Paul provides some clarity on what Christian marriage should look like, and then, he unveils the ancient mystery hidden for ages - that marriage between husband and wife is a picture representing the covenant bond between Christ and the Church.

Paul's premise is easy to miss if we do not look closely. This idea of the wife's submission to the husband and the husband's sacrificial disposition towards his wife is not new instruction. It is a reversal of the curse given to the woman in the Garden of Eden back in Genesis 3. Notice what God says to Eve, "Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you" (Genesis 3:16b). These same verbs "to desire" and "to rule over" are used in Genesis 4 when God speaks to Cain about sin, "Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it" (Genesis 4:7b). What we should glean from this is that, like sin crouching at the door to have dominion over Cain, the wife in her curse seeks to have dominion over the husband. And in the same breath, like God's direction to Cain to master and have dominion over sin, so the husband in his curse now seeks to master and have dominion over his wife. This obviously is contrary to the nature of marriage that God originally designed for his creatures. What Paul now proclaims is that the wife is to submit to the headship of the husband, giving respect and encouragement to him. On the other hand, the husband now is to live sacrificially for his wife, willingly devoting himself to her and her sanctification by "the washing of the water with the Word" (Ephesians 5:26). Here is the incredible antithesis to our curse - a sign that sin's sway now retreats with Christ's coming, that God is renewing all things and restoring them to their original purpose.

Finally, the profound mystery is now revealed by Paul - all he has spoken of concerning the marriage covenant between husband and wife is a reflection of Christ's covenant bond to the Church. The Church submits to the headship of Christ, her Bridegroom, while Christ loves her as himself and gives himself for her.The unity in flesh that the husband and wife experience in marriage reflects the mystic union that the Church experiences in the Spirit with Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:17).

SDG