32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
We have studied verses (vv. 23 to 29) where God presents marriage as a picture of the church’s relation to Christ. Jesus is the Bridegroom and the church is the bride.
This is a great mystery,
The relationship of Christ to the church is a mystery. The Greek word for “mystery” does not mean mystical. A mystery is a truth not previously disclosed but discovered by revelation. The church was not a known entity in the Old Testament but was revealed to Paul in the New Testament (chapter three).
but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Our marriage reflects the union between Christ and the church.
PRINCIPLE:
The bond between Christ and the church should be the closest in all human relationships.
APPLICATION:
A good biblical marriage is not simply the union of body with body but of soul with soul. It is the meeting of mind and emotions between husband and wife. The loving relationship of Christ to the church is a paradigm for the husband to love his wife.
Marriage is not simply a male and female rooming together. Biblically, it is a blending of two souls together where they become one. What hurts one hurts the other.
The mystery is not about the church being revealed in the NT. And it’s not about two souls being blended into one. The passage clearly says flesh. The mystery, as stated, is about beleivers receiving the same resurrected body as Christ. Which is the fulfilment of creation, the fall/curse and salvation. Jesus repeatedly spoke of the Father, Christ and Holy Spirit as One. The apostles also said One. Paul is speaking here about both the unity of marriage here on earth and the great mystery concerning Christ and the church. We will be one with God, folks. And you need to think clearly about what that means. Think about the fall of Lucifer and everything that happened afterwards. Everything in the Bible has relevance and purpose.
It explicitly teaches in Genesis 2 that is being male and female is the reason for marriage, quoted by Jesus when asked about divorce in Matthew 19 4-5 and Mark 10 6-7. There can be no other reason, and representing the redeemed’s relationship with Jesus would require sin so we would need redemption and God is not going to create something that requires what he hates then warn Adam and Eve not to do something that will ruin his creation. They already had the relationship with God that he wants for everyone before they sinned, that Jesus came to restore. There is no need for a representation of what people already have, marriage and our relationship with God are different types of relationships that fulfill different desires. Ephesians 5 32 is simply comparing the intended exclusiveness of marriage to the type of relationship that is meant to be exclusively with God. Marriage being made as a representation of it has to be inferred as the context of that text.
The Lamb was slain before the foundation of the earth. (Revelation 13:8) In my opinion Genesis 2:24 is the first prophecy that a Saviour will take on our flesh. Thank you Bruce Hamilton for showing me another aspect: We will become bone of his bone etc, no blood. (Luke 24:39; 1 Corinthians 15:50)
Paul has already established the idea of “mystery” in Ephesian 1:9–12; 3:3–12, which refers to the universal church. Unity in marriage is an illustration of the unity of the universal church with Christ. Paul draws a parallelism between Christ-church and husband-wife (Eph 5:25).