The "In Christ" Marriage

Big Idea

Tension: What does a marriage look like that is radically oriented to our identity in Christ?

Resolution: A wife that submits in a progressive humility and a husband that loves sacrificially.

Exegetical Idea: In a marriage that is radically oriented to our identity in Christ, the wife will submit with a progressive humility and the husband that loves sacrificially.

Theological Idea: A marriage that takes place in Christ leads to a wife that humbly submits and a husband that loves sacrificially.

Homiletical Idea: In Christ, wives submit with humility and husbands love sacrificially.

Outline

Introduction: Marriage in the time of the Roman Empire.

We need to trust in God’s design for marriage, because God doesn’t want something for us which would be bad.

The Picture of Marriage is Overwhelmingly Positive in Scripture

Genesis 2:18

Proverbs 18:22

Ephesians 5:22-33

Hebrews 13:4

SHCC Statement of Faith:

What is Marriage? Marriage is a unique display of the gospel in a loving, covenant union of one man and one woman. God gave sexual intercourse to this union alone; anything else is a deviation from God’s design for sexuality and marriage alike. (Genesis 1:27-28; Romans 1:24-27; Ephesians 5:22-33)

Singles:

Widows/widowers: Your married friends need you to encourage them. The single people here need you to tell them about your marriage. They need to know what to expect.

Young men

Marriage is good when it is taken place under Godly circumstances

Two believers who love Jesus covenanting to spend their lives together (1 Corinthians 7:39).

Objection: But then I won’t be able to do what I want to do?

I’m not sure it’s a good idea to spend the next 5-10 years of your life cultivating your desires and nobody else’s. That’s going to be a hard train to stop once you get married. That’s typically a recipe for a very turbulent first few years of marriage.

If you get to know the widows/widowers here, I”m not sure a single one of them owuld tell you, “If only I would have had 5-10 years less in my marriage.”

Wives

As is fitting for those in Christ. The cause is not how worthy your husband is being, or how smart, or if he is a great husband, but the cause is because you are in Christ.

Submit to your husbands:

Picture of Christ: Phil 2:5-11

As the Church submits to Christ: Ephesians 5:22-24

Obedience is different than submission here

Loyalty to Christ is understood here as primary

The principle: humbly submit to your husbands as long as it does not conflict with your allegiance to CHrist.

Part of the reason that he doesn’t clearly spell out what this means and what it doesn’t mean is that he wants us to think it through carefully, and to estimate.

Your humility in your marriage will get your husband’s attention. Application: I trust you and I trust God.

Husbands

love your wives

Love as you have been loved by Christ

Forgive as you have been forgiven

Husband your job is to be loving and forgiving, even when it is sacrificial

Ephesians 5:25-33

This word for harsh means bitterness

Don’t go pout in a back room

Don’t go complain about them to your buddies

Your bitterness will make them bitter

Most men complain about their wives because they are not willing to take a hard look at themselves.

Godly men are brave enough to confess their sins, and to cut bitterness out at the root.

The principle: sacrifice yourself for wife just as Christ has sacrificed himself for you.

Your sacrificial attitude will make your wife want to submit.

The buck stops with you.

Redeeming Marriage

There is grace for broken marriages. God forgives cowardly husbands and proud wives.

This kind of marriage is impossible without God’s grace.

The further each partner is from Christ, the harder this will be.

This is why attending Church is so important.

Encouragement comes from gathering with God’s people.

Conclusion: Let Marriage be held in honor by all.