Marriage Beyond Imagination

So I want to do a little bit of a thought experiment with you today: If I were to ask you to stand up here and give a talk with that title based on what YOU think makes marriage beyond imagination, what would be on your list of priorities to talk about?

Stellar Communication...

Becoming best friends with your spouse or marrying your best friend in the first place...

Learning to laugh together...

Physical Intimacy...

How to not fight over finances in marriage...

Prioritizing Date Nights...

Filling your husband's “respect tank” and your wife's “love tank” (that one is even derived out of the text we are studying today)...

Maybe if you get real spiritual, Praying or doing devotions together every day or every week… keeping Jesus at the center...

And listen… all of those things are GREAT! You could even say some of them are NECESSARY… But they all miss what makes a marriage “beyond imagination.”

Because to understand how marriage is “beyond imagination,” you have to look beyond the marriage to what it represents.

A marriage that is beyond imagination is not one that makes the husband or wife the focal point… a marriage beyond imagination is one that spotlights Christ and his bride, the church.

Today we are learning to view marriage from a heavenly… cosmic perspective… to see that God has designed EACH marriage to point to his Son… and his Son’s bride, the church.

And until we get THAT, we will miss the meaning of marriage.

The Lord wants us to...

Big Idea: Use the marriage union to spotlight Christ's beautiful union with his church.

Your Bibles are open to Ephesians chapter 5… let’s see that right from the words of scripture in verses 22-33 together.

We’ve been saying that the purpose of our study in Ephesians, AND the purpose of Paul’s letter is so that we would “Pursue God’s unimaginable vision for his CHURCH so that God might receive much glory.”

So far, everything in the letter has been very focused in that direction: God’s big, cosmic plan for his church… and about how the believers participate as members of that larger plan in the context of their own local church.

He laid out all the theology in chapters 1-3 and is now applying it in chapters 4-6…

But in the section we are studying today, it might seem to SOME... like he takes a sharp left turn off course.

From a 21st Century perspective, it’s like he just goes from CHURCH CHURCH CHURCH CHURCH… to marriage.

I mean, there’s not even a conjunction to indicate a shift in topic.

That seems very foreign to us… because in today’s society, we very much separate those two ideas: family life and church life.

So how do we follow Paul’s train of thought here? How does this section on Marriage that we are going to read fit with the whole purpose of Ephesians about God’s vision for his church?

Well to Paul and to his original audience, they would have understood exactly what he was doing: he uses a familiar literary style of their day called “a household code” which extends all the way through chapter 6:9, talking about Children and Parents and Slaves and Masters.

This style was common in the Roman world because the Romans understood that “as goes the household, so goes the society.”

And Paul understood that too… in fact, this was a reflection of God’s design: “as goes the household, so goes the church.”

We say it this way here at Oak Hill: “Healthy families make up healthy churches, so healthy churches promote healthy families.”

The household is a major place where our WALK as believers gets lived out.

But I want you to understand that even though Paul adopted a STYLE common to his day, he does not adopt the content of the Roman household codes.

Instead, he gives us a uniquely Christian understanding of marriage… one that is not even understood by Jews of his day...

...because of the mystery that Paul is given to reveal in the present age: the mystery of Christ and his church.

Paul is giving us the uniquely Christian understanding of marriage… and I want to point out that he is giving this to the WHOLE CHURCH.

This is for married couples to understand for sure...

But this is also for unmarried people to understand...

Paul didn’t say, “OK… I’m going to NOW address the topic of marriage. If anyone is listening to this letter being read in your church who is NOT married, feel free to take a bathroom break or check your cell phones at this time.”

NO, this teaching on marriage is ESSENTIAL for the WHOLE CHURCH to undersand.

Some unmarried people might WANT to get married at some point…

if that’s you here today, you need to get this priority figured out NOW… before you even start picking someone to date.

Because your spiritual health depends on it… and that means that the spiritual health of our CHURCH depends on you understanding this right here if we are members one of another.

Some unmarried people might NEVER plan to get married… I want you to know that is TOTALLY ACCEPTABLE…

and you can have a meaningful place in God’s unfolding plan for his church without being married.

In fact, God gives singleness as a GIFT to some so that they can accomplish even MORE for his Kingdom (that’s a topic for another day).

But ALL unmarried people need to understand marriage because you are members together in the same body with people who ARE married...

And you will need to speak truth in love to them...

And you don’t need to have experience in marriage to highlight the priorities we are studying… you can humbly stand on the authority of God’s word to encourage your brothers and sisters in their walk with the Lord as they relate to their spouse.

You just need to be able to value the marriage relationship for what God says it is, even if you don’t have it or want it yourself...

You need to be able to look at a married couple and understand what you are looking at… a reflection of Christ and his church…

I also want to acknowledge that there could be people here who have been divorced… or who have broken marriages… maybe some who are married to unbelievers...

God’s design for marriage is given to you so that you can look beyond your experience and see the beauty God intends.

I just want to acknowledge that this is HARD sometimes and in some circumstances.

We live in a broken, painful world… and it can be easy to give up on something God created simply because our experience didn’t play out that way.

But today, I would urge you to see the good beauty in what God designed.

Ultimately, God gave us marriage to get our eyes on the union of Christ and his church… and that’s something we ALL need.

We must all use the marriage union to spotlight Christ's beautiful union with his church.

This weekend, a lot of people started decorating their homes for Christmas… [show picture]

and I always loved as a kid going to the neighborhoods with the big houses and big budgets...

And one thing that people do when they have the budget to do it… is they don’t just use the little strings of Christmas lights...

They use SPOTLIGHTS to light up the whole house so you get the whole picture.

And they don’t just use ONE spotlight… they use MANY to highlight different parts.

And that’s what we see going on in Ephesians 5.

In this text, we can see...

3 Spotlights On Christ and the Church

…that shine from the marriage union… And the first is the spotlight of the wife:

1) Wives spotlight the church's humble submission to Christ. (5:22-24)

[Read Eph 5:22-24]

Notice the wife’s primary purpose in her role: to mirror the church in her relationship to Christ.

That answers SO many questions when it comes to the word “submit” that no one really likes in today’s culture!

Does a wife really need to SUBMIT to her husband?

Well, let me answer that question with a question… “Does the church really need to submit to Christ?”

YES!!! On both counts!

But isn’t this just a reflection of the outdated culture of Paul’s day?

Again, let me answer with a question, “Is Christ’s relationship with his church outdated?”

OF COURSE NOT!

You see, the idea of submission is not rooted in the cultural perceptions of the day, but in the cosmic relationship to which it points.

And wives spotlight the church’s humble submission to Christ...

Why? Because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.

There is a connection… deep within God’s design for marriage… between the husband and wife… and Christ and the church.

That means that the idea of “headship” here must be defined by what it means for CHRIST to be head of the church.

And to help us understand that, we can go back to Ephesians 1:22-23 where Paul uses the word “head” in the same way -

“And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” (Eph. 1:22–23, ESV)

So for Christ to be head of the church means that he is OVER all things (he has authority over EVERYTHING)… and uses that authority to direct his Church, which is particularly his body.

Headship in context… means “authority” …or more particularly “authority applied for the benefit of the whole body.”

And the marriage relationship is a small picture of that bigger reality...

The husband is head… and the wife is part of his body… we will see this a lot in the later verses… that the two are “one flesh.”

Just as Christ has authority over all things… and uses that authority as head of his body, the Church...

The husband has authority over everything in the home… and uses that authority head of is body, his OWN wife.

Now before you husbands get too excited and you wives start to feel deflated… we have to pause and define “authority” from God’s perspective.

Too often we want to have a “CHRISTIAN” definition of marriage, but then adopt the WORLD’S definition of authority within that Christian marriage.

Here’s what I mean… and here’s what has happened too often in the church…

We say, “The husband has authority in the home”… (which is all well and good)

But then we use the world’s definition of authority that says, “Authority means absolute power and control to benefit yourself.”

That’s a recipe for disaster.

Jesus acknowledged that the world’s view of authority is fatally flawed when he said,

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”” (Matthew 20:25–28, ESV)

Jesus is clear: We cannot adopt the world’s definition of authority and apply it to God’s design for the home and the church.

When God says that husbands have authority and therefore wives are to “submit in everything” in the home, he is not saying that husbands get to “lord it over” their wives...

They do not get to sit back on their lazy boys and relish in their power and make their wives do their bidding.

That would be a PERVERSION of God’s design.

No, biblical authority… biblical headship… is about taking responsibility for what has been entrusted to you by laying down your life for them.

Whoever would be great among you (whoever has authority) must be your servant… the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his live as a ransom for many.

Authority = The Responsibility to Lead By Serving

Husbands… that’s what we are going to come back to in a minute.

But hopefully that gives you a sense as to WHY wives are called to “submit in everything.”

Because the responsibility for “everything” in the home has been given to husbands.

This does NOT mean that wives do not have any personal responsibility...

Their responsibility is to fulfill their role… to submit or as Genesis 2 puts it, to be a “helpmate suitable for him.”

To work with their husbands towards the end to which God is leading them.

That word “helper” is how the Holy Spirit is described in John 15, by the way… it is NOT a less-than role.

Which is why “submission” also does NOT mean that wives are less in value...

In the Trinity, the SON and SPIRIT are described as submitting to the Father, but those two persons is not less in value than the Father...

If submission is acceptable for two members of the Godhead, I think you can embrace it too, wives.

This does NOT mean that wives are unintelligent or incapable...

Our role does not define our intelligence or skill.

The women of this church are some of the most intelligent, strong, creative, skillful people I have ever met, and I am PROUD to call them my sisters.

That’s why this also does NOT mean that they never have a say in decision-making in the home.

Any husband... any leader... worth his salt will realize that his wife has a LOT of skills and good ideas and will LISTEN to his wife and choose to make decisions WITH her.

Good leaders do not isolate themselves from the people they are leading.

This does not mean that the wife should submit to sinful or abusive leadership from her husband.

He doesn’t get to “demand” things for himself from his wife as the leader… that’s an abuse of his role and is not to be tolerated.

If that is happening, a wife should seek out other authorities who are over him to help protect her… whether legal or spiritual authorities, depending on the issue.

But it DOES mean that the wife is called to submit… to willingly place herself under… the authority of her husband.

Because ultimately it is HIS responsibility before the Lord to use that authority serve and care for their household.

She gives input and contributes a TON as his helpmate… form-fit by the Lord… but he bears the responsibility...

Just like Christ partners with his people to accomplish his purposes of redemption… he works THROUGH the members of his body…

But HE bears the ultimate responsibility.

And he HIMSELF is the Savior of the church.

Wives, let me plead with you… take the burden of control over your household off your shoulders and give it to the Lord.

That’s ultimately what you are doing when you submit.

Paul says, “Submit to your own husbands as to the Lord.”

In other words, your submission is ultimately trusting the LORD with the outcomes… not ultimately your husband.

Because the LORD has chosen to place the responsibility for your household upon the HUSBAND… for him to serve and lead your home in the purposes of Christ.

That’s not because God thinks LESS of you… like you can’t handle it or you will mess it up… it’s because he CARES for you.

And he has given you a unique position to help your husband fulfill God’s purposes for your home.

I could not do what I do without Katy, my wife, doing what she does and vis versa.

We remind each other all the time: we are together in this: Managing our home, serving the Kingdom…

And we have unique roles… but those roles should help the other person THRIVE in their role in such a way that gets all the attention onto what Christ is doing in and through his church.

Your God given-responsibility, as a wife, is to demonstrate trust in the Lord that he knows what he’s doing when he ordered the home.

That’s how you will spotlight the church… by trusting the LORD and showing how the church submits to Christ out of faith in him.

And I know that for some of you that opens up a whole lot more questions than it provides clarity on specific application...

But let me just ask you this for now: wives, is your spotlight shining in the right direction? And how bright is that spotlight?

So often wives buck at submission because they think it puts an undeserved spotlight on their husbands.

They think, “If I submit to him, he’s just going to take advantage of it and then I’ll lose all dignity and control.”

Or they think, “I’ll submit to him and respect him when he does something worthy of respect.”

But that shines the spotlight in the wrong direction.

The wife’s spotlight must not be pointed on her husband, highlighting all his flaws...

It must not be pointed on herself… highlighting all the reasons she is more qualified to lead the home...

It must be pointed on the church’s humble submission to Christ.

Her job is to show the beauty of the church.

Again, this is written to the whole church… Paul wants us to help each other with this...

Women, when you are together, encourage those who are married to stay focused on the bigger picture.

Encourage them in their role so that their spotlight on the role of the church would shine more brightly!

If you hear complaints about their husbands, call them on it.

Of course, if there are legitimate concerns about a lack of leadership or even abuse being shared, direct them toward other authorities who are called to lead their husbands.

But if it’s just complaints about them not liking something about their husband or his leadership, call them on it.

And men, we can go a long way in supporting this role of the wife by treating women with honor in general...

The more we value ALL women first as our SISTERS in Christ who have intrinsic God-given value and a TON to bring to the table, the more we will undercut any fleshly argument that this biblical design for marriage is just about male chauvinism.

The more we avoid the ABUSES of male headship, the more we will highlight the BEAUTY of a wife submitting to her OWN husband.

Christian women are our SISTERS, created in the image of God, gifted for the work of God, and given a specific and valuable role in the church and family.

That’s the environment in which this vision of marriage will thrive...

And this vision of marriage will ultimately serve that greater purpose for women in the church the best.

As those who have been given the authority in our OWN homes, we men need to take the responsibility that comes with that authority.

Look at verse 25 - [Read Eph. 5:25-30]

1) Wives spotlight the church's humble submission to Christ.

2) Husbands spotlight Christ's sacrificial love for the church. (5:25-30)

Husband… your role is not about you… its not even about your wife… it’s about Christ.

Paul teaches husbands that the method of their leadership must be the same self-giving love that Christ demonstrated for the church.

Anything short of sacrificial love is a neglect of your responsibility to lead your home.

This is a MASSIVE and WEIGHTY command.

The husband’s job is to provide the type of leadership to his wife that makes it NATURAL for her to submit if she are walking in Christ.

But before we get to how husbands are to do that, Paul fixes our eyes on Christ.

Husbands… get your eyes on Christ right now.

Because you CAN’T do this without him.

Don’t be dwelling on your shortcomings and failures and miss what Christ has done FIRST.

Christ has given himself up for his church… of which YOU are a part…

That he might SANCTIFY her… that is… so that he would make her holy.

Understand: God’s main goal is to make us HOLY. And he uses marriage… and a million other things to do that.

He gave himself up to SANCTIFY his church… and he did that by cleansing her by the washing of water with the word.

Now this is a confusing and debated phrase, but I’ll give you the bottom line of what my study produced:

The first phrase “the cleansing of water” probably refers to the metaphor of marriage itself… the bride would go through ritual purification so that she would not be unclean for her husband.

The second phrase “with the word” probably then refers to the spiritual application of that metaphor: the way Jesus cleanses his bride is "with the word,” that is the gospel.

Christ’s goal is a radiant bride whom he can present to himself without spot or wrinkle or any such thing that she might be holy and without blemish.

Christ is purifying a bride for himself in the church that does not have a single imperfection.

Every one of them is washed and transformed by his work on the cross.

We will one day stand before him in complete and holy splendor.

Christ’s job is to get his Church ready for heaven.

And husbands… he’s done that for you. And he’s continuing that work in you as part of his church.

And it’s with our eyes fixed on what Jesus has done for us that we are to go about our role...

Husbands, we must see that we are only here to spotlight the work of Christ in the way we relate to our bride.

We aren’t here for ourselves.

We aren’t even ULTIMATELY here for her…

We are in this position of husband because of him.

We are in this position because HE placed us there…

And HE entrusted us with the responsibility to lead our wives in his purposes.

If that doesn’t drive you to humble, dependent prayer, I don’t know what does.

Now, we can’t “sanctify” our wives in exactly the same way Jesus does… we are NOT their Savior… let that be clear to both husbands and wives.

Paul doesn’t say that we are...

But in the same way that Christ works to purify the Church as his bride… and seeks to produce SPLENDOR in her...

...we are called to NOURISH and CHERISH our bride.

Do you see that in verses 28-30 - “In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.”

“Nourishing and Cherishing” are the reflections of Christ’s sanctifying work that husbands are to imitate.

While we can’t “make our wives holy,” we can and must “nourish and cherish” them as our own bodies.

The word nourish means to “nurture/ feed / provide for”

It’s actually the same word as "bring up" in chapter 6:4 where Paul says, “Bring up children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

“Bring up” and “nourish” are the same Greek word.

And the idea here is that the husband would provide EVERYTHING the wife needs to flourish.

He is taking responsibility for her physical AND spiritual well-being so that he would bring out all of the God-given beauty and talent and giftedness that is in her.

He’s providing the environment in which she will THRIVE in the purposes and calling God has placed on their lives TOGETHER.

In order to do that, he is listening to her… understanding what she needs… and then working with her and with the Lord to NOURISH her.

This includes paying attention to her physical needs:

Does she have the basic shelter, food, clothing that she needs…

Does she have the opportunity to get out and care for her mental and spiritual well-being...

The husband is to do that in the same way that he would care for his own body.

He’s not providing her with her bare minimum needs and then indulging his own flesh.

He’s working hard to GENEROUSLY PROVIDE for her physical needs.

Now there will be times when a husband or wife decide for one reason or another that the wife should work...

Or that it would be best for her to manage the details of the finances… and that’s totally fine.

We must be careful to not demand more cultural applications than what God’s word actually says…

But bottom line: Husbands, make sure you are taking responsibility for the physical needs of your wife.

Christ-like husbands also pay attention to their wife’s spiritual needs...

Is she getting the time she needs away from the responsibilities of work and home to spend time with Jesus?

Is she walking in the love of God and the light of God and in the wisdom of God?

Are you encouraging or discouraging her spiritual walk in the example you leave her?

Ask her questions about her spiritual walk. Understand where she is at and where the Lord might want her to grow and LEAD her there.

Physical and spiritual needs are wrapped up in this word, “nourish...”

But the word “cherish” is a lot about her emotional needs.

The Greek word for Cherish literally means to "soften by heat.”

Your wife should sense a warmth coming from you that softens her…

That makes her soft to the Lord’s leadership through you.

Husbands, it’s one thing to love your wife… it’s one thing to sacrifice and work day and night so that she has her physical needs cared for… But do you CHERISH your wife?

Does she FEEL cherished?

And listen… I know that there are things outside of your control in which some wives will have a harder time than others FEELING cherished...

But are you doing EVERYTHING in your ability to CHERISH her?

To listen to her heart?

To help her know that you have her well-being as a primary concern?

To hear what is burdening her? Or exciting her?

To help her feel secure in your love?

Nourish and Cherish… that’s how Christ cares for the church, because we are members of his body.

That’s husbands can spotlight the sacrificial love of Christ through their role in the home.

Husbands, is your spotlight shining in the right direction? How bright is that spotlight?

Again, it can be so easy to focus on how our wives aren’t submitting or are making our leadership difficult.

It can be easy to think that when they start respecting us more, we can start loving them better.

It can be easy to focus on the flaws in our wives instead of how we are nourishing and cherishing them to help them grow in the Lord.

And when we do, we are pointing the spotlight in the wrong direction.

Keep your eyes on Christ… it’s about HIM, not you… not her...

See what CHRIST has done for YOU as part of his CHURCH...

And then extend HIS sacrificial love to your wife.

HE is your motivation and your goal… your sustaining power.

To go back to our illustration of the house and the Christmas lights, if it’s done well, where do the spotlights get their power?

From the house...

The source of their power is the thing they are lighting up.

And husbands… you need to receive the nourishing and cherishing love of Christ for YOU as a member of his body if you are going to have the power to nourish and cherish your wife.

He is your sustaining power… your motivation and your goal.

And again… for those of you who are not in the role of husband: do EVERYTHING you can to build husbands up in their role.

The world hates the idea of strong male leadership.

They mock it and tear it down at every opportunity.

And for SURE we should tear down the perversions of this, but we don’t do that by tearing down the REAL thing… we do that by holding UP the real thing.

Women, see the men in our church as your brothers in Christ...

Root for them… encourage them… cheer them on in their roles.

Don’t despise or covet the responsibility they have been given by the Lord… but understand the sober reality that it means.

Ultimately, we ALL benefit when we hold up marriage… because marriage is about Christ and the church.

Look at verse 29 again - [Read 5:29-33]

1) Wives spotlight the church's humble submission to Christ.

2) Husbands spotlight Christ's sacrificial love for the church.

3) Together they spotlight Christ's oneness with the church. (5:29-33)

This is what takes marriage “beyond imagination”: that from the beginning, it was about Christ oneness with the church.

All throughout this passage, Paul has used “one body” language to describe both the husband and wife and Christ and his church...

Verse 23 - The husband is the HEAD of the wife as Christ is the HEAD of the church...

Verse 28 - Husbands should love their wives as their OWN bodies…

Verse 30 - we are members of his body...

And we might think, “Is this just a metaphor Paul is running with? It kind of seems weird.”

But it’s not just a metaphor… it’s the reality of marriage… and it’s the reality of the church...

And Paul quotes Genesis 2:24 to prove it…

“Therefore a man shall LEAVE his father and mother and CLEAVE to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.”

And if we go back to Genesis 2:24, we see that God is in the process of creating Eve for Adam as a helper suitable for him...

This verse is CLEARLY about marriage:

That a man leaves the care and protection of his parents… and he unites himself… body and soul… to his wife…

in such CLOSE intimacy that they become ONE FLESH.

Sometimes people limit that to the sexual relationship of marriage…

It includes that, but it also includes relation and spiritual intimacy… what we might call “TOTAL ONENESS.”

Jesus even says, “What God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Understand: GOD is the one who makes a married couple one.

But Paul is saying, “God has also made another relationship “one”: the relationship between Christ and the church.

The church is IN CHRIST.

We are his BODY… and we BECAME his body when we be became his bride.

And hidden in the creation words of Genesis 2:24… and therefore in the marriage design itself…

...is a mystery that was hidden for ages past and is right now… for the first time ever in the book of Ephesians… being revealed by Paul as referring to Christ and his church.

This mystery… the mystery of Genesis 2:24… is PROFOUND and I’m saying it refers to Christ and the church.

“However [verse 33] let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” (Ephesians 5:33, ESV)

The oneness of your marriage is NOT about you, Husband. It’s not about you, Wife.

It’s about Christ and the church.

As each spouse fulfills their role, the beauty of Christ’s relationship with his church is experienced and portrayed for all to see.

THAT is what is at stake in marriage.

Christ is restoring all that was lost from the Garden of Eden...

The relationship between husband and wife that was ruined by sin...

And the relationship between God and his people...

And the church is a new humanity… being recreated after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

And we demonstrate that new humanity when we walk within our roles as husband and wife and so spotlight the unity of Christ with his church.

That’s why Paul says, “Let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”

This verse is not about YOUR NEEDS… filling your husbands “BLUE RESPECT TANK” or your wife’s “PINK LOVE TANK.”

This WHOLE THING is about Christ and the church...

And you pursue oneness to spotlight him.

So married couples, I’ll ask you together: is your spotlight shining in the right direction? How bright is that spotlight?

Is your oneness pointing others to the oneness of Christ and his church?

We get a greater understanding of abstract concepts like union with Christ from visible examples of that concept...

Is your oneness helping your kids see how beautiful Christ’s relationship with his church really is?

Is your oneness an example of that reality to our teenagers and young adults thinking about who they will date?

Can the watching world see why the EXCLUSIVITY of Christ’s relationship to his church is ESSENTIAL based on the EXCLUSIVITY of you one flesh relationship to your spouse.

And if you aren’t married, I want you to understand something about this:

Marriage is a beautiful thing. It’s an amazing way to understand Christ’s love more… and for God to make you holy…

And if God has that for you, AWESOME!

But only if it is within God’s design… because that’s where God shows off HIS work.

I also want to make this clear: you don’t need to be married to experience true intimacy.

Christ has become “one flesh” with his church...

He is sufficient to nourish and cherish you as a member of his body.

And often you will receive that nourishment THROUGH the fellowship of the church.

True intimacy is found for those who are single within the fellowship of the church.

Not intimacy that includes sex… but intimacy and sex are not the same (even though our world would like us to think so)...

No, there’s an even better intimacy to be had with Christ and experienced as a member of his church...

A place to know and be known… to love and be loved… by Christ himself...

And to experience that love and grace through his people.

And we see that clearly when we spotlight and honor God’s union with Christ through the marriage relationship.

It never was about the marriage itself… it was always about his bigger plan to redeem a people for himself.

So whether you are single, divorced, young, old, married…

Use the marriage relationship to spotlight Christ’s beautiful union with his church.