City Life Starter

Written by Nate Warren

The Word

31 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Ephesians 5:31-33 (NKJV)

And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”

Genesis 2:23 (NKJV)

Reflection

As we are near the end of the book of Ephesians, I want to remind us of the primary narrative of this doctrinal essay, known to us as Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. According to Paul, all people who have placed their faith and allegiance in Jesus have been adopted into Messiah Jesus’ royal family. This New Society is made up of all kinds of people: all nations, all socioeconomic classes, all differences of physical or mental ability, all genders, all kinds of preconceived notions. In Jesus, the dividing wall that keeps different kinds of people apart has been torn down, and now our common identity is Jesus’ life, giving all the freedom to fellowship together as royal servants of the same Master and King.

In this context, Paul gives practical instructions to the believers in Ephesus about how this community should live together amongst this diversity, considering all are entrusted with God’s grace. He says, “Be constantly submitting yourselves to each other, in honor of the Messiah…” (v21 PAR) In other words, we are to acknowledge the position of importance that everyone has in Jesus, no matter their social standing, human ability, or title. Wives should submit to their husbands, and husbands should take that responsibility as a call to sacrificially love this treasure that has been entrusted to him. 

Back in Genesis 2, the prototype man (Adam) has just met the prototype woman (Eve). He is so impressed he breaks into song. As the curtain closes on the second act of creation, the narrator proclaims, “For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” Paul tells us that this story relates to Jesus and the church. It’s a profound mystery, a parable that is there in the scriptures, waiting to be discovered.  Paul is nearing the end of his parchment, so he leaves it to them, and to us, to dig this meaning out.

Application

In the simple story the Genesis narrator tells, we should recognize the man that leaves home, enters a foreign land, rescues his bride from oppressors, and together they become one body. This man is Jesus, and His bride is the church–the New Society formed in His Name. Jesus left the comfort and privilege of Heaven to come to our sinful world and save humanity from our willful slavery to evil forces. This mystery is now revealed in Him: from the beginnings of humanity itself, covenantal marriage has always been designed to model Christ’s saving love for His people, and their destiny to be united with Him as his body.

We now understand that as a husband and wife imitate the Master’s humility and love toward one another, they profoundly proclaim the gospel, “the manifold wisdom of God,” to all creation. (Eph 3:10)  For all of us, married or unmarried, all of the ways we have been separated from God and one another have now been rectified through the New Covenant in Jesus’ blood, as our lives are, collectively, united together with His Body.

Prayer

Father God,
Let our marriages be a holy proclamation to the gods that Jesus has come for His People.
Let our lives be marked by the same humility and service that His life does.

Let Your perfect will come in our life and society as it is in the heavens.

By the Name and for the benefit of our King, Jesus,
Amen