THE GODLY GROOM EXALTS HIS BELOVED BRIDE.
In the name + of Jesus.
The Bible begins
with a marriage. The Lord saw that it
was not good for the man to be alone, so he created a helper suitable for
him. From the side of the groom, God
gave life to his bride and united them as one.
God blessed them, and they were to be a blessing for each other.
This is still
God’s plan. Marriage is the blessed
union of one man and one woman—faithfully and exclusively joined together. It is still a blessed union. And it will be a blessing for you, Brandon
and Sarah, to be bound together. You will
get to go through life together—supporting each other in difficult days, rejoicing
together in good days, and benefiting from just being together in the many
other days that are routine or boring.
As God joins you
together today, he gives each of you specific roles. Sarah, God instructs you, “Wives, submit
to your own husbands as to the Lord. For
the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the church,
his body, of which he himself is the Savior.
Moreover, as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit
to their husbands in everything” (Ephesians 5:22-24). These words make many women cringe, although it
is often a misunderstanding of what God’s design is.
First of all, nowhere
in Scripture is any man instructed to make sure that his wife submits to
him. This is not about a man putting a
woman in her place. It is about a wife
willingly submitting to receive the benefits of having a husband. It is about supporting him as he leads the
family. It is about working together for
the good of the household.
I suppose many
people feel like the woman is given the harder role or that this submission
belittles or degrades her. But let’s listen
to what God tells husbands. “Husbands,
love your wives, in the same way as Christ loved the church and gave himself up
for her” (Ephesians 5:25). Brandon,
you are responsible for the well-being of your wife and your household. As the head of the house, you are to provide
for your wife, protect her, exalt her, and sacrifice for her. How much?
St. Paul said “as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”
(Ephesians 5:25). Love for your wife
means seeking her good. It means giving
yourself up for her and giving yourself to her.
And Sarah, by submitting to him, you have to put up with that. A godly groom exalts his beloved bride.
St. Paul says
that marriage is but a reflection of Christ and his Church. Jesus Christ is the groom, and the Church is
his beloved, beautiful bride. Now, the
Church is not naturally beautiful. In
fact, our sins are quite ugly. Just consider
how sin rears its ugly head in marriage.
Husbands and wives are supposed to be blessings to each other. But how many spouses become rivals? How many compete with each other to see who can
get their way at the expense of the other?
How many keep track of wins and losses?
Rather than forgiving one another, how many make each other pay for their
sins against each other again and again and again?
I don’t mean to
scare you, but every marriage has its problems.
You are both sinners. You will
have problems. Sarah, you may be tempted
to treat Brandon like a 2nd grader.
Worse, Brandon, you may prefer it, expecting Sarah to mother you like a
2nd grader so that you can lie back and avoid your
responsibilities. Even if you think your
sins benefit you, they do not benefit your marriage. Yes, it can get ugly. Now, not every sin you commit will be against
each other, but every sin is an offense before God. We sin against God with every heartless
actions, every cruel word, and every self-centered thought.
Our Lord does
not overlook these things. What he does
do is pay for them. The church is not
naturally beautiful, but Jesus Christ sacrificed himself for her, taking up all
her sins and suffering and dying for her—not because we deserve it, but because
of his faithful and enduring love for us.
He “did this so that he could present her to himself as a glorious
church, having no stain or wrinkle or any such thing, but so that she would be
holy and blameless” (Ephesians 5:27).
When Jesus was suspended from the cross, he was pierced with a
spear. Out of that wound poured forth blood
and water. Once again, from the side of
the groom, he gave life to his bride.
The blood of Jesus has purified you of all unrighteousness. Through the waters of baptism, Jesus cleansed
you of all sin. You have been clothed in
garments of salvation. You are presented
to the Lord in beauty and radiance. The
godly groom exalts his beautiful bride.
The Church submits
to Christ, but his bride is not belittled by submitting to him. On the contrary, the Church is exalted by submitting
to him. Jesus does all things for her
good. In turn, she exalts him for his goodness
and for his salvation. “This is a
great mystery, but I am talking about Christ and the church. In any case, each one of you also is to love
his wife as himself, and each wife is to respect her husband” (Ephesians 5:32-33). The godly groom exalts his beloved bride.
Brandon and
Sarah, God intends your marriage to be a tremendous blessing for each of
you. Each of you gets to seek the good
of the other, and you have a whole lifetime to dedicate yourself to this joyful
duty. This godly love seeks not to take,
but to give. It is eager to serve and to
pour itself out for the good of the other person—just as Christ has done for
the Church and just as the Church does for Christ. A godly groom exalts his beautiful bride, and
the bride responds by exalting her beloved husband.
The Bible began with a wedding in the Garden of Eden. It also ends with a wedding in the Paradise of God. “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9). The Lord has bound himself to you so that you will be his forever. Remain committed to him as he is committed to you. Remain committed to each other. The blessed union of marriage is God’s plan. It is seen in the union of a man and woman. It is fulfilled in the union of Christ and his Church. The godly groom exalts his beloved bride.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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