In the sermon 'The Glorious Purposes Of Marriage' by James Lundquist, the speaker explores the biblical foundations of marriage as outlined in Ephesians 5:22-33. He emphasizes marriage as a representation of the relationship between Christ and the church, highlighting roles of submission and love. The sermon discusses marriage's purposes, including companionship, procreation, subduing and having dominion over the earth, and aiding righteous living. Lundquist addresses the anti-marriage culture in society and encourages believers to pursue marriages that glorify God. He speaks to singles, urging them to prepare for marriage by understanding God's design and studying Christ's attributes. The sermon concludes by pointing to the ultimate union with Christ in eternity and encourages believers to use marriage as a tool for evangelism and gospel proclamation.

Our sermon text for this week is coming from Ephesians chapter 5 verses 22 to 33. Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife as also Christ is head of the church and he is the Savior of the body. Therefore just as the church is subject to Christ so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her, that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that he might present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

So husbands ought to love their own 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 the Lord does the church. For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

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. How in the world did I get the marriage text? I had to send the domes away to get it. So Fantastic. I get to preach on this.

Jason would love to be preaching on this. He would love to come back and preach on it more. Glorious text. Title is the Glorious Purposes of Marriage. Glorious Purposes of Marriage.

Other than for a couple minutes, later on, not even quite halfway through, other four, for a couple minutes, where I'll talk about the anti-marriage that's in the US culture. This message will be overwhelmingly, I want it to be overwhelmingly about the beauty of marriage that God has created. I want us to be motivated by God to desire and pursue more lovely, more beautiful marriages. No matter where your marriage is, your marriage may be the most beautiful it's ever been and you can't imagine it being any better, I want it to be better. I want it to be better to the glory of God because it is.

And singles, singles this is a message for you, especially singles that are Christians, because you're the bride of Christ already. And that's our ultimate thing. But I also want you to get a beautiful view of marriage and that it is very much worth pursuing because God has made it part of His glorious creation, a huge part of His glorious creation. Let me pray for us. Our God, thank you for creating marriage.

Thank you for creating people. Thank you for creating marriage. And thank you, what an honor, what a privilege it is to represent your gospel, to declare your gospel to the world through marriage. To the world through marriage. And that's not possible without there being a gospel without us having that, not just an example, but the bridegroom, the bridegroom, the holy God, you Jesus who gave yourself for your church to redeem us, to purify us, to clothe us in your righteousness.

So bless us now through your word, through your spirit, in Jesus' name, amen. So I have a few points, and the first point is God created marriage. God created marriage. Everything starts with God. Everything we do, everything we teach should start with God, the triune God.

When we present the gospel, we should always start with God. Don't start with the sinner. Don't start with your need. Start with God. When we start the book of Genesis, we will start with God because God started with himself in the beginning God and when we start with marriage we must start with God and so that starts now it starts with marriage at the beginning very near the beginning six days in so if you want to you can turn to Genesis 1 look at Jim I'm gonna read Genesis 1 26 through 28, and then go over to Genesis two, starting in verse 18.

So one, 26. Then God said, Let us make man in our image. According to our likeness, let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him male and female.

He created them. Then God said, then God blessed them. And God said to them, be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and so do it have dominion over the fish of the sea over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth then we go over to chapter 2 18 so we're at chapter 1 giving us a high level of what God did in six days and then here in chapter two verse 18 more detail of what he did on day six when he created man and woman and the Lord God said It is not good that man should be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him. Out of the ground, the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them.

And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all the cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept, and he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place. And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man he made into a woman, and he brought her to the man.

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. Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." They were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Here we have day six of creation. God creates man and woman.

He creates Adam and Eve in his image. We've had messages on being created in the image of God. Sorry. It is a glorious You've been created gloriously unlike any other of his creation that you get you get to be created in his image Nothing else is created that way But humans are And that has a lot to do with what we think about life, think about each other, and then we have redemption. Redemption comes to humans, it's only possible, it only comes to humans, then we go angels are not redeemed, animals are not redeemed, humans are redeemed, and God redeems us to be the bride of Christ.

And in verse 28 of chapter 1, does God bless them? God's favor is on his image bearers, different than any other of his creation and in in 224 we see where we have God creating man and woman this is all day six on day six he creates them on on day six we have the first marriage. On day six, one man, one woman, husband, and wife. I'm going to read a lot today, a lot of text today. And what you're going to find is one man one woman his own wife her own husband you see that all throughout it wasn't just because that's all there was that God that God had marriage this way but then when there's more marriage can spread out no it's one man one woman that is God's design that is God's command to have become one flesh The Lundquist have a few catechisms in our house.

One of them is, question, what is marriage math? The answer is one plus one equals one. Take one man, one woman equals one flesh. And God gives us parameters for marriage, how he defines it. One man, one woman, not more than one, not the same sex, only one man, one woman.

Marriage is also to be consenting and voluntary. If a woman doesn't want to marry a man, no is all it takes. We'll talk about marriage. Marriage can be between those of different cultures, different nations, different skin color, different social levels, economic levels, health levels. We see that all throughout scripture.

You see that For Christians, for Christians, I'm talking about general marriage. So those are some general marriage parameters that God has set out for everybody. For Christians, particularly, Christians are to marry only a Christian. Here from 2 Corinthians 6, 14. Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.

For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness and what communion has light with darkness. You, as fathers and mothers, we'll do all we can to try to evaluate suitors and who our sons may be pursuing and we want guarantees, I get it, that there are no guarantees, but do the due diligence. Do it, do it, and take your time. Examine everything. This is so important.

And it's important for how you're working together, as we'll see, But it's ultimately important because you are to represent the gospel, which will get to most of this message How is that possible? When you hear as we step through this especially listen to that How would that be possible if one is a Christian one is not now granted to non Christians get to marry? One becomes a Christian one still not it's still to represent the gospel. It's still the ultimate purpose. And yeah, there are struggles there.

But Christians, Christians, that's not where you need to start. All right? Not where you need to start. God created marriage and puts a high value on marriage. In Matthew 22, God compares marriage and wedding to heaven.

In Revelation 19, we'll get there later, God points to the wedding feast to come. In Ephesians 5, we'll spend a lot of time, marriage represents the gospel. With that, with God putting marriage on that high of a level, that high of importance. With great confidence, I say next to salvation, next to repenting and trusting in Christ alone for salvation, next to that, far and above the most important event in anybody's life, far and above, distant second, but yet second, is who you marry. It's the greatest event in your life, in your marriage.

It's the greatest event. Without a right view of God, what he teaches about marriage, you are not gonna have a right view of marriage and your spouse. A happy marriage equals knowing what God says and teaches about marriage, not only having the head knowledge, but believing it, and not just believing it, but showing, demonstrating that belief by living it. God creates marriage, not us. God created it, and he made it a high, high value he put on that in all the imagery.

Number two, where we spend the bulk of the time here, is the glorious purposes of marriage, the glorious purposes of marriage. As I said earlier, let me just take a couple minutes couple minutes to review the the sad very sad anti-marriage culture we have we do we have an anti-marriage culture listen to some of these things people that intentionally intentionally that's the key word intentionally to let people are intentionally delaying marriage. There's lots of people that want to get married that just haven't been able to. Intentionally delaying marriage, there's evidences of that. In 67, when I was born, the average age of a man being married was 21.

And for a woman, 23. 1990, it was 24 and 26. Today, it's 28 and 30, seven years later. There's a whole host of things that happen in seven years when you delay marriage. We had four or five children after seven years.

Right, it's not just about it, there's a whole host of things, There's a whole host of sanctification that doesn't happen when you delay it. There's all kinds of things when you delay intentionally because of very selfish reasons, especially I'll mention. People living together. They're delaying marriage. Why?

Because 70% of those that get married live together first. Hate marriage. We're having less children. 1960, 44% of those married had children. In 2000, it was 24%.

Today, it's only 18% of those that get married have children. And those that even get pregnant choose abortion. A high. It's just so many of them. Abortion instead of marriage.

Instead of, hey, she's pregnant, we're pregnant, let's honor God, because now we're one flesh, let's honor God and get married. No, let's kill the child is the answer, instead of honoring God. When they do choose life, when they do choose life, there's such an increase of children without married parents. Now, If I have to have a choice of marriage or life of the child, I'll take the life of the child every single day. Of course I will, but it just points to the anti-marriage culture we have.

We have divorce for whatever reason. No fault divorce because of many reasons. Yes, there is divorce because of sin, but much of it is just because I don't feel like being married anymore. It didn't leave up to my expectations, my selfish desires. Oh, it's too hard.

It's not exciting enough. They have a wrong view of marriage. It's an anti-marriage culture. We have men and women roles that are blurred and culture desires to eliminate them. Homosexuality, media, and sports especially just promote singleness over marriage.

And getting your way to excel in this world and families are not shown as possible. And ultimately, since marriages are to declare the gospel, Since marriages are to declare the gospel, it should not surprise you that Satan hates marriage. Satan hates the gospel, therefore he hates marriage. Shouldn't surprise us that non-Christians don't want to get married. It should surprise us when Christians don't want to get married.

So some purposes, let's get that beside us. Now let's talk about these glorious purposes. First one I wanna talk about is children. In Genesis 1, 28, God tells Adam and Eve, be fruitful and multiply to fill the earth. In Genesis 9, God says that as well to Noah and his family.

In Genesis 35, God says that directly to Jacob. And we know that it's only possible to have children through the union of a man and a woman. That's the only way that's possible to have children is through men and women and how God's created them. Now, with sin, the effects of sin, let me be clear, with the effects of sin, our bodies are not perfect and not everybody can have children. I recognize that.

But if you can, be fruitful and multiply in glory God that's a grace to you that's a wonderful grace to you the in the United States the the birth rate we are well below replacement level well below And that's not just from people not getting married. That's from a lot of Christians not even wanting to go as far as 2.1 children to replace this. Just a very basic math. To fill the earth, Adam and Eve had to have more than 2.1 children. They had to replace themselves, but still that's a side.

Children, though, should only be the product between a married man and a married woman. Now, sin brings desires. Sin brings atrocities in this world on how women become pregnant at times. Atrocities, horribleness. And that is not the baby's fault though.

This baby is created by God, is to be protected. It is to be protected. If you're not able to have children someday, now you're praying for them wherever the state you're in, a desire to be fruitful and multiply can easily, is easily, What's easily included in that is foster care and adoption. What can be included in that is caring for pregnant ladies. There's other ways you can show if you're not allowed, if God has not opened a womb or allowed a pregnancy.

There's other ways to show that you desire that the earth is filled and that children are given life. Psalm 127.3, behold children are a heritage from the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward. The fruit of the womb is a gift. It's a gift of grace, of mercy that he would do that.

So children are a beautiful purpose of marriage. Number two, purpose, or his purpose of marriage is subdue and have dominion over the earth. We see that also in Genesis 1, 28, subdue, to bring into subjection, dominion, to rule and prevail. God has given us this glorious responsibility over his creation. He's the author, he's the creator, he's the authority, he can delegate authority.

He doesn't need us to subdue and have dominion, but he's given that to us. And so let's take that as a gift. Now, I know that this looked much different in the garden to tend the garden of Eden and whatever the globe looked like at that time, if they were to go beyond those bounds, which they would have if they hadn't sinned, to subdue the earth, they would have gone beyond the bounds of Eden if they hadn't sinned. So I don't know exactly what all that looked like, but I know all about toil and thorns and thistles and sweat. I know all about pain in childbirth, observing it, seeing many of them.

It takes subduing and dominion for us to eat, for us to live, for us to earn our wages. I understand that. But thankfully though, thankfully God didn't create the world, make it spinny, make the universe spinny and say, all right, call yours now, figure it out. It's not what God did. God is supreme and sovereign over every molecule of the universe.

As Christians, He gave us his Holy Spirit to help us. We have salvation through Christ alone. He fills us with the Holy Spirit, enables us to want to subdue and have dominion for his glory. And he commands. Not only does he command, I just want to love about God's command.

He not only commands us to do something, but then he gives us the ability through his spirit indwelling us. Then just come in and say, all right, go do it. He commands and then gives the Holy Spirit the ability through his spirit, the grace and mercy to accomplish this task. Next, Gloria's purpose of marriage. Not good to be alone.

It's not good to be alone. We see that in Genesis 2, 18. When God created Adam, he wasn't done with his creation. He wasn't done. It doesn't say God created Adam and then he rested and then he came back and said you know what I think I made a mistake I think there needs to be more creation I think Adam needs a helper comparable to him.

No, it wasn't an afterthought. This was part of God's design to create Adam, have Adam there. It doesn't say that Adam was pining for anybody else either. This was God's initiating love towards Adam to show him this initiating love by creating one saying there's no helper for him I'm going to create and that was God's plan always to create man and woman It was always God's plan for Adam be alone for part of the day, then give him a helper and marry them. Adam alone, apparently, because God created a woman and what he says, Adam could not do by himself all that God had planned.

And this is complementary here. This neither is superior, neither is superior or inferior to the other. Ecclesiastes 4, 9 and 10. Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.

Woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up." Husbands and wives are not just any two individuals that help one another. Not just any two people like I might help you. There's not just two individuals. There are not two individuals married for convenience and only team up when they need help with one another. When somebody needs help.

Your spouse isn't only there for you when you need an extra hand, or in my case, when Rebecca needs someone taller, or your companion's not just... Your spouse isn't just there to satisfy your physical desires or your urgent care. Our men, our wives are not our maids or our servants or inferior. Yes, Adam was perfect. Yet God said, you need a helper.

Eve was perfect. Yet God said, you need to help somebody Mutual help from one another they needed God created them to need one another for his mutual help. They are one flesh, one flesh, joined pursuit of life. That's 1 Corinthians 7, 33 and 34. He who is married, he who is married, cares about the things of the world, how he may please his wife.

The focus of the husband is how to please his wife. Paul continues, she who is married cares about the things of the world, how she may please her wife. The focus is on the help and the pleasing of one another. The focus is not on being served. I'm not being served enough.

She's not, he's not doing this for me, not doing that for me. It's true because of sin that we fail one another. That's very true, but that's not the focus. The focus is on, are you pleasing your wife? Wives are you pleasing your husbands in more than just physical, way more, way more than physical satisfaction.

Way more than that. First Peter 3, 7, says, Being heirs together, together of the grace of life. Does that sound like one gets more grace than the other. I would never say to just my general brother or sister that I have more grace than you, much less my own wife. We're heirs together, because we're one flesh.

Yeah, we're individually saved. Individually say, but we're heirs together of the grace of life. The focus of pleasing one another, loving one another and loving when that happens. This, this one flesh sharing in all life with your husband or your wife you that's where you should meet the best when you need to meet with one another. That's where you should rejoice the best is with your husband or wife.

That's where you should work the best together. That's where you should plan and dream the most and the best together. You're pleasing one another. So a glorious purpose of marriage is to subdue and take dominion together, be fruitful and multiplying. The next glorious purpose of marriage is to help us live righteous.

To help us live righteous. Let me read from 1 Corinthians 7, 1 Corinthians 7, 1 through 5. Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband.

The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self control. Marriage is to be a help, a huge help against adultery, lust, coveting, and morality. A godly marriage has a purpose and a glorious purpose, To resist sin, to sanctify us anytime, that's a wonderful purpose.

But marriage is specifically there to help us resist sin by giving each other to each other, and each other only. We are not our own. We are to please one another, serve one another, help one another in our marriages. A marriage is between one man and one woman. An intimacy is only to be between that one man and one woman within marriage.

Anything outside of marriage. Listen to this. Anything outside of marriage, including not just physical, but thoughts, right? So any thought or deed or desire is equivalent to saying Christ is not enough. It's misrepresenting the gospel.

We'll get there here in just a couple moments. Misrepresents the gospel. Marriage is our help. A glorious purpose to marriage is to help our righteous living, to encourage our righteous living, to sanctify us in righteous living and desires and thought. So now you can turn to Ephesians 5.

Now you can turn to Ephesians 5. All purposes, all purposes I just mentioned, are under this primary purpose. There's all these purposes that are glorious purposes, but it all is under the glorious purpose, the ultimate purpose of reflecting Christ in his church. That's the top bar, that's the top button that you work on. You work on that and these others will work themselves out.

All right, we have to start there. So turn to Ephesians 5. We read it earlier. I'm not going to read it right now. I'll read it as we as we go through.

So as you go through this and as I read through portions of this once again you're going to see one man, one woman, one wife, one husband married together. You'll see that all throughout and the gospels displayed here in many ways. Let's start with verse 22 through 24 and 33, the second part of verse 33, where we have wives submit to your own husbands is to the Lord, For the husband is the head of the wife, is also Christ is head of the church, and he is the savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything." And then over in 33, Let the wife see that she respects her husband. Most of this section is directed towards husbands.

So that'll be most of my comments will be towards husbands. But right here, right here we have a wife has submitting love towards her husband as to the Lord. And it's not about the worthiness of your husband either. It can't be about the worthiness of your husband since all of this points to Christ. It can't be about the worthiness of the husband, because Christ doesn't save me based on my worthiness.

So it can't be based on the worthiness on why you would submit to them. Yes, Christ is completely worthy on why we would submit to Him. Talk more about that in a moment. But here's 1 Peter 3, 1 and 2, wives likewise be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they without a word may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear." Now, because of sin, this is tough. This is tough at times.

And husbands, we make it tough on them at times but submission does show the transforming power of the gospel is the gospel powerful enough to transform you to obey God in the hard things we submit to Christ the holy righteous creator the Savior that that only has love for his bride, right? Think of Christ, what he is towards us. He only has love for us. He died for us. He is holy.

Yet, because of sin, we still don't submit to Him. Right, so before we go off saying it's so hard to submit to you, be honest, be honest women about how hard you we have it, you have it, we have it, men we're also part of the bride of Christ, we're also the bride here, right? You know how we lack, how lack of submission we have to Christ, right? But this shows, this is to demonstrate your trust in Christ in how you submit and respect your husband. Now, If you were given a choice of what role you want, you want to represent Christ, but you want to represent the church, right?

Right, you're gonna take the church every time, right? You're gonna take the church every time. And ladies, I don't say that to say, woe is me, God created me a man, I got the tough part of this. No, that's not why I say this. Why I say this is, husbands, that's what you were given.

So our wives should have an easier role because we are representing Christ. It's not they have the easier role because they represent the church. They should have the easier role because we're representing Christ and that's what most of this chapter is about. It's how we love our wives and draw them in. That it's a wonderful submission.

It's a wonderful picture to a dying world. If not for our sin, how easy is it to submit to Christ? Wives, your husband's sin, make bad decisions. They decide to put their foot down on something that, like, what? Really?

That's where you can put your foot down? Ends up not being a wise choice. Don't agree with them at times. Here's God's exhortation to you. Win them over with your character and how you respond, especially when responses full of grace and mercy.

I can attest and mercy. I can attest. I can attest that it really stings. I have dug in on something on sin, or bad response and Rebecca responds graciously when I should have been the one leading with the gracious response. In other words it stings when Rebecca is the one representing Christ in the marriage.

Now, she's being conformed to Christ just like I'm being conformed to Christ, so it shouldn't be a surprise that she respond that way. But when it happens in a way where I have not loved her as Christ loves the church, but yet my response is with the great love, it stays. And I'm thankful it stays. That's evidence that Christ has saved me and filled me with the spirit and she wins me over. She wins me over.

Verse 25 back to Ephesians 5. Here we go men. The rest of this is about Christ towards his church, husbands, towards his bride. Verse 25, we have to, that we are to have the love, as Christ loved the church, including a sacrificial love. God gave him himself as if he was the sinner.

He took the blame and the judgment for his bride. He covers his bride, clothes her in righteousness. That looks like I don't point out every single sin in my life. Trust in the power of the Holy Spirit. He's the sanctifying power, ultimately, not you.

Give room for the Holy Spirit to sanctify pray in in marriage counseling if you've ever been in marriage counseling with me let's take it from this view a husband comes and wants to say something something's going on He's talking about his bride or this or that. One of the very first questions out of my mouth would be, OK, OK, how much have you prayed for her? Oh, How about this? Before you talk to me, go pray. Because I'm not the Holy Spirit, call down the power of the Holy Spirit, then let's talk.

Do that first. What Christ has here, what we see here is initiating love of Christ for his bride in verse 25 when we were yet enemies and my wife Rebecca is the farthest thing from my enemy she's a sister in Christ and Christ showed initiating love to you He loved you first when you were yet dead. That's not my wife. She's alive. In Christ, She is alive.

She's a sister. She's a daughter of the King of Kings. Husbands live sacrificially and humbly. Someone, maybe it was Gary in his prayer, as Christ humbly came to earth, set himself aside, set his throne aside. Husbands, we are not our own.

We are to die to self-interest. We are to serve. Mark 10, 45. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served. Even Christ did not come to be served.

He deserved all of our worship. He didn't come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Continuing on in verse 26 of Ephesians five, that he, that Christ, might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of the word. This is talking about crises. Back in verse 25, husbands, right?

This is all under husbands. And using Christ as the example, we are to have a sanctifying and cleansing love. We are to be directing our brides toward God and godliness. First and foremost, the top of that is prayer, is scripture, is church life, fellowship with the saints. We are to have a Bible saturated marriage.

We are to have a sufficiency of scripture marriages. Where do you turn first? And most it should be to scripture and to prayer. Turn to God Almighty. Call down on Him for wisdom, for growth, for love, for patience, for peace.

Lead men in growing and conforming to Christ. Lead in laboring for her holiness. That starts with your own personal holiness. Lead in beautifying her as Christ beautifies the church. Remind her who she is in Christ and the great riches she has in Christ.

It has happened two or three times now, once recently. I think two or three times where I've had friends or people I know about, their family may look a lot like my family. All three of these families look a lot like my family. All three of these families look a lot like my family. Lots of children, married for many years, and the wife runs away eventually.

And at least one or two of those cases, it's her sins, her sin, I saw where the husband was not leading her in holiness, was not letting her know how beautiful she is in Christ, and the riches and the value that she has. It's a role, husband. It's one of our roles. In verse 27, verse 27, he might present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. We are to present our wives as glorious, holy, set apart, spotless.

Proverbs 31, when you think Proverbs 31, you think a godly woman. But when you think Proverbs 31, you should also think about godly children and godly husbands in verse 28 it talks about how children rise up and and bless their mom but it also says that her husband also rises up and praises her not just praises her and quiet praises her in the gates husbands does your wife sin yes do you sin yes How does Christ treat you in your sin? Because I praise Rebecca in the presence doesn't mean that she doesn't have sin ever. It means I love her and I'm praising her and I'm praising for what God has given me to sanctify me, to encourage me, to love me, to show his care for me. She does 1, 000 things a day, and I'll praise her.

And I'm happy to compete with you on who's praising their wife more. And your wives may at one point say, oh, they just stop it, stop it, stop it. But you've got this in your back pocket, husband. God told me to. God's commanded me to.

I'm gonna keep praising you. This is how Christ treats his church. This is how Christ treats his brother, a glorious brother. It says without spot or wrinkle. I still have spots and wrinkles and sin.

But God treats me as if I don't. He's adopted me into his family because of the work of Christ. Verse 29. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it just as the Lord does the church. This nourish brings to maturity this nurturing this cherishing to keep warm with a tender love this protective tender lavish love flourishing love.

May your bride man may your bride taste the graciousness of the Lord through your nourishing and cherishing. Taste the goodness of the Lord. Because the way you are nourishing and cherishing them. May they mature, especially through the word. Jesus in John 4, Jesus is the living water, nourishing and cherishing.

John 6, Jesus is the bread of life. Men, you getting this? We have more to go, but you're getting this. Look at the ratio here in Ephesians. How much he talks to wives, how much he talks to husbands.

Why is he talking to husbands so much? Because Christ, it's about Christ and his love for us. That's our focus. He wants us to see this beautiful love he has for us and for husbands to demonstrate, to live, to think about this beautiful love. We have to be top of our mind all the time.

In Ephesians five, the last section here in Ephesians 5, 28, so husbands ought to love their own wives, has 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 the Lord does a church for we are many members of his body and his flesh and of his bones for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless, if each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself." Again, he's reiterating this marriage, this two becoming one flesh. And what does that ultimately reflect?

Reflects us being one body with Christ. Your marriage being one flesh represents being one body with Christ. And Christ does this, God does this in 1 Corinthians 11, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 1, Ephesians 4, Colossians 1, Colossians 2. Get the message? Our marriage is to represent how we are one body with Christ, so we're one flesh in our representation of the gospel.

In Matthew 19, Matthew 19, verse 4 through 6, that talks about marriage and till death do we part this one flesh. Have you not read that he who made them at the beginning made them male and female and said for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh so then they are no longer two but one flesh therefore what God has joined together let not man separate see This is pointing to the covenant union we have with Christ. And this covenant union with Christ that we have is forever. Is forever. You're a Christian, you are union, you have union with Christ forever.

We as humans in our human marriages that's not forever but it's to be till death do we part. God has put it together to represent his gospel and we are not to tear his gospel apart. Because of sin one of the great effects of sin is death so our marriages will end. Our marriages will end in death or when Christ returns And because of that picture is why God tells us in Malachi that he hates divorce. Because it lies about the gospel.

Because it lies about his faithfulness. Christ, what he's showing here in Ephesians 5 is a faithful love. Our marriage oaths, whenever you hear a marriage oath again, whenever you hear a marriage oath again, think of God's faithfulness that is to represent as a Christian. God's faithfulness, whether I'm healthy or sick. God's faithfulness, whether I'm rich or poor.

Jesus' faithfulness to his bride, whether I'm joyful or sad. His faithfulness, whether I have children or none. His faithfulness, whether I'm employed or not. His faithfulness, whether I have plenty of food or I'm famine, his faithfulness whether I live here or there or anywhere. Whenever you hear a marriage oath again, contemplate, this is representing the faithful love of our groom of our Christ and we also see here that it is an exclusive and cleaving love as Christ wants his bride and none other.

None other never yearns for another bride. So I want my bride and none other. Not even think about it, not even consider it. There is never a time, never a time when Christ thinks he made a mistake to save you and to make you part of his bride. Never.

Never, there's never a time when Christ considers a different bride. We still sin, he still forgives. Because the work is finished. To Give us his righteousness, to clothe us, and make us beautiful, make us his bride, and make us sons and daughters of the king. Hebrews 13, five, for he himself, for Christ has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

We're supposed to represent that in our marriages. A marriage that does not reflect this lies about the gospel. And a marriage does not pursue this lies about the sanctifying, transforming power of the Holy Spirit. A marriage that does reflect this is a beautiful declaration of the gospel. The love of Christ for his church, the power of the gospel to transform a person into a beautiful bride.

We've been considering and we do different things For ministry and evangelism, hear this, married ones, the number one activity, the number one activity to help you in any ministry, any evangelism for husbands and wives to be one flesh, unified with mutual help to proclaim the gospel through their marriage. Number one above all the evangelical tools you have in your toolbox is the one God gave you in marriage. You want to be an evangelist? You want to be an evangelist, married ones? You want to be an evangelist?

Have a gospel-honoring marriage. Start there. Work on that. And work on that. And work on that.

How many times have you had people in your home, and I'll hear about this especially when you tell me about people in some of your homes, that aren't Christians, or even are Christians, but are struggling, and they look and they're like, I want that. They love being around you. Now they may decide I don't want what it takes to have that but they see it. Like that's so beautiful. I like that.

I love the way the husband and wife and the children and this and that. It's because of the gospel. It beautified your marriage and that family. The last point here is the marriage and life to come. The marriage and the life to come.

And Matthew 22 is the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son. Marriage for his son. And Isaiah 61, 10. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my God, for he has clothed me with his garments of salvation.

He has covered me with robes of righteousness as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments and as a bride adorns herself with jewels." That's talking about salvation but it's also pointing to the beautiful wedding to come dressed in the righteousness of Christ. We know we are intellectually, knowledge, believe it from the scripture, but one day there is a wedding and there is a feast where you will come dressed, literally the way it reads in the parable and in scripture, you come dressed in the righteousness of Christ. It'll be clear that you're in there because of the righteousness of Christ. And these robes of righteousness are not hiding sin, like it's just so pure and so perfect and so opaque that you can't see anything. No, it's because you have been cleansed, you have been washed completely of your sin, made perfect forever and ever and clothed in this beautiful righteousness of your Groom.

Back to Revelation. Revelation 21, 1-5. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw a holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people.

God himself will be with them and be their God, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain for the former things that passed away than he who sat on the throne said, behold, I make all things new. And he said to me, right, for these words are true and faithful the marriage to come. There's sorrow in marriage now, there's heartache, there's weeping, there's crying, There's a lot of joy.

There is way more joy than there is any of those others. But there is pain, there is toil. We do sin against one another. We are two sinners that said, I do. And here we are, one day, one day, in that glorious marriage.

All of that is overwhelmed, overcome by what our marriages have been pointing to the whole time. There are some people that explain the Bible, and I disagree with this, and I'm going to go through why I disagree with it. There are some people that explain, summarize the Bible this way. It starts in a garden, they're perfect, it's wonderful. Then sin comes, there's salvation through Christ, and then we die and we go back to the garden.

I don't want the garden. You should not want the garden. God's going to destroy this heaven and earth that we have now and create a new heaven and new earth. Let me talk about, let me just give you several points on why Heaven and New Earth is better than Eden. In Eden, there are only two people, Heaven and New Earth, multitudes of brethren saved by Christ.

Eden, Adam and Eve created from dust and rib with the possibility of temptation and sin. Heaven and new earth, we are remade, reborn by God into perfect righteousness and holiness. In the heaven and new earth, evil is banished to hell forever. No temptation or desire for sin, only righteousness. In Eden there was day and night of physical lights in the sky.

Heaven and New Earth there's only light. No shadows, no sun needed, there's light. In Eden there's a tree of life, knowledge of good and evil. In heaven and new earth there's abundant life in Christ forever more. In Eden they did not even know the mercy and grace of God, heaven and new earth, we see mercy and grace face to face.

In Eden, Adam, only a creative man was to be the leader of Eve, she's to submit heaven and new earth, Christ, who is God, is our leader and our authority, and we are loved perfectly forever. In Eden, Adam and Eve are naked and unashamed. In the heaven and new earth, we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Few applications. One said not too long ago, marriage is a key evangelism, evangelical tool given to us by God.

Use it, use it, proclaim it, live it, strengthen it. It is a high, high honor that we have. Number two, men, husbands, let us examine everything we say, think, and do toward our wives as compared to how Jesus treats his bride. You're only going to get there by studying what Jesus does for his bride. We love being the bride of Christ, men.

We love being the bride of Christ. Your wife should love being your bride every moment of every day. It's not going to happen. I get that with sin in our lives, but pursue it with all you've got and have sorrow when it's not so. Make it easy for them.

Make it easy for them to love you, as Christ says in Matthew 11, 28. Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." How beautiful is that? May your wife, may your brides be able to have rest in you. See a place where your yoke, the things that she is responsible for, she sees them easier because of your love for her and your care for her and you giving her the tools she needs for her to flourish.

Number three, wives. Same thing to you. Examine everything you seek, everything you think, say and do towards your husband as compared to how the bride, how the church is to respond to Christ. Christ makes, I get it, Christ makes it very easy. It's only our sin that makes it seem like it's hard to submit to Christ.

I get it, I am not Christ, I am far from Christ. I won't be perfectly conformed to him whenever that, after that last breath happens. I recognize that. This is what God says, and this is beautifying marriage. The last application, singles.

Singles. It may have turned out, but now you hear the word singles, so now you pay attention. Singles, how are you preparing for marriage? And I say that, how are you preparing for marriage? Because it is good to pursue marriage.

You might have heard me say before, said it a couple times, Marriage is a horrible idol, a horrible thing to pursue for itself because of what you think you'll get out of it. There's several people in there thinking, oh, if I was only married, I would have this, that, and that. Oh, if I was only married, I would have children and everything, da-da-da-da-da. Marriage is a worthy, a high worthy, and a high calling to pursue. Understand, not everybody, but high, high, high percentage of people will get married, especially Christians.

That should be the case. So pursue that. So how are you preparing for marriage and prepare because you don't know any single here Know that they're not gonna be married Nope So might as well prepare for it What will it hurt to prepare for it to learn and study more about your Christ, more about your God. Know your Christ more. Study his attributes.

Know the gospel. And if you get married, it will become your greatest evangelical proclamation you can have. Oh, know the gospel. Absolutely know the gospel. That's going to inform your marriage.

But then your marriage is a great tool. You can work together. It's not just a man that has to be out there proclaiming the gospel. Women can proclaim the gospel, but how glorious it is when we proclaim that together. Let's pray.

Our God, how glorious it is that you would give us marriage. One day I won't be married to my earthly wife anymore, but I'll have you. We will have you and be completely satisfied in everything. Thank you for your glorious, initiating, beautiful love, your sanctifying love, your salvific love. I can't do that, but you did.

You, God Almighty, thank you. Oh, Bless our marriages. Bless the marriages to come. Those that aren't married here, God, give them wisdom, please. When that day comes, give them so much wisdom.

By your grace, whether we will there be God glorifying gospel declaring messages until the day you come and then in the glory, a marriage with you forever and ever. Thank you, Jesus. Amen.