Another week has passed. For me, and many others in this little part of the world, our last week ended fabulously as we celebrated with friends their marriage before God and man.
Amongst the promises they made to one another in their vows were the following...
...I promise with God's help to love you as Christ loved the church. I promise to be a faithful husband, until death separates us, or the Lord Jesus Christ returns, according to God's holy law...
...I promise with God's help to submit to you as the church submits to Christ. I promise to be a faithful wife until death separates us, or the Lord Jesus Christ returns, according to God's holy law...
The talk which followed focussed on these statements of love and submission. I often hear of many people who do not understand how the bride can say in her marriage vows that she will submit to her husband. The truth is that the way we understand the term 'submit' in our everyday language is not the way that it is meant here. Here, it is in the context of how the church submits to Christ. Just as important however is what is meant by the term 'love' as this is also possibly a little different, carrying more weight with it, in this context of Christ loving the church.
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Saviour. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church - for we are members of his body. 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' This is a profound mystery - but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. (The Bible, Ephesians 5:21-33)
This is the passage where these words in their promises to one another come from. Where it says the church, it is not talking about a building, but rather a group of people. God's people. We see here that the husbands love should be complete, even self sacrificial, putting their wife first and presenting her holy and blameless - perfect. The wife is to submit to her husband, not meaning that she has no mind, or that he can tell her to do anything he likes, but rather knowing that he has the best intentions for her and will do everything he can to ensure her well being. This is a good type of submission. And when both of these roles are filled both will have, must have, a deep respect for one another.
In attendance there were friends from, well, all over the world. It is quite wonderful to see so many different people come together, and to celebrate with dear friends such a wonderful occasion. After all, these promises and these words are not meant only for westerners but are talking about Christ and the church, which is universal!
God Bless.
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