Ephesians 5:31-33 says, “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.” This week we will continue our series on the wonderful and great mystery of marriage.
Jesus is our kinsman redeemer. In Ruth chapter 3, Naomi instructed Ruth to uncover Boaz’s (a type of Jesus) feet, and lay down there. He then accepted her and covered her. This same concept is found in Ezek 16:8 - “Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I swore unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.”. This covering with the skirt (robe) symbolized protection, acceptance and betrothal.
A man physically “covers” his wife when they are united in the marriage bed, and become one flesh. When we humble ourselves and lay at the feet of Jesus, He covers us with His righteousness and we are united with Him in spirit at the new birth (1Cor 6:17). Being covered by Jesus, we rest in the fact that He is our protector, provider, our faithful friend, and the lover our soul.
Don Krow, in his book “When God Says I Do”, points out that everywhere in the Bible it speaks of nakedness, it talks about it in the context of shame. With one exception - Holy matrimony. The marriage bed is pure and undefiled. It is holy. There is no shame, guilt, or remorse. There is no fear, abuse, neglect. It is blessed; and happy; and holy. Again, this is the ideal - what it is supposed to be - what God intended.
In the garden, husband and wife were naked and unashamed (Gen 2:25). This is the ideal marriage relationship, before sin entered the world. Now, nakedness is shameful, unless you’re innocent (a little child), or godless - or in the marriage bed. The marriage bed is holy and undefiled (Heb 13:4). Any sense of shame of nakedness in marriage is just residual from the old creature. Jesus came and set us free, and took away our shame.
The marriage bedroom is to be a place of total acceptance; total trust; total safety. That husband and wife can be naked and unashamed. That they can rest in each other’s arms with total peace and acceptance. The marriage bed is blessed by God.
This is a type of our relationship with Jesus. We do not have to be ashamed anymore. Jesus covered our nakedness with Himself. We are accepted. We can totally trust Him. He will not forsake or reject us, even when we fail Him. He loves us. He likes to be around us and spend time with us. We are not a burden to Him. We can relax in His arms, and know we are “accepted in the Beloved” (Eph 1:6).
Jesus loves His bride (the church) so much, husbands are told to love their wives in the same manner! They are one. When God created male and female, He called them “Adam”. This is very significant. God sees man and wife as one. The spiritual applications to this are enormous! The wife takes on a new name - a new identity. She is now Mrs. _____. She is identified with her husband. Our last name is no longer “sinner” but “saint”. We are no longer children of darkness, but children of light. We are no longer of our father the devil, but of our Father God. She is a new creation, one that has never existed before. She has become something different than she was.
This is our standing in Christ! We have a new name. The Father sees us (Jesus and His bride) as one. The Christian is “in” Christ. They are united with Him. They are new creations. Our identity is now in Christ. We are not who we were before. We have a new name and new identity.
These comparisons are no stretch. They are Biblical. The more we understand and exalt the holy marriage covenant, the more we understand Christianity; the more we understand who and what we really are; and how we are supposed to relate to Jesus. Holy matrimony is a precious, sacred, God ordained institution. Don’t get on the band wagon with the people who seek to cheapen it; degrade it; redefine it; make a mockery of it. God ordained it and defined it. We just need to honor it (Gen 2:21-25, Mt 19:4-6).
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