Day 19 - A radiant church

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.

Ephesians 5:25-33 (NIVUK)

This passage is often used to show husbands how to love their wives and how wives should love their husbands, but Paul was rather using the relationship between a husband and wife to show us how Jesus wants to relate to us as members of His body, the church. The passage explains the depth and intensity of God’s love, how He thinks about us and how we should return that love to Him.

So how does passage describe Jesus’s love to us?

Jesus gave His very life for us. Not while we were blameless and perfect but while we were still mired in sin. The bridegroom then lovingly took us and gently washed and cleansed us using His blood and His loving words. Making us spotless, holy and blameless. Not by our efforts, but what He had done.

His motive for this was that He loves us as much as He loves Himself. Having cleansed us and removing the stains of our sin, He then gave us His Holy Spirit to nourish us and cherish us every day as we invite Him into our lives.

Not only that, but He brings us together with other believers to form His body which is the church. In the end times Jesus wants to present His bride to the Father, beautiful and without spot or blemish.

So how should we respond to such an outpouring of His compassion and love?

We are to be subject to Him. To reverence Him. This is not us being subject to a fierce, overbearing husband but rather choosing to put His will before our own desires, freely obeying His leading, knowing that His ways are not only good, but perfect.

In the same way as we leave our earthly parents to be joined to our spouses, we should leave those things that had previous control over our lives behind so that we are free to obey Christ’s leading and become one with Him.

What does becoming one with Him mean? After years together, spouses often understand each other's thoughts and choices without the need for words. Becoming one with God means that we begin to know how He would feel or think so that we can speak and act as He would.

Although Bible study is an essential way for us to learn about God and how to live, it should never be a substitute for an intimate relationship with God. Before the fall God and Adam walked together in the cool of the day, sharing each others thoughts and concerns. He still desires that level of intimate relationship with us today. We should never be satisfied with just reading the love letters when the lover Himself is available.

Steve Horton