RELATING WITHIN MARRIAGE - ONE FLESH

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.

Ephesians 5:31-32 NLT

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In Ephesians, chapter 5, we find Paul talking about individual and shared responsibilities in marriage.

Wives are to submit to their husbands, the heads of marital relationships.

Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church.

Both husbands and wives are required to submit to one another out of reverence for Jesus.

And as we see in today’s passage, the final verses left to study in this chapter, the husband and wife are to be united, lock-stepped with one another within the marriage.

There’s no room for individualism and selfishness in the kind of marriage the Lord desires. A man leaves his parents and is joined to his wife by God and they become one flesh, bound together in a love that is to last forever, a love grounded in Christ Jesus and the Father who sent Him to save.

Just in case a person wouldn’t understand what Paul was referring to when he said one flesh, words that were first spoken by God in the second chapter of Genesis and He brought together the first couple, Adam and Eve, Paul gives an illustration. A man and a woman were to be one just as Jesus and His church were one.

Throughout most of Ephesians 5, we have seen how a person leaves their old self behind when they believe in Jesus and are expected to put on a new self in and through their Savior. The leave the world behind to be one with Christ and in doing so, join the holy congregation of other Christian believers who have done the same. Jesus followers are to be one flesh with Him, allowing His life to be their own.

And friends when a husband and wife do that, when they each choose to be one with Jesus, then they will in turn be in one flesh with one another, united through a common bond in Christ.

Look inside any marital issue and you will typically find that either the husband or wife or both is living separated from the Jesus they are expected to be one with. This means the solution to marriage problems is as simple as a complete recommitting to put Christ first, first in the life of the Christian and then in turn to be first in the life of the marriage.

If you’re married and reading this, are you and your marital partner living as one flesh?

If so, then you know the blessing a marriage like that can be. I can testify to it as my “amazing” Grace and I have been married for more than 30 years now, and it gets better by the year, all because Jesus is first in our relationship.

If you’re married and having struggles, Jesus is ready to step in and fix your relationship. All you need to do is surrender your marriage to Him and allow Him to lead you. I promise you that you’ll never regret the decision to be one flesh in Christ.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com