Nuggets
- The mystery is not only the doctrine of salvation, but it is also that it is available to anyone who believes and repents.
- God loves the whole world (Jn. 3: 16); Jesus loved the whole world enough to die for us (I Jn. 3: 16).
- When we are in a healthy, loving relationship, we treat others in a more loving way.
- When we are following God’s laws and commandments, we are growing “… strong, blameless, and holy …” (I Thess. 3: 13 NLT).
Right in the middle of talking about submission, Paul throws in a verse about the mystery of Jesus and the Church. This devotion looks at how we would be if Jesus had not died for our sins and evidence of His great love for us.
Let's Put It into Context
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh” (Eph. 5: 31 RSV)
Ephesians 5: 21-31 talks about submission. We sometimes have troubles yielding to someone in authority. That may be because we do not feel they have to right to have authority over us. It may be that we do not agree with their beliefs or actions.
To read devotions in the Marriage Roles series, click the appropriate button below.
God set up biblical marriage so that it would give us a picture of our spiritual relationship with God. Paul elaborated on what he meant in verses 32.
Where Would We Be Without Christ?
“This is a profound mystery — but I am talking about Christ and the church” (Eph. 5: 32 RSV).
I think this is where some get the idea that marriage is a sacrament. Maybe. Maybe not. We’re going to come at it from a different angle.
We’ve talked about the mystery before. Back in Ephesians 3: 4-6, Paul wrote, “When you read this you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that is, how the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (RSV).
Back in that devotion, I said that the mystery was the doctrine of salvation. Now, I think that has to be expanded a little. (Bear with me. I am learning, too.)
The mystery is not only the doctrine of salvation, but it is also that it is available to anyone who believes and repents. “And saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel’” (Mk. 1: 15 ESV).
If Jesus had not come to earth and died, there would not have been remission of our sins. There would not have been a church. We would still be trapped within our sinful condition. We would still be spiritually dead.
The gospel is the good news that, because of God’s infinite grace, He devised the plan of salvation that made Jesus our Redeemer in order to forgive us of our sins. Sin is when we disobey God and break one of His laws and commandments. These laws and commandments not only show us what we have done wrong, but they also show us the character of God.
Repentance is expressing sorrow for things we’ve done wrong. But it is not just feeling sorry for doing those things. It is making the commitment to changing ourselves so that we no longer do the wrong things.
Salvation is the deliverance from the consequences of sin. This deliverance is necessitated by the original sin committed by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, which made everyone sinners. We gain salvation by admitting we are sinners, believing that Jesus is our Redeemer, and confessing God as our Sovereign Lord.
The ABCDs of Salvation
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
One of the major themes in Ephesians is that Jews and Gentiles are to make up the church. He has spent a lot of verses describing unity.
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Here are a couple of verses that show God came for everyone.
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5: 8 ESV).
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3: 16 ESV).
God loves the world — the whole world — not just a corner of the world. It doesn’t qualify that it is one ethnic group but not another. It doesn’t qualify that is one socioeconomic status but not another.
The whole world. E-v-e-r-y-o-n-e.
You and I included.
It Is All About the Love
“We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us …” (I Jn. 3: 16 NLT).
God loves the whole world (Jn. 3: 16). Jesus loved the whole world enough to die for us (I Jn. 3: 16).
This is a deep-seated love. Remember, we talked about God designed the plan of salvation before Adam and Eve even sinned (Eph. 1: 4).
Evidence of His Love
“May he [Jesus], as a result, make your heart strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people. Amen” (I Thess. 3: 13 NLT)
Paul had written to the Thessalonians and had broken out into prayer. He prayed for Jesus to increase their love for one another. He wanted their love growing and overflowing.
Remember, that is in line with the second greatest commandment. “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Mt. 22: 39 NKJV).
Now some might be questioning how this is evidence of Jesus is love. I think it is.
Think about it. When we are in a healthy, loving relationship, don’t we treat others in a more loving way?
Paul prayed that the Thessalonians’ love “… for each other and for everyone else …” (I Thess. 3: 12 NIV) overflow from the love they have for Jesus. When Jesus lavishes His love on us, we will in turn lavish our love on other people.
Jesus justified and redeemed us so that our relationship with God could be restored. He helps support us by giving us His Holy Spirit to dwell within us.
The Effects of His Love
“I have given them the glory you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one, that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me” (Jn. 17: 22-23 CSB).
When we are following God’s laws and commandments, we are growing “… strong, blameless, and holy …” (I Thess. 3: 13 NLT). Because of that, God will bless us. “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession …” (Ex. 19: 15 NIV).
We are growing closer to God and to Jesus. Remember, holy means set apart, perfect, and pure. True we are going to slip and sin while we live on this earth, But all the while we will be growing to prepare us for eternal life when we will be perfect and pure.
We are God’s when we choose to believe and repent. One day, we will live forevermore with God in the place He will prepare for us.
Making the Connections
“However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband” (Eph. 5: 33 RSV)
So, how does this relate to marriage? Well.
It is all about the love and reverence. We must love and revere our spouses. What did Peter say elsewhere? “Above all, maintain an intense love for each other, since love covers a multitude of sins” (I Pet. 4: 8 HCSB).
If the love is there, the respect is going to be there. It has to be mutual. Then wives will choose to submit because they will feel their thoughts and feelings matter.
How Do We Apply This?
I said it before. If I had to guess, I would say nine out of ten of us have trouble with the “… love his wife as he loves himself …” (Eph. 5: 33 RSV).
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Oh, but it just isn’t the menfolk. It is the womenfolk, too. We have problems loving ourselves.
That is another thing we can blame on the result of sin. Before sin entered the world, we were comfortable in our own skin. Adam and Eve probably didn’t give a thought to what they looked like.
Then Satan started using that as a way to get us to focus on ourselves and not on others. He knew if he could affect us subconsciously, he would tear up our marriages – and other relationships.
Lord. You have shown us great love. Help us to love as You do. Amen.
Related Links
The following article was used as the foundation for this devotion.
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