Monday, 31 October 2016
For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. Ephesians 5:30
Again as cited in the previous verse, this hearkens back to Genesis 2. The woman was taken from the side of Adam. She was fashioned from who he already was, rather than being fashioned from the earth as was Adam. In a figurative way, the church sprang from the side of Christ as well. Thus, the personal nature of Eve being truly a part of Adam is repeated in the personal nature of our being so intimately connected to Christ.
In this most intimate union, Paul says that we “are members of His body.” Our spiritual connection to Christ is so tied up in the work of the Lord that we are directly connected to Him, even as being “of His flesh and of His bones.” Nothing could be more personal than this marvelous union to God through Christ. The pattern was set in Adam and Eve, and it follows through to us.
The lesson that Paul is giving, though, needs to be remembered. Men are to love their wives as their own body, just as Christ loves His own body.
Life application: The patterns of the Bible are repeated to help us understand deeper spiritual truths. Things which are recorded in the Bible which happen in the stream of time in the physical creation are used to point us to these spiritual truths. As you read the Bible, keep this in mind and it will help open up seemingly obscure and odd passages to a fuller appreciation for the work of God in Christ.
Great and marvelous God, it is so wonderful how You have fashioned women for men. The two complement one another and find a fulfillment in the union which is more than remarkable. Help us to look to the positive in our marriages, overlook the faults of one another, and to not pervert what You have ordained through neglecting what is so obvious – that a relationship in marriage is ordained for a union of a man and a woman. May we stand opposed to anything which challenges this fundamental rule of morality and biology. Amen.