February 23, 2023 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her.” Ephesians 5:25In this passage in Ephesians chapter five, Paul refers to marriage as a “mystery.” Why is the union of a man and woman in marriage a mystery? The answer is found in verse 32 when Paul explains that the deepest meaning of marriage (as a picture of Christ and the Church) had been partially hidden until this point. Marriage is more than a physical, earthly union. It is a picture that represents something much more than a man and woman becoming one. Its deepest meaning shows how Christ and His bride relate to each other.One of the things we learn from this mystery is the roles of husband and wife in marriage. If marriage is a metaphor for Christ and the Church, then the roles God has established are not happenstance, nor can they be changed without obscuring the whole picture. The roles of husband and wife are rooted in the roles of Christ and His Church. The way husban...
