Two Become One
James Slopsema's meditation on Ephesians 5:31-32 expounds the mystery of marriage as a reflection of Christ's union with the church. The article traces the creation ordinance of marriage through Paul's teaching, explaining how the marital union of husband and wife prefigures and illuminates the intimate relationship between Christ and His redeemed people. This pastoral exposition connects biblical teaching on marriage to Christological truth, making it suitable for devotional study and understanding marriage within Reformed theology.
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:31-32 Paul has just instructed husbands and wives how they are to behave toward each other in marriage. Wives are to submit to their husbands in all things, even as the church submits to Christ. Husbands are to love their wives, even as Christ loves His church. In that connection, Paul...
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