Ephesians 5:22  Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
23  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24  Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
28  So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
29  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
31  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.
32  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
33  Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

The institution of marriage has been under attack since the fall of man. Eve tried to rule over her husband in Genesis 3. She was deceived and she accepted the lies of the devil. She told her husband what she had ‘discovered’, and he foolishly accepted her lies and he wilfully fell into the trap set for him. In Genesis 4, Lamech defied God’s order and married two women. He started polygamy.
We have many examples in the Bible of individuals who defied God’s law of marriage. Many people today have taken man’s corruption of marriage as their excuse for also corrupting God’s standard of marriage.
We have looked at the Pharisees, who tried to set themselves up as the religious leaders of Israel in the time before, during, and after the Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth. They had a corrupted view of marriage as well. Jesus corrected their false teaching. He took them back to Genesis 2 and reminded them that God’s standard has never changed.
As we see in our text, marriage is designed by God to be a picture of God’s salvation. God shows us that when He gives us a picture it must be honoured. Moses was not allowed to enter the land of Canaan, because he spoiled the picture of Jesus’ salvation. He gave occasion for false religions like the Catholics to corrupt God’s salvation by suggesting that they can turn a piece of dough into the body of Jesus Christ. They claim that Jesus Christ must be eaten by their followers and that is the way they might get saved. According to Catholic doctrine, Jesus is continually being re-crucified to possibly give hope to man. Sadly, thousands of people have believed and still believe that lie.
The good news is that even though Moses spoiled the picture, he could not spoil the truth. Jesus Christ is the Rock that was depicted in the rock that Moses was told to strike the first time. Water came pouring out of that rock in such abundance that the entire nation of Israel and their livestock were satisfied with that water. Jesus Christ is the Living Water.
Moses was told to speak to the rock on the second occasion. He was angry with the people and he struck the rock twice. God gave the people water, but He also showed the people that this sin of Moses would not allow him to be able to enter the land of Canaan. Moses died in the wilderness, at the border of the land, but was not able to enter it. Canaan was to be a picture of the rest that God alone can provide for man. Moses did not miss out on salvation. He missed out on the blessing of entering into that rest. Canaan is not a picture of heaven. There will be no wars to fight in heaven. There is no sin in heaven. Canaan is a picture of the promises God offers to those who trust in Him and walk with Him.
As our text declares, marriage is a picture of God’s gift of salvation. That gift is something we cannot earn. It is a gift, a precious gift, that is only available through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. When a person is saved, they have eternal life. They cannot lose that gift. They cannot forfeit that gift in any way.
When a man and a woman get married, they are supposed to look at that act as a picture of the gift of salvation that God provides for man. The lost certainly do not understand that. Lamech did not understand that in Genesis 4. He scoffed at God’s design. The Bible shows us many examples of men who scoffed at God’s design for marriage. Even king David, a king revered by the Jews to this day, had several wives. He did not need more than one. He could not do justice to the many sons he had through his many wives. He neglected them and we see the mess that some of them made of their lives. David failed to address that matter.
God directed the apostle Paul to give us much instruction regarding marriage in I Corinthians 7. The naysayers have tried to twist what God has declared and there are far more preachers who will endorse a corrupt view of marriage than the few who seek to honour God in their position on marriage.
When we discredit God’s clear teaching on this very important picture we give people license in many other areas as well. When we accept the devil’s corruption of marriage, we give him room to corrupt God’s wonderful design for salvation. There are countless religions that teach that a person can lose their salvation. There are countless numbers of people who live in fear of losing their salvation. There are also countless numbers of people who are not saved, but they think they are. They have accepted a lie regarding salvation because they have accepted some man as their final authority, rather than humbly submitting to God’s perfect Word.
It is a shame that so many people want to fight against the truth. No one wins in a fight with God. Jacob proved himself to be a good fighter in Genesis 32. He had great strength against the angel of the Lord. However, the angel touched the hollow of his thigh and Jacob had a limp for the rest of his life. He fought hard, but he did not win. He would have been wise to submit to God. God blessed him but there were also difficulties caused by his fighting attitude. His energies were misplaced in that he was afraid of protecting his daughter from the pagans who had a corrupted view of marriage. Two of his sons took matters into their own hands to protect their sister. Jacob was afraid of man, more than walking in the fear of the Lord.
In spite of the many attempts at corrupting God’s law of marriage, His law still stands. We are wise when we accept His law and submit to that law. We can help the lost to see the blessing that is in God’s salvation when we honour Him in our marriages. Couples can have disagreements. Those disagreements can be resolved if the couple is saved and walking humbly with the Lord. There is great blessing when a couple chooses to walk humbly with God. Children and grandchildren are blessed when they can look at their parents and see the faithfulness they showed to each other. They can also be blessed when the parents teach the importance of the picture that marriage presents.
God’s salvation is a beautiful gift. It is a precious gift that all people need, but few find. It is not that the gift is hard to find, but it is that it is only found through following God’s way. God is the Author of salvation. He decrees that salvation is only possible through repentance toward Him and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. He wants each person to be saved.
Even though many marriages do not reflect the beauty that God intended for them, His plan for marriage still stands and those who submit to His way, will know great blessings now and in eternity. Those who want to defy Him, will suffer now and into eternity. As we have noted before, those who choose to believe some deceiver now, will discover that they will not stand before that deceiver at death. That deceiver will not intercede for them at death either. They will stand before the true God, in Jesus Christ. He is merciful, and He is also just. Those who reject His provision for salvation will not be given a ‘second chance’. Death is sure and after death comes judgment. That judgment is final.
The wise person builds his life on the Truth. God’s truth is never outdated. There are many blessings to be had in Christ.
Pastor Bartel