Category: PASSION Reflections

Gospel Shaped Marriage 2

On By BrianIn Family/Single Life

To recap from the last post:  marriage is based on the Christ/church relationship and pictures the Christ/church relationship.  Marriage is closely connected to the gospel.  That means my question – how should the gospel shape our marriages? – is not incidental but essential.  The gospel must shape our marriages because our marriages are based on the gospel and point to the gospel.  So how should the gospel shape our marriages?

First, there is to be a sacrificial giving of ourselves.  Let’s start with husbands, whose role is based on Christ.  Christ sacrificially loved the church, giving of himself for the good of the church.  So the husband is to sacrificially love his wife, giving of himself for the good of his wife.  Christ nourishes and cherishes (takes care of) his church.  So the husband is to nourish and cherish his wife, providing for her needs.  Christ is the head of the church, providing leadership for the church.  So the husband is the head of the wife, providing leadership for the family.

This latter point of course irritates many people.  But we must see it in the context of what we said before.  This leadership is sacrificial, seeking the wife’s best, and providing for the wife.  There is no room for self-centered demands in this leadership.  It is a sacrificial giving of the husband for his wife.  This is a gospel shaped marriage.

Then wives too are to sacrificially give of themselves.  This is done through submission to the husband.  This too irritates many people.  Some want to argue that Paul is stuck in his own culture, and this is the twenty first century!  But notice again Paul’s statement is based on the Christ/church relationship.  If marriage is based on and pictures the gospel, the wife must submit to her husband as the church submits to Christ.  But this is degrading to women many might say.  But dear church – do you feel degraded because you are called to submit to Christ?  No?  So submission need not be degrading.  Jesus says that if we love him we will obey him (John 14:15).  So the church submits to Christ out of love.  And so the wife can submit to her husband out of love.  As the church cheerfully, joyfully, freely submits to Christ, so can the wife submit to her husband.  This indeed requires a sacrificial giving of herself, but in doing it she points to the gospel.  This is a gospel shaped marriage.

So a gospel shaped marriage acknowledges different roles for the husband and the wife based on the roles of Christ and the church.  Both of these roles flow out of a sacrificial giving of ourselves.  We’ll consider further aspects of a gospel shaped marriage in the next post.

Gospel Shaped Marriage

On By BrianIn Family/Single Life

Our culture has a low distorted view of marriage.  This is not news.   The high divorce rate, the thousands living together outside of marriage, the media’s portrayal of marriage, the attempt to redefine marriage, and the frothy romantic feelings many base marriage on – all point to a low distorted view of marriage.  In the midst of this mess, the church needs a renewed vision of marriage, a high view, a real view, a Biblical view.

To find such a view, we could turn back to creation.  We could see that God designed marriage between a man and a woman, that he designed sex for the safety of a loving committed marriage relationship, and that he designed marriage to be a lasting commitment.  But by and large the church knows these things, so I want to look at marriage from a different vantage point.  I want to consider marriage not in the context of creation, but in the context of salvation.

I want to ask: how should the gospel shape our marriages?  Ever asked that question?  Ever even consider that there might be a connection?  Let’s begin by exploring the connection:

Read Ephesians 5:22-33.  What is this passage about?  The marriage relationship?  The Christ/church relationship?  Both?  Indeed both.  Paul weaves the two together throughout the passage.

Looking closer, we notice that the husband’s role is based on Christ’s role: “the husband is the head…even as Christ is the head….husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church.”  Similarly the wife’s role is based on the church’s role: “as the church submits…so also wives should submit.”  The marriage relationship then is based on the Christ/church relationship.

Look at verses 31-32.  Verse 31 quotes Genesis 2 which is speaking of marriage.  Yet verse 32 says it (the marriage relationship) refers to Christ and the church.  That is, the marriage relationship points to or pictures the Christ/church relationship.  Our marriages are a picture of Christ and his church.  Marriage is a picture of the gospel.

So marriage is based on the Christ/church relationship and pictures the Christ/church relationship.*  Marriage is closely connected to the gospel.  That means my question – how should the gospel shape our marriages? – is not incidental but essential.  The gospel must shape our marriages because our marriages are based on the gospel and point to the gospel.  We’ll look at specific ways the gospel should shape our marriages in the next post.

*I am indebted to John Piper’s book This Momentary Marriage for the insight that marriage is based on and pictures the Christ/church relationship.  I recommend the book to you.

Promises

On By BrianIn Book of Luke1 Comment

We live in a world of broken empty promises.  Just think politicians and advertisements.  Yet when we look to God, we find one who delivers on what he says.

In Luke 1, God promised Zechariah a son (v13).  And a son is born (v57).  Promise kept.  God promised there would be joy (v14), and they rejoice (v58).  Promise kept.  God promised that Zechariah would be mute until the child was born (v20), and after the child is born, Zechariah speaks (v63-64).  Promise kept.

We can trust God to keep his promises.  What promises do you need to cling to today?

Examples of Grace 04

On By BrianIn Miscellaneous

We deserve judgment and death for our sins, but God continually pours out blessing upon blessing.  We don’t deserve his blessings.  We have no claim upon them.  They are underserved.  That is grace.  Consider some examples of God’s grace from the book of Exodus:

The people cried out to the Lord for help, and God heard their prayers.  How many times do we cry out the Lord?  He hears every prayer.  That’s grace.

God took Moses and made him a great leader to bring the people out of Egypt.  Moses did not deserve this privilege, but God chose to equip and use him.  We are nobodies.  God doesn’t need us.  But he chooses to equip and use us to accomplish his work here on earth.  That’s grace.

God promised to deliver the people from slavery.  Consider the hope that such a promise brought forth!  God has graciously showered us with precious promises.  In those certain promises we find hope.

God graciously brought the people out of slavery in Egypt.  God graciously frees us from slavery to sin.

God graciously provided food and water in the wilderness.  God graciously provides us with food and water; he supplies for our needs.

Finally, God graciously made Israel his treasured possession.  Not because Israel was a treasure, but simply because God chose to do it.  We are not treasures, yet God has made his church to be his treasured possession.  Grace.

God’s grace is written in all of the Bible…and in all of our lives.  Where do you see his grace today?

Joy To The World

On By BrianIn Book of Luke, Virtue of Joy1 Comment

When Mary visited Elizabeth in Luke 1, there was an explosion of joy.  John leaps in the womb for joy.  Elizabeth breaks forth in joyous praise.  And then Mary breaks forth in joyous song.  What is this joy that they found?

First, it was a Christ-centered joy.  They found this joy in Jesus.  John leaps for joy when he hears Mary’s voice because she is carrying Jesus.  Elizabeth calls Mary blessed because of the blessing in her womb – Jesus.  Mary praises God for what he has done for her – which is Jesus.  Their joy is Christ-centered.  Where do we seek our joy?

Second, it was a humble joy.  Elizabeth asks, “why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”  She knows she doesn’t deserve this blessing, and so in her humility she finds joy in the blessing.  Mary too is humble.  She calls God her Savior – a recognition of her need of one.  She is merely a humble servant – God is the one who does great things.  As the song continues, it is the humble that God lifts up.  The proud can’t know joy because they think every blessing is deserved.  Our entitlement mentality in America keeps us from knowing joy.  But the humble, who understand that they don’t deserve any good from the Lord, can find joy in every blessing that comes from the hand of the Lord.  Every blessing is a new opportunity to rejoice in God’s grace.  It is a humble joy.

Third, it was a Spirit-led joy.  Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit who reveals to her why her baby leaped.  Galatians 5 reminds us that joy is a fruit of the Spirit.  Joy comes as we walk with the Spirit.

Finally, it was a Word-saturated joy.  Mary’s song is filled with allusions, phrases, theme, words, and forms from the Old Testament.  As we saturate ourselves in the Word, we will find Jesus.  As we saturate ourselves in the Word, we can grow in humility.  As we saturate ourselves in the Word, the Spirit can use it in our lives to bring joy.  Are we saturating ourselves in the Word?

Do we want to know joy today?  It is found in Christ and in humility, through the Spirit and the Word.  Father, help us to grow in this joy!

Examples of Grace 03

On By BrianIn Miscellaneous

More examples of God’s grace (undeserved favor) from Genesis:

Jacob speaks of God as the one who answered him in his distress.  Jacob was not the most faithful follower, yet God answered him – that is grace.  We aren’t always the most faithful followers either, yet how many times has God answered us in our distress?  Grace….

Again and again we read that God was with Jacob and Joseph, and so he favors us with his presence – especially through the trials of life.

God graciously sent Joseph to Egypt to supply for the needs of his family during the coming famine.  How many times has God graciously supplied for us?

And then there is God’s sovereign grace that weaves the circumstances of our lives for our good.  How many times did Joseph wonder why he had been sold into slavery, why he had been cast into prison?  But God was graciously working in his life through those trials, preparing him for his ultimate task.  Without the trials, he would have never been raised up to rule in Egypt, never saved his family (and countless others) from the famine.  In the midst of our trials, may we remember God’s sovereign grace – who knows how God will use our difficulties for good.  Who knows how God will bring good out of the mess in Haiti.  God is an expert at bringing something good out of messes.  That he cares to do so – that’s grace.

Favor With God

On By BrianIn Book of Luke

An angel comes to Mary and greets her with the words, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you.”  The angel continues, “you have found favor with God.”

Indeed she was favored and found favor with God, for she was given the incredible privilege to bear the Savior of the world.  This is all of grace.  The Greek word translated twice as favor is usually translated as grace.  It is by God’s grace upon her life that she received this privilege.  It was not her own works, her own goodness, her own merit that earned her this privilege.  No it was grace – she found favor with God.

And so it is with us.  Through faith in Jesus Christ, we have been given the incredible privilege of knowing the Savior of the world, of receiving his great salvation that he purchased for us on the cross, of being raised to a new life through his resurrection, and of having the certain hope of our own resurrection someday.  It is not our own works, our own goodness, our own merit that earns us this privilege.  No it is grace – we have found favor with God.

(Taken from Luke 1)

Do We Believe?

On By BrianIn Book of Luke

The angel came to Zechariah with a word from the Lord.  Zechariah would have a son who would prepare the way for the Messiah.  His prayers for a child and the coming Messiah would be answered.

But Zechariah refused to believe.  “I’m too old!  My wife is too old!  How could we have a child?”  And Zechariah is struck dumb because of his unbelief.  He refused to believe God’s word that his prayers were answered and that the Messiah was coming.

What about us?  Do we believe?

When we pray, do we pray believing that God will answer our prayers.  Do we pray believing he can answer our prayers?  He may choose to answer in ways unforseen to us, but do we believe he will and can answer prayer?  Are we surprised when he does?  Are we praying with faith or just mouthing unbelieving words?

When the Word of the Lord comes to us, do we believe what it says?  Do we believe that the commands in Scripture are God’s words to us that we should obey?  Do we believe the many promises of God that we find in his Word?  “I am with you always.”  “God is our refuge and strength.”  “My grace is sufficient for you.”  Do we come to the Word with faith or do we just come?

When the Scriptures promise that Jesus is coming back, do we believe that he is really coming?  Do we believe it could be today?  Do our lives reflect this belief, or do our lives reflect disbelief in his return?

It is easy to put Zechariah down for his unbelief, but don’t we at times struggle in the same way?

Father, help us to grow in our faith!

(From Luke 1)

Hope Is Dawning

On By BrianIn Book of Luke1 Comment

For 400 years the people of Israel had been waiting for the coming of the Messiah.  The prophets had foretold his coming, and the people waited, longing for his coming.  Would he come in their lifetime?  In their children’s?  Grandchildren’s?  How long?

Finally, the fist glimmers of light appear.  Their hope dawns as an angel appears to Zechariah.  Zechariah and his wife will have a son in their old age.  Their son will prepare the way for the Messiah.

The Messiah came, lived, died, rose again, and ascended into heaven.  Now we wait for the Messiah to come again as foretold by the prophets, and the apostles, and the Messiah himself.  Are we longing for his coming?  Might he come in our lifetime?  In our children’s?  Grandchildren’s?

And as we wait for our hope to dawn, are we as his church preparing the way for his coming?  Are we a proclaiming the good news of Jesus, preparing people for his return?

(From Luke 1)

Examples of Grace 02

On By BrianIn Miscellaneous

In my second week in Genesis, examples of God’s grace continued to shine forth.

By grace, God promised Abraham a son and kept his promise.  How many promises God has given to us – and he will keep every one.

God rescued Lot from Sodom.  When Lot lingered, the angels pulled him out, “the Lord being merciful to him.”  God protected Sarah when Abraham and Sarah lied about her being his wife.  How often does God graciously protect and help us despite our own stupidity!

When God tested Abraham, telling him to sacrifice his son Isaac, God ultimately provided a substitute sacrifice.  God has provided a substitute for us – Jesus who died for our sins.  We deserved condemnation, but God’s grace intervened.

God graciously guided Abraham’s servant and answered his prayer as he went to find a wife for Isaac.  As we look back in our lives, how many examples can we see of God’s guidance and answered prayer?

God promised that his presence would be with Isaac, and then with Jacob.  What a glorious example of his  grace to us that he would desire to be with us!

Jacob’s words should well sum up our own thoughts as we see God’s grace in our lives – “I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant.”  We are not worthy – it is all God’s grace!

(Taken from Genesis 18-33)