Unlimited: God Became One With Us
Jan 18, 2022 1295
A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery, but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband (Ephesians 5:31–33, NIV.)
Paul, the chief writer of the New Testament, tells us here that every husband is a figure of Christ and every bride a figure of the church. For that to be possible, God had to become human.
The last book of the Old Testament speaks of God’s love to man as typified in the marriage relation. The last book of the New Testament also closes with the same message. There we read that “the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7, NIV).
God and redeemed humanity become one for all time.
So that we understand the reference to the bride making herself ready, it is made clear in the following verse. In actuality it is God who makes her ready. The “fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear” (v.8). The imputed righteousness of Christ becomes fully imparted in the last great day when all sin’s taint is removed.
Bethlehem and its incarnation tell of the marriage of divinity with humanity – God’s mysterious union with humanity. So God and redeemed humanity become one for all time. Every wedding we attend reminds us of Bethlehem and the miracle of a new creation which there transpired. – Des Ford (adapted)
Reflection: In Jeremiah 3:14, he Lord says, “I am married to you.” How do weddings remind you of what God has done for you? Make a little list, and then pray through it, one by one.
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