May 31 Be One in Marriage

Ephesians 5:31-32 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
 
A few lessons back, we looked at what I called the “Eight Ones”. Here is the ninth. “The two shall become one flesh.” As he concludes his submission teaching, Paul urgently reminds married couples to live into this one flesh relationship declared in Genesis 2:24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. Then Paul urges all of Jesus’ church to be “one flesh” with Christ. What does this mean?
    The “Life Application Bible” answers this well: “The union of husband and wife merges two persons in such a way that little can affect one without also affecting the other. Oneness in marriage does not mean losing your personality in the personality of the other. Instead, it means caring for your spouse as you care for yourself, learning to anticipate his or her needs, helping the other person (live life to the full) under the authority and love of our Lord Jesus Christ.”      
    Consider the high value of the “one flesh” union. At the very dawn of creation, God ordained marriage to be this way. Then after centuries of sin and brokenness, divorce and destruction in marital unions and mankind, Jesus affirmed the Father’s original intent for marriage in Matthew 19:4-6 (Asked about divorce) Jesus answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh'? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 
    To be fully in a “one flesh” marriage, we must be constantly striving to live into the “Eight Ones”: In Christ, seek to submit to 1) one body 2) one Spirit 3) one hope 4) one Lord 5) one faith 6) one baptism 7) one God and 8) one Father.
    As you are one with God, you will imitate God in your individual life, in your marital relationship, in your friendships, in your church and with your Lord. This loving submission to your Lord will be the foundation to form the most perfect union of all.
 
Prayer: Teach me, Lord, the joy of being one with you. In Jesus’ name, amen.