Lesson 8: Hidden Treasures in Christ
Questions 1 and 2
Welcome back to the course. We are so thankful to have you continue with us as we close our study in Ephesians 5. Let’s pick up where we left off from our last lesson and review the text together.
“so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “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.”
Ephesians 5:27-32
Friend, Jesus hung on the cross, naked, covered in sin and shame; and bore the anguish of Calvary from the top of His head to the soles of His feet to save and sanctify His Bride. Clothed in the righteousness of Christ and covered by His sacrifice, God sees us believers as spotless and without blemish. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus has set us apart for all time as uniquely His. God regards us as holy, sacred, set apart, consecrated, and dedicated to Christ. The sacrificial and sanctifying love of Jesus is so glorious friend that once you experience it, you will be forever changed!
Question 1. Have you experienced the sacrificial and sanctifying love of Jesus in your marriage? Please share.
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First, the love of Jesus transforms how we see ourselves! We no longer find our identity in our past or current sin struggles, but in Christ, His death and resurrection that purchased our new identity as His Bride. Jesus has washed us with the water of His Word and made us clean from our sins; so, we must no longer focus on our sin but on Jesus, our Beloved Bridegroom, who says, “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” John 15:3 Secondly, the love of Christ for us transforms the way we view others. Are you looking at your brothers and sisters (or spouse) in Christ and seeing them as Christ sees them, without spot or wrinkle or any such blemish? Jesus has removed the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6) so we must interact with each other not according to the flesh but according to who we are in Christ. “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 Finally, the sacrificial love of Jesus transforms the way we think. "Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Philippians 2:4-8 We should have the same mind, the same focus as Jesus. We should have the same love and humility. What Jesus did on the cross was for us and the Spirit is continuing the work in us. Does God want us to point out the faults in each other's lives or point to the One who took the blame for us all? We must look to Christ, friend, in every circumstance and situation so that we can have His mind and live a life worthy of His gospel.
As we look to Jesus and His cross, we are slowly being transformed into the image of Christ. And if He is transforming us into His image, how are we to view our brothers and sisters (and spouses) in Christ? We are to see them just as we are - covered in the righteousness of Christ and in the process of transformation. We are to view them with the eyes of faith, confident that the work Christ began in them will continue (Philippians 1:6). If we cannot get this right, how can we call unbelievers to look to the cross and be healed, loved, forgiven, and set free? Husbands are to likewise bring their wives to the cross through the Word of God, to wash and nourish them just as Jesus washes and nourishes the church (His bride) with His blood and in His love. In the process of washing in the Word together, seeing the love of Jesus poured out for you on the cross, the husband and wife will be washing at the fountain of life, love, and forgiveness together. They will therefore be able to love and forgive each other just as they have been loved and forgiven at the cross, living out their new lives through Jesus’ resurrection power whereby their marital one flesh union will be mutually edified, cleansed, strengthened and nourished.
“In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church because we are members of his body.”
Ephesians 5:28-30
By nature, we all love ourselves; we clothe, feed, and care for ourselves. But God invites us into a new and supernatural kind of love that is sacrificial. Jesus invites us to experience His love and then live differently.
Question 2. Husbands, are you seeing the importance of daily nourishing and cherishing your wife as Christ does for the Church? Please share.
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