"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" John 3:16
"I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him" 2 Corinthians 11:2
Do you see it? Have you seen the death and resurrection of Jesus in the creation story? How God has united you and your spouse physically and through the work of the gospel spiritually? In other words, the gospel unites your marriage into this one flesh union as we saw Adam and Eve joined together as one, but the body of Christ (all believers) are joined together as Jesus' Bride spiritually.
“But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.” 1 Corinthians 6:17
Question 2. Have you seen how the creation story illustrates Christ dying and then rising from the dead? Please share.
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Question 3. Are you seeing the need to have the gospel's power in your marriage so you can experience the love of Jesus, the forgiveness of Jesus and the unity of Jesus? Please share.
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The gospel is of ‘first importance’ because it is the ‘power of God’ for salvation and transformation for your marriage and life. It is where we receive the forgiveness of sins and where our old lives are crucified with Christ, buried in a tomb and we are raised with Christ as new creations with new desires (Galatians 2:20).
Sylvia wrote; "When the gospel message was shared with me for the first time, my flesh was crucified with Christ and raised with Christ as a new creation. My heart and desires started changing as my flesh was put to death and replaced with Christ’s newness. The cross of Christ's circumcision of my heart cut , healed and renewed me which reflected so wonderfully into my marriage. My patience, love, grace, forgiveness, gentleness and peace for my husband started flooding my heart and continues to change me. I was seeing my husband through the eyes of Christ for the first time instead of through my eyes of flesh. I love my husband more now than when I first married him, because this is real love, this is true love given from Jesus Christ’s beautiful ugly cross. It is life changing."
"God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins" 1 John 4:9-10
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" 2 Corinthians 5:17
Because of the work Jesus has done on the cross God promised that He would give us a new heart, “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you” (Ezekiel 36:26). Friends, when we are joined with Christ in his death and are resurrected as ‘new creations’ in Christ, we receive forgiveness for our sins, as well as the promise of a ‘new heart’ and a ‘new spirit’ put within us. This is how the cross transforms us, unites us and why your marriage will never be the same!
Question 4. Have you experienced the gospel in this way? Please share.
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Question 5. How can we pray for you and your marriage? Please share.
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We look forward to tomorrow's lesson as we will be sharing more about this heart change that has transformed Erick and my marriage from the inside out into a beautiful relationship by no merit of our own.