Part 7 - God's New Covenant

 

Part 7 - God’s New Covenant

In Ephesians 5:22-33 God, through writer Apostle Paul, gives us insight on our New Testament Marriage covenant relationship with Him.

"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 

God is our husband. We are the church, His wife. He is head of the church and our saviour. We are subject unto Him.

“Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. 

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

It was necessary for Christ to die for His wife so that she could be sanctified and cleansed by the gospel.

“That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

Notice here that He says that He sanctifies and cleanses the church with the “washing of water by the word.”

According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, “word” (rhema) in this verse means “the gospel.” [“Ephesians 5:26 (others take ῤήματι here as equivalent to 'the gospel,' cf. Ephesians 6:17, Romans 10:8; (see Meyer at the passage));” – Thayer’s]

The Gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. (1Corinthians 15:1-4). We obey the gospel by repentance, water baptism in the name of Jesus FOR the remission of sins, and being filled with His Spirit, speaking in other tongues as His Spirit gives the utterance. (Acts 2:38, Acts 2:4).

With “word” meaning “gospel” we can understand how the “washing of water by the word” can cleanse a soul of every spot and wrinkle, and make us holy and without blemish. 

“That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 

To be continued…