And the two shall become one flesh
Ephesians 5:31 Paul demonstrates the parallels between a marriage and the relationship between Christ and His church
“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
Ephesians 5:31 NASB1995
The Lord seems to be pointing me in the direction of Paul’s epistle to the church of Ephesus quite frequently; this is the third time in the last eight days He has led me to Ephesians.
At first glance and without the context of the rest of this section of Chapter 5, this verse appears to be about three things — traditional marriage, the body, and human sexuality in the context of a marriage. We can definitely look at it that way, and that’s how I’ll start this devotional.
This verse is not something Paul wrote — it is a direct quotation of Genesis 2:24. The first man (Adam) and first woman (Eve) were one. She was taken from him (Genesis 2:21-22), then brought back to him. All traditional marriages join one man and one woman together spiritually and legally, and are consummated through the physical coupling of the two. God has joined the two people in holy matrimony, not the pastor, priest, or “wedding officiant” leading them in their vows to each other.
This simple verse also demonstrates a fundamental principle for promoting oneness in marriage. For a marriage to prosper and grow, former associations must be given less emphasis (leaving), and the couple must join together as one (cleaving). I’ve seen a number of marriages fail quickly when one or both partners wanted to still hang out with his or her old buddies rather than spending time adjusting to one another and growing in their love for each other.
But Paul wasn’t just talking about marriage in Ephesians 5. In the very next verse (Ephesians 5:32), he says that “…I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.” Welsh pastor and writer Martyn Lloyd-Jones said of this section of Ephesians:
“Woman was made at the beginning as the result of an operation which God performed upon man. How does the church come into being? As the result of an operation which God performed on the Second Man, His only begotten, beloved Son on Calvary’s hill. A deep sleep fell upon Adam. A deep sleep fell upon the Son of God, He gave up the ghost, He expired, and there in that operation the church was taken out. As the woman was taken out of Adam, so the church is taken out of Christ. The woman was taken out of the side of Adam; and it is from the Lord’s bleeding, wounded side that the church comes.”1
David Guzik from Enduring Word expands on this:
It is also true in regard to the pattern of marriage in general.
- It shows us that Jesus wants more than just an external, surface relationship.
- It shows us that Jesus wants us to be one with Him.
- It shows us that there is a sense in which Jesus is incomplete without us. Adam was incomplete without Eve; we can say that Eve makes up the “fullness” of Adam and makes up that which was lacking in him. And that is exactly what the church does for Jesus; Ephesians 1:23 says of the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Paul does a beautiful job of tying the two relationships together — the unity of a marriage between a man and a woman, and the unity and oneness of Jesus and the church. I’ll finish today’s devotional with a quote from Spurgeon:
“Unity, mark you for that is the essence of the marriage-bond. We are one with Christ, who made himself one with his people.”2
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Father, I thank You for revealing to me that my relationship with Jesus is as special and intimate as the marriage of a man and woman. May all of us who are His Body and Bride live together in the unity of the Holy Spirit, in a bond of peace, and honoring His holy name. Jesus gave His life because of His love of the Church, so may we reflect that love to all of His creation. I pray this in Jesus’ name, AMEN.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org.
Quotations from Enduring Word re-published here with the written permission of the author.
Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn "Life in the Spirit in Marriage, Home & Work: An Exposition of Ephesians 5:18-6:9" (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1973)
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon "The New Park Street Pulpit" Volumes 1-6 and "The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit" Volumes 7-63 (Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications, 1990)
Thanks for the nice comment, Joe! I was ALSO flabbergasted by that comparison. I thank God every day for helping all of us to understand His word more clearly so we can love Him even more!
Steve, thank you for sharing the words of Martyn Lloyd-Jones. I have never read this with that comparison of Adam/Eve and Christ/church!
It really helps bring clarity to my understanding.
Thank you