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Angela C. Gay

The Foundation of Marriage According to Ephesians 5

If one were to read only the first four words of Ephesians 5:1, "Be imitators of God..."and theyin fact knew God as a kind and merciful God of love and covenant then they would have a very

solid foundation in the Ephesians 5 foundation of strong Christian marriage. In everything we

strive to do we should do it in the likeness of the Son of God, whom is also one with God. If wewere imitators of God all things would fall into their rightful place, including our relationships

and thusly our marriages.

Ephesians 5:1-2 reads in its entirety, "Be imitators of God, therefore as dearly loved children,

and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering

and sacrifice to God (NIV)."

Ephesians is a Pauline letter written to the saints at the Church in Ephesus. Paul writes this letter,

Ephesians, to spread the gospel and show the redemption of all people through Christ, the Savior,

as well as to give understanding for what such redemption meant for people on an individual

level and as Christians within the body of Christ. His letters give practical advice on how to liveas a Christian, examining yourself and showing love to your family, your brothers and sisters in

Christ, and your community.

God's love is based on four key principles, which are centered on Christ-like maturity. They are

covenant, grace, empowerment, and intimacy. When we govern ourselves according to theseChristian principles we uphold ourselves as God's holy people and create covenants, which

upholds God's law and creates an equally yoked relationship built on the solid foundation, which

is Christ. As shown in Ephesians 5, God wants our walk to mirror His love and His walk with us;

therefore Paul advises us to walk with care with one another by walking in love, walking in light,and walking in wisdom.

To walk in love is to surrender oneself to God and turn away from sin. We should thusly turnourselves away from darkness by letting our walk be an offering to God by following His

commandments and being hearers and doers of His word. The gospel of Christ and the

establishment of His church serve as the perfect example of love, sacrifice, and submission. Pauluses this illustration to depict an example of Christian marriage in which wives are to submit to

their husbands, just as they would unto the Lord. The scripture states therefore, just as the

church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their husbands in everything (Ephesians 5:24,

NKJV). Furthermore, husbands should love and give unto their wives, just as Christ loved andgave of Himself for the church. A man therefore must present himself as respectable and worthy

of submission. Just as God established a covenant with His people and Jesus Christ fulfilled a

covenant so that the world would not perish, marriage is a covenant between man and woman,which is reflective of their Christian walk in love. Marriage sanctifies or sets apart Christian men

and women from the world and is reflective of the unity and salvation in Christ that God wants

for His children. To walk in love, therefore, is to put God first and to submit first to His word,loving Him so much that sacrificial love and respect are the foundation of the marriage so that it,

too, will not perish or be easily broken.

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To walk in the light is an example of Gods grace and empowerment. The scripture reads in

Ephesians 5:8,10-11 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as

children of light. [] Finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship withthe unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. A distinguishing facet of Gods

character is that He is abundant in grace. The definition of grace as defined by Brother Olu

Shabazz, Harlem Church of Christ, is when God makes sure that we get what we dont deserve.For we know by scripture that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans

3:23), however, it is by Gods grace that we are forgiven of our sins and brought to redemption

(John 3:16). Walking in the light shows faithfulness, forgiveness, and fellowship with oneanother. For if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another

and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7, NKJV). This is again

depicted in Christian marriage, as husbands should be like Christ as He sanctified and cleansed

the church with His loving word so that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, nothaving spot or wrinkle By walking in the truth and knowledge of the word, both men and

women are establishing a solid foundation of trusting in God and not on worldly doctrine or

solution. It is by allowing darkness or sin to enter into the relationship that the Christian marriage

becomes distorted with thoughts of oppression or resistance to be submissive. This feeds into theworlds concept of marriage, which includes a contract instead of a covenant and evokes feelings

of guilt, control, and avoidance. The bible warns of such deceit in Colossians 2:8-10 in which itsays to beware of empty deceit and philosophy, which are the basic principles of men and not

according to Christ. Men and women should remember that they are united under the fullness of

Christ and are made complete in Him. Therefore, by walking in light husband and wife mustestablish a foundation of forgiveness with one another and faithfulness and fellowship with each

other and with God. By doing this they are also empowering each other to expose the darkness to

the light and sharing the truth of the gospel with others.

Lastly to walk in wisdom builds on the Godhead structure that is used to understand His will and

edify one another by glorifying God. Ephesians 5:21 remind us to submit to one another in fear

or reverence of the Lord. This wisdom builds on the fact that the marriage relationship is, indeed,egalitarian in nature. Christ models, both, servant leadership for the man and submission for the

woman. Therefore as the scripture asserts we should seek to understand the will of the Lord and

intimately draw closer to the Lord by acting on one accord as members of His body joining oneanother and becoming one in flesh (Ephesians 5:30-31).

Marriage makes us more Christ-line by sacrificing for one another and establishing and fulfilling

covenant with each other. Biblical representations of Godly marriage are illustrated by Godslove for Israel, a nation whom He never divorced despite their disobedience and wavering faith.

Christs love for the church also serves as a clear depiction of commitment, grace,

empowerment, and intimacy. Though severely persecuted, Christ forgave and redeemed andmade His bride beautiful and without blemish so that she could radiate His full glory. Therefore,

in these representations it is clear that the fruit of strong Christian marriage is to glorify God and

to bring Him honor through our submission to Him, not each other. A marriage built on theprinciples of Ephesians 5 keeps God as its central focal point and is sanctified by operating in

love and in accordance to Gods statutes. It is a marriage that witnesses and empowers others by

being an example of Christ and His church. Additionally, it demonstrates the power of love,

sacrifice, and grace and it empowers those who seek after His word. Marriage abandons the

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thought of self and is reflective on Gods word to be unified. Marriage is indeed a physical

representation of our need to return and be unified with God and shows obedience to His word

for the scripture says, If anyone obeys his world, love for God is truly made complete in them.This is how we know we are in him: whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did (John

2:5-6). Therefore to be united in Christ we must be like-minded, having the same love, and

being one in spirit and of one mind. Furthermore, the scripture continues by saying in yourrelationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature

God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he

made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant [] he humbled himself(Philippians 2:1-8).

When we consider why it is important to understand Gods word and its application to our daily

lives we also have to consider poor interpretations and applications of His word. Many otherreligions and cultures have skewed Gods words to subjugate men and women alike by placing

them in roles not defined by Gods plan to prosper His people. The role relationships between

men and women have become tricky. Poor interpretations of the bible make women feel inferior

and men to feel both superior and trapped in worldly rules of masculinity. Therefore, living in asinful world women have become more resistant to submitting themselves to men (husband or

not) in fear of being dominated and disrespected. Men, however, in their superiority may take amore oppressive rule over women or on the contrary take a more lackadaisical perspective

towards leadership. For instance, in the Jewish culture women are often viewed as things and not

people whom are equal in personhood, but different in wisdom and function. In Greek cultures,women are likely to run the home, care for children while the man finds his own pleasures. In

addition the Roman cultures view on the role of women makes them a slave to the household

while some Eastern cultures places women in roles of Goddesses. It is important for us to know

the scripture so that we can understand that Jesus has bridged the gap sin has created to bring usback to the feet of our Father. Therefore we should all be aware that we are all created in the

image of God, equal in nature, yet different in the function that God has ordained for us. When

we submit to one another in the spirit of Christ we are providing an example to the world whytrue Christian marriage is different and glorifying to the Father. Our marriages are, in fact

designed to make us holy and to be one with God; however, in doing so it also blesses us and

makes us happy.