The Exceptional Status
What's Your Status? • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
Marriage absolutely changes you.
In college, my room in the basement of my house that my friends and I lived in has a neon orange comforter, my twin bedroom set from when I was 13, a space jam poster on the wall for decoration, and a red thrift store oriental rug to go with my Tennessee orange painted walls I inherited from the previous elderly woman who kept her doll collection in that room.
Now my house looks like the heaven room of a judgement house. It is white, filled with flowers, more decorative pillows than sitting space, and top sheet, and the smell of voodoo essential oils that render a scent similar to the sorin ride at disney.
Before I got married, my grocery run consisted of popcorn, pizza rolls, 3 in 1 shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, and a 2 liter of coke that I drank straight from right out of the fridge.
Now my dinners are colorful, including vegetables, I have a three step face washing process sponsored by beauty counter, and I go months without the goodness of pizza rolls as a viable option for an 11pm meal.
All that to say, marriage really does change you.
It is a beautiful process. I know more about myself after being married for three years than I did after 22 years of living by myself.
Charles Shedd said it best: “Marriage is not so much finding the right person as it is being the right person.”
This is why securing our devotion to Jesus in our singleness is a must. We can’t find the right person until we become the right person. And we cantt become the right person unless we are changed by Jesus.
I believe that marriage is transformational in a completely different way that the other seasons of life.
God’s hand is clearly in the midst of this created structure.
Tonight, I hope to give you a basic understanding of the structure of marriage.
But even more than that, I hope you see how Jesus is really the center of it all. Because He is.
But first, we must start from the basics.
What s the definition of marriage?
Defining Marriage
Defining Marriage
Marriage: the union of a man and a woman in a life-long covenant as husband and wife
Marriage: the union of a man and a woman in a life-long covenant as husband and wife
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Right off the bat, we accredit God for this plan and design because He created it.
Ben Stuart says, “Marriage is a gift form God. When we engage in marriage with God’s design, there is safety and delight, and we flourish.”
Ben Stuart says, “Marriage is a gift form God. When we engage in marriage with God’s design, there is safety and delight, and we flourish.”
So if marriage is a gift from God and created by God, we can’t declare what it is.
Humans don’t create and define what marriage is. God does.
All of you know that our world and culture defines marriage as something that is extremely complex and moldable, depending upon the individuals or circumstances.
This is not truth.
When sin entered the world, the vertical relationship with God was fractured.
But not only was the vertical relationship with God fractured, so was the horizontal relationship between you and I.
So now our relationships with each other, once full of a love for God and His original design, is now filled with the opposite.
Through this fracture, we see relationships that are fractured by narcissism or exhibitionism, bestiality, fornication, and abusiveness.
Because we recognize that God has ordained marriage and defined it as is..
and because we know that sin has fractured relationships vertically and horizontally, we must also understand that along with the disorders created by the fracture, sexuality was also affected.
One horizontal fracture is fleshed out in same sex attraction.
There is goodness in sexuality. God, creating man and woman, created something that he deemed very good!
However, scripture is clear is not only addressing the other issues we listed at hand, but also the issue of same-sex attraction.
25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
The issue is in verse 25- that sin presented a lie and man bought it. We then fall short by worshipping creation rather than creator!
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,
Listen- we all are broken. We all fight desires that are contrary to God’s ordained structure. But we must trust this simple truth-
God is perfect. God cannot sin. God cannot sin against you. God’s plans are what’s best for you.
This is not merely a political opinion, a personal opinion, or really even an opinion at all. It is truth.
But in this truth is freedom. We follow God’s ways, we live in God’s promises.
Therefore, to conclude this conversation: God has defined marriage. Marriage is between a man and woman. Lastly, marriage is a gift to enjoy and to be used as a tool to expand God’s kingdom...
We see this in the particular roles of a man and a woman in marriage.
The Role of the Wife
The Role of the Wife
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
There is a word in this passage that truly makes people uncomfortable.
Submit.
Now the reason that this word makes women cringe is because I believe it has been improperly defined and practiced.
Submission: to recognize that God has ordered the world in a certain way; it is an inclination (a tendency to act on) to receive and affirm the husband’s leadership
In short, submission is to recognize and respond to husband’s leadership.
In short, submission is to recognize and respond to husband’s leadership.
In order to understand submission rightly, let’s talk about what IT IS NOT.
Submission does not mean subjection.
The wife is not under control by the husband.
The word “submit” in this passage is in a middle voice… the action of self- this means that the wife submits herself. It is her choice!
Submission does not mean servitude.
To submit yourself is to not make yourself any less in value.
Therefore, the value of a wife is not less than a husband!
Now let’s transition to the role of the husband.
Before i go any further, I want you to know this...
The greek has 41 words written concerning the role of a wife.
There are 116 words written for the role of a husband.
The Role of the Husband
The Role of the Husband
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
The role of a husband is to initiate and sacrifice so that his wife might flourish under God.
This is what it means for a husband to love their wife!
Let’s talk about this word “love” that is in this passage...
4 Types of Love
4 Types of Love
Eros: romantic love
Storge: familial affection
Philos: friendship affections
Agape: covenantal love
This word is Agape- this is a love you can’t fall in and out of.
This is a love that says, “I am not going anywhere!”
This word is in the present tense. It is a continuous action.
What does this look like practically??
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
“gave Himself up for her”
This is one particular moment.
When Christ willingly handed himself over to be killed, in a moment He sacrificed everything to make the church fully alive.
The husband is to mirror the initiation of Jesus...
26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 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.
Jesus initiated communication, spiritual leadership, and sacrifice.
The bottom line is this… Marriage is a mutual commitment to lay down your life for the other person. Marriage is created by God, defined by God, and it’s purpose is to point others to God.