Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

One of the most difficult things to achieve within a group of people is unity.

Everybody comes from different backgrounds, with different experiences and different points of view.

There is one thing that bids us and the most important relationships are christians that we have, and that is:

UNITY WITH CHRIST

Unity With Christ

31 For this reason a man will leave

Ephesians

31 For this reason a man will leave

his father and mother

and be joined to his wife,

and the two will become one flesh.

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32 This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church.

A Covenantal Relationship

his father and mother

As we look to be a united church in all aspects it is important that we learn the union with the one who binds us.

Without Jesus there is no church, there can be no unity we will be like any other social club that exists on this earth and just like those clubs we will come to a certain end.

The church is different because all “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it..” (Mathew 16:18) The members of the church have something that unites them that is stronger than the bond between a mother and a child, between a husband a wife, between brothers, and that is the UNION with Christ.

The marriage covenant is used to illustrate the intimacy of the relationship between God and his people.

and be joined to his wife,

So let us explore this union with Christ that defines the church and that is the ROCK on which we build.

Marriage:

and the two will become one flesh.

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The marriage covenant is used to illustrate the intimacy of the relationship between God and his people.

It is interesting that this is the analogy used by God to describe His union to us.

Our view of marriage changes according to the social norms of the times.

A Covenantal Relationship

It is

The marriage covenant is used to illustrate the intimacy of the relationship between God and his people.

32 This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church.

How has marriage changed in the last 20 years?

Paul in our reading gives us a clue of what the process of marriage is like and how strong is the union.

ONE FLESH.

Therefore no longer two different people but now one, Christ and us are no longer two but ONE.

Ephesians

The apostle Paul talks about this theme constantly in his epistles, most people see justification by faith as the only main theme but we see that the unity with Christ is as important.

The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version.

(2009).

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Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.

This union is explained by using a number of central images and the one we are going to explore today is the nature of the convenantal relationship with him.

Specifically the marriage covenant because it is used to illustrate the intimacy of the relationship between God and his people.

Ephesians 5:31

Don’t worry we wont be talking about YOUR marriage today.

We will be talking about the union with Christ.

Its interesting that this is one of the images God uses to illustrate his unity with his church, specially because we as humans are not very good at marriage.

We see that since the times of Moses people are looking to get divorced.

Making it even more difficult for us is that marriage changes with culture and time.

How has marriage changed in the last 20 years?

From you original country to the USA?

Therefore lest explore two aspects of ancient marriages throughout the example of Isaac and Rebekah

Arranged

Arranged

In our western culture we pick our parters because we are attracted to them physically mentally or emotionally but we see that Abraham tasked Eliezer.

Genesis 24

e pick our parters because we are attracted to them physically mentally or emotionally.

In our western culture we look for our own partners depending on out own criteria, be it looks, money, convenience, etc..

But as we can see the father of the groom would choose the bride for his son.

In the case of Isaac he was a special son, one of miracle, one of promise all this is even more so true with the Christ.

We didn’t chose him He chose us for his son before the foundation of the world.

Dowry

The dowry was the payment

If the dowry is paid before the official marriage ceremony, the marriage is still considered to be a legal fact.

Many ancient Eastern texts attest to this.

Once Abraham’s servant had paid the dowry for Rebekah, she and Isaac were as much married as when she arrived in Hebron several weeks later

the dowry paid to her brother and mother was to secure her financial future in case Isaac should forsake her or he should die.

The dowry was actually hers,

The father paid the price for us because He gave His only son, who died in the cross and shed his blood for us.

The father paid the price for us because He gave His only son, who died in the cross and shed his blood for his church.

1 Cor

1 Peter 1:1

Since the father has paid the price the church are as good as married, and that is why we can say that the church and the Christ are one, the church is His body therefore we are “IN CHRIST”

“In Christ” Through Faith

Paul uses this term quite often in more than one sense.

We are interested in the sense of “incorporation” This comes through faith in Him and his Sacrifice.

Paul uses this term quite often in more than one sense.

We are interested in the sense of “incorporation”

“In Christ” is an expression of intimate interrelatedness, analogous to the air that is breathed: it is in the person, yet at the same time, the person is in it.

Thus, Paul’s use of the phrase is similar to his concept of being baptized “into Christ”

Not only Paul uses this concept but Jesus does as well

Enriched by the Sacraments

Baptism

Rom 3:

This is the importance of baptism it enriches our relationship with Christ because it tells us that we are “IN HIM”

The Lord’s Supper

1 cor 10:16

His supper reminds us that he died for us and that we have taken part of his body and his blood.

It literally reminds us that we are “HE IS IN US”

Affects Every Aspect of Our Lives

The union between Christ and us affects every aspect of our lives because we are no longer by ourselves but he is one with us.

We cannot leave Christ in the closet while we go on about our day, once we are in Him through our confession of faith we take Him everywhere, even when we go sin.

It is a reality few of us realize.

Conclusion

As we read in our first scripture this is a mystery of how can the Christ pure and holy The Almighty God become one with a human being.

The truth is:

This truth and having understood that we are one with Christ is the first step of unity in the church of Christ because if we are all in him we are all in unity.