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This is a GREAT MYSTERY: but I speak concerning Christ and His church.î Eph. 5:32 Paul had just written concerning one of the most sacred events known to mankind and that is marriage. He went far beyond that which is common among ordinary couples’s and related it to the Marriage of the Lamb and His Bride. It is a mystery because those who read the scripture fail to comprehend the purpose of the Lord in marriage. The Lord made it very evident that under the old testament order He considered His relationship with Israel to be equal to marriage. Isa. 54:5 Jer. 3:14 The result of that marriage was the Son born of the virgin Mary. The birth of the one whose name was to be Immanuel, or God with us. Isa. 7:14 Mt. 1:23 A mystery which scientists and theologians are still trying to understand. Faith accepts the Word of the Lord and understands that the presence of the Holy Spirit was the means whereby the seed of God was planted and from that encounter, the Son of God was born. Luke 1:35 With artificial insemination being so widely practiced today, why should there be anything mysterious about the Virgin birth. If man can do it, most definitely the Lord can. To those born of the Spirit is given the right to know all of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. Mt. 13:11 Nothing should remain hidden from their ability to know and fully understand all that the Lord has purposed. There are no mysteries to the initiated, only revelation and a God given insight into His mighty works.
The details may be mysterious but the intent is apparent and an open discovery to all who will see the divine purpose of a marital relationship of such tremendous and eternal magnitude. Two shall become one. Eph. 5:31 Jesus likened marriage to a cleaving together of a husband and wife thus making them to be one. Mt. 19:5 A manner of conduct which the Lord intended to be reserved for true marriage. Paul in describing a relationship outside of marriage said that one joined to a harlot had become one with her. The word joined is a strong word meaning to be welded or glued. 1 Cor. 6:16 Such a relationship is illegitimate and carries a judgment from the Lord with it. However he used the same word ìjoinedî in speaking of a true marriage in Eph. 5:31 Paul in his letter to the Romans leaves no doubt what the affiliation of Christ and His church is to be, in the ultimate, a marriage. We are to die to the Law because of the fulfillment of the same through the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. All, Jew and Gentile are freed from its impossibilities, that we might be truly married to another, that is the Lord Jesus. All who are privileged to be alive and in Christ when that moment arises will enjoy the utmost of heavenly joy, in the Lord. It is a fruitful marriage as all marriages were intended by the Lord to be. Rom. 7:3-4 ìAnd God said: be fruitful and multiply.î Gen. 1:28.