Kevin Dibbley - March 17, 2024
"The Mystery of Marriage"
Our sermon, from Ephesians 5:22-33, is called, "The Mystery of Marriage. Marriage". The covenantal commitment between a husband and wife, is always more than the relationship between a man and a woman. It is an opportunity to live out in real time, the reality of the new age of the kingdom of heaven which has broken into the age in which we now live. In the Kingdom of God, imperfect husbands and wives are called to love each other with an ever-deepening gospel love. This is one of the ways that God is glorified in Christ and in the church (Ephesians 3:20-21). People inside and outside a Christ-exalting, gospel-dependent marriage get the opportunity to see the grace of the kingdom lived out in a self-sacrificial, covenant relationship. Marriage is not just for those inside the marriage but for those inside the church who are longing to learn how to love one another as Christ has first loved us. It is for those outside the church who are meant to see that the only explanation for this – is the gospel. Taking your marriage seriously as a kingdom displaying institution shows in real practical ways the hope, the grace, and the power of the gospel for anyone who would trust in Jesus. This is an invitation for those who are married, those who are broken because of marriage, those who have never been married to come and see the wisdom of God’s word helping us walk in love and in light.
Scripture References: Ephesians 5:22-33
From Series: "Ephesians: One In Christ"
We are beginning a sermon series focusing upon the New Testament letter of Ephesians. Our series is called “One in Christ”. In Japan, there is a form of artwork called Kintsugi art. Kin means gold. Tsugi means to mend. In Kintsugi art, an artist will take, for example, a piece of ceramic teaware that has been broken during an earthquake or something like that. Instead of repairing it to make it look like the original plate or teacup, the artist will instead use Japanese lacquer and gold to actually highlight the fractures. Out of the broken vessel comes a brand new piece that is considered more beautiful and more valuable than the original. The apostle Paul teaches in Ephesians that God in Christ has chosen to take our lives broken and alienated from God and each other by sin and make one new community. John Stott writes “Through Christ and in Christ, we are nothing less than God’s new society, the single new humanity which he is creating and includes Jews and Gentiles on equal terms. We are the family of God the Father, the body of Jesus Christ his Son, and the temple and dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.” Our hope and prayer is that over the next several months, we would get a vision of the church as God’s new creation, His masterpiece, which is just the beginning of what God intends to do throughout all eternity and throughout the entire heavens and on earth. Out of his brokenness, we become one. Pray that together we would become in real relationships what we are in positionally through the gospel – One in Christ.
