Jesus was the source of matchless mystery

JESUS WAS THE SOURCE OF MATCHLESS MYSTERY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Ephesians 5:30 30
for we are members of his body.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Biblical Illustrator
For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.
Ephesians 5:30
Membership in Christ's body
P. Cooper.I. THE NATURE OF MEMBERSHIP WITHTHE BODY OF
CHRIST.
1. Members of the Church of Christ are such nominally and professedly. The
Church is a visible organization— "a city set on a hill, which cannotbe hid"
— "the light of the world," which must shine whereverit exists. Membership
in Christ's body supposes that we have been baptized, and are in the habit of
receiving holy communion; also that we obey the laws, regulations, and
discipline which have been made for the orderly government of the Church.
2. To be a member of the body of Christ implies that we are such spiritually
and sincerely— in the homage of our minds, the devotion of our lives, and the
affections of our hearts.
3. To be a member of the body of Christ implies pardon and regeneration.
II. THE IMPORTANCE OF BECOMING MEMBERSOF THE BODY OF
CHRIST.
1. Membership with the visible Church of Christ is necessaryin order to the
existence and perpetuity of the Christian Church. A Church naturally
supposes members, just as the whole supposes parts; there must be members,
or there can be no Church.
2. Membership. with the visible Church of Christ is necessaryin order to a
right understanding of some very important passagesin the Word of God.
The Bible knows nothing of solitaryreligion.

3. Membership with the body of Christ is necessaryin order to the full and
entire performance of one's religious duties.
(1)Sympathy.
(2)Mutual edification.
4. Membership with the body of Christ is necessaryas it may help to assistus
againstour spiritual enemies.
5. Membership with the body of Christ is necessaryto give some proof of our
attachment to Jesus Christ and His cause.
6. Membership with the body of Christ is necessaryif you considerthe
spiritual benefits to be derived from it.
(P. Cooper.)
Members of Christ's body
Dr. Raffles.I. THE DOCTRINE. A difficult subject, liable to
misrepresentationand abuse.
1. The apostle is speaking of believers only.
2. We must put awayall sensualand carnal ideas from the considerationof
this subject. It is a spiritual union that is here spokenof.
3. We must put awayfrom the considerationof this subject all narrow-
mindedness and bigotry. Now let us notice that the text conveys to us three
ideas, as characteristic ofthe relation in which the Church stands to the
Redeemer, viz.,
(1)Union;
(2)Dependence;
(3)Sympathy.
II. DUTIES resulting from this relation.
1. Love.
2. Reverence.
3. Obedience.
(Dr. Raffles.)
COMMENTARIES

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary5:22-33 The duty of wives is,
submission to their husbands in the Lord, which includes honouring and
obeying them, from a principle of love to them. The duty of husbands is to
love their wives. The love of Christ to the church is an example, which is
sincere, pure, and constant, notwithstanding her failures. Christ gave himself
for the church, that he might sanctify it in this world, and glorify it in the
next, that he might bestow on all his members a principle of holiness, and
deliver them from the guilt, the pollution, and the dominion of sin, by those
influences of the Holy Spirit, of which baptismal waterwas the outward sign.
The church and believers will not be without spot or wrinkle till they come to
glory. But those only who are sanctified now, shall be glorified hereafter. The
words of Adam, mentioned by the apostle, are spokenliterally of marriage;
but they have also a hidden sense in them, relating to the union between
Christ and his church. It was a kind of type, as having resemblance. There
will be failures and defects on both sides, in the present state of human nature,
yet this does not alter the relation. All the duties of marriage are included in
unity and love. And while we adore and rejoice in the condescending love of
Christ, let husbands and wives learn hence their duties to eachother. Thus the
worstevils would be prevented, and many painful effects would be avoided.
Barnes'Notes on the BibleForwe are members of his body - Of the body of
Christ; see 1 Corinthians 11:3, note; 1 Corinthians 12:27, note; John 15:1-6,
notes, and Ephesians 1:23, note. The idea here is, that there is a close and
intimate union betweenthe Christian and the Saviour - a union so intimate
that they may be spokenof as "one".
Of his flesh, and of his bones - There is an allusion here evidently to the
language which Adam used respecting Eve. "This is now bone of my bones,
and flesh of my flesh;" Genesis 2:23. It is language which is employed to
denote the closeness ofthe marriage relation, and which Paul applies to the
connectionbetweenChrist and his people. Of course, it cannotbe understood
"literally." It is not true literally that our bones are a part of the bones of
Christ, or our flesh of his flesh; nor should language ever be used that would
imply a miraculous union. It is not a physical union, but a union of
attachment; of feeling; of love. If we avoid the notion of a "physical" union,
however, it is scarcelypossible to use too strong language in describing the
union of believers with the Lord Jesus. The Scriptures make use of language
which is strongerthan that employed to describe any other connection;and
there is no union of affectionso powerful as that which binds the Christian to
the Saviour. So strong is it, that he is willing for it to forsake father, mother,
and home; to leave his country, and to abandon his possessions;to go to

distant lands and dwell among barbarians to make the Redeemerknown; or
to go to the cross or the stake from simple love to the Saviour. Account for it
as people may, there has been manifested on earth nowhere else so strong an
attachment as that which binds the Christian to the cross. It is strongerlove
that that which a man has for his own flesh and bones; for it makes him
willing that his flesh should be consumed by fire, or his bones broken on the
wheelrather than deny him. Can the infidel accountfor this strength of
attachment on any other principle than that it has a divine origin?
(See the supplementary note, Romans 8:10, on the union betweenChrist and
his people, in which it is shownthat a mere union of feeling and love is far
beneath the truth.)
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary30. For—Greek, "Because" (1Co
6:15). Christ nourisheth and cherisheth the Church as being of one flesh with
Him. Translate, "Becausewe are members of His body (His literal body),
being OF His flesh and of His bones" [Alford] (Ge 2:23, 24). The Greek
expresses,"Being formedout of" or "of the substance of His flesh." Adam's
deep sleep, wherein Eve was formed from out of his opened side, is an emblem
of Christ's death, which was the birth of the Spouse, the Church. Joh 12:24;
19:34, 35, to which Eph 5:25-27 allude, as implying atonement by His blood,
and sanctificationby the "water," answering to that which flowed from His
side (compare also Joh 7:38, 39; 1Co 6:11). As Adam gave Eve a new name,
Hebrew, "Isha," "woman,"formed from his own rib, Ish, "man," signifying
her formation from him, so Christ, Re 2:17; 3:12. Ge 2:21, 23, 24 puts the
bones first because the reference there is to the natural structure. But Paul is
referring to the flesh of Christ. It is not our bones and flesh, but "we" that are
spiritually propagated(in our soul and spirit now, and in the body hereafter,
regenerated)from the manhood of Christ which has flesh and bones. We are
members of His glorified body (Joh 6:53). The two oldestexisting
manuscripts, and Coptic or Memphitic version, omit "ofHis flesh and of His
bones";the words may have crept into the text through the Margin from Ge
2:23, Septuagint. However, Irenæus, 294, and the old Latin and Vulgate
versions, with some goodold manuscripts, have them.
Matthew Poole's CommentaryWe are members of his body; his mystical body.
Of his flesh, and of his bones; as Eve was of Adam’s, Genesis 2:23;only that
was in a carnal way, this in a spiritual, as by the communication of Christ’s
flesh and blood to us by the Spirit we are united to him, and members of him.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleForwe are members of his body,.... Not of
his natural body, for this would make Christ's human nature monstrous;

Christ, as man, is of our flesh and of our bones, or a partakerof the same
flesh and blood with us; or otherwise, his incarnation would have been of no
service to us; and had our human nature been from Christ, it would not have
been corrupted; but our bodies, flesh, and bones, are from the first, and not
the secondAdam, and so corrupt and sinful; Christ indeed, as God, is the
former of all human nature, and, as man, was setup in God's thoughts as the
pattern of it; but the apostle is here speaking of the saints, not as men, but as
Christians, as new creatures in Christ; and of what is peculiar to them; and
therefore this must be understood of Christ's mystical body the church; which
is his by the Father's gift, and his own purchase; and of which he is the head,
and which is united to him; now of this saints are members; see Romans 12:5.
Of his flesh and of his bones: for so the church may be called, his own flesh,
his flesh and bones, on accountof the marriage relation she stands in to him,
and that spiritual union there is betweenthem, which these phrases are
expressive of; and which the near relation of man and wife is an emblem of;
these words are wanting in the Alexandrian copy, and in the Ethiopic version.
Geneva Study BibleForwe are members of his body, {q} of his flesh, and of
his bones.
(q) He alludes to the making of the woman, which signifies our union with
Christ, which is accomplishedby faith, but is signified in the ordinance of the
Lord's supper.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT CommentaryHYPERLINK "/ephesians/5-30.htm"Ephesians
5:30. Reasonwhy Christ ἐκτρέφει καὶ θάλπει the church: because we are
members of His body. μέλη is prefixed with emphasis; for we are not an
accidens, but integral parts of His body. Comp. 1 Corinthians 12:27.
ἐκ τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ κ. ἐκ τῶν ὀστέων αὐτοῦ]More precise definition of the
μέλη τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ just said, in order to express this relation as strongly
as possible:(proceeding) from His flesh and from His bones. This form of
expressionis a reminiscence of Genesis 2:23,[283]where Adam expresses the
origin of Eve out of his bones and out of his flesh,[284]—to whichorigin the
derivative relationof Christians to Christ is analogous, ofcourse not
physically, but in the spiritual, mystical sense, inasmuchas the Christian
existence as such—the specific being and spiritual nature of Christians—
proceeds from Christ, has in Christ its principle of origination, as in a
physical manner Eve proceededfrom Adam. The at any rate non-literal
expressions are not intended to bear minuter interpretation. They do not

affirm that believers are produced and taken out of Christ’s glorified body
(Gess, PersonChristi, p. 274 ff.; comp. Bisping), which is alreadyforbidden
by the expression“fleshand bones.” Ratheris the same thing intended—only
brought, in accordancewith the connection, into the definite sensuously
genetic form of presentationsuggestedby Gen. l.c.—whichelsewhereis
denoted by καινὴ κτίσις (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15), as well as by ζῶ
δὲ οὐκέτι ἐγὼ, ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός (Galatians 2:20), by Χριστὸν ἐνεδύσασθε
(Galatians 3:27), by the relation of the ἓν πνεῦμα εἶναι to Christ (1
Corinthians 6:17), and in generalby the expressions setting forth the
Christian παλιγγενεσία.[285]Comp. the ΚΟΙΝΩΝῸΝ ΓΊΝΕΣΘΑΙΘΕΊΑς
ΦΎΣΕΩς, 2 Peter 1:4. With various modifications it has been explained of the
spiritual origination from Christ alreadyby Chrysostom(who understood the
regenerationby baptism), Ambrosiaster, Theodoret, Oecumenius (ἐξ αὐτοῦ
δὲ, καθὸ ἀπαρχὴ ἡμῶνἐστι τῆς δευτέρας πλάσεως, ὥσπερ ἐκ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ διὰ
τὴν πρώτην), Theophylact, Erasmus, Beza, Vorstius (“spirituali tantum
ratione ex ipso Christo quasi procreatos esse”), Calvin(“qui spiritus sui
virtute nos in corpus suum inserit, ut vitam ex eo hauriamus”), Calovius,
Bengel, Matthies, de Wette (who, however, in the secondedition, regards the
words as spurious), Hofmann, Reiche, and others; while, withal, Koppe (so
also Meier)thought only arctissimamquamlibet conjunctionem to be denoted,
whereby justice is not done to the genetic significationof the ἐκ. Others
explained it: in so far as we have the same human nature as He. So Irenaeus,
Jerome, Augustine, Thomas, Michaelis;comp. also Stolz and Rosenmüller.
Decidedly erroneous, partly because Paulcould not in this sense say:“we are
of Christ’s flesh and bone,” but only the converse:“Christis of our flesh and
bone” (Romans 1:3; Romans 9:5; John 1:14); partly because the element of
having like nature with Christ would apply not merely to Christians, but to
men as such generally. Others refer it to the crucifixion of Christ: “ex carne
ejus et ossibus crucifixis, i.e. ex passione ejus predicata et credita ortum
habuit ecclesia,” Grotius. Comp. already Cajetanus, as also Zanchius,
Zachariae, Schenkel, having reference to John 6:51 f., John 14:18 ff. But the
crucifixis is purely imported, and could the less be guessedhere, inasmuch as
from the words the history of Adam and Eve inevitably came to be recalled;
and there is nothing to remind us (in oppositionto Schenkel)ofthe “martyr-
stake ofthe cross,”upon which Christ “gave up” His flesh and bones “and
suffered them to be broken” (? see John 19:33;John 19:36). Others, finally,
have explained it of the real communion with the body of Christ in the Lord’s
Supper. So recently,[286]in addition to Kahnis and Thomasius, III. 2, p. 73,
also Harless and Olshausen, the latter of whom says:“it is the self-
communication of His divine-human nature, by which Christ makes us to be

His flesh and bone; He gives His people His flesh to eat and His blood to
drink.” But not even the semblance of a plea for explaining it of the Supper
lies in the words; since Paul has not written καὶ ἐκ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ, which
would have been specific in the case ofthe Supper, but καὶ ἐκ τῶν ὀστέων
αὐτοῦ!Rückerthas renounced any attempt at explanation, and doubts
whether Paul himself thought of anything definite in the words. A very
needless despairof exegesis!
[283]This reminiscence the more readily suggesteditselfto the apostle, not
only in general, because he was wont to think of Christ as the secondAdam
(Romans 5:12 ff.), but also speciallybecause he was just treating of the subject
of marriage.
[284]That Paul should not prefix ἐκ τῶν ὀστέων, as in Genesis 2:23, but ἐκ
τῆς σαρκός, was quite naturally suggestedto him by ver. 29. The explanation
of Bengelis arbitrary and far-fetched.
[285]Philo also, p. 1094, applies the words of Gen. l.c. to a spiritual relation—
to the relation of the soul to God. If the soul were better and more like God, it
would be able to make use of those words, because, namely, it οὐκ ἐστὶν
ἀλλοτρία αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ σφόδρα οἰκεῖα.
[286]Many of the older expositors, following Theodoretand Theophylact, at
leastmixed up the Supper in various ways in their interpretation. So Beza and
Calvin saythat it is obsignatio et symbolum of the mystic fellowship with
Christ here meant. Grotius found an allusion to the Supper; while, on the
other hand, Calovius maintained that we were ex Christo not only by
regeneration, but also by the communication of His body and blood in the
Lord’s Supper.
Expositor's Greek TestamentHYPERLINK"/ephesians/5-30.htm"Ephesians
5:30. ὅτι μέλη ἐσμὲν τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ:for we are members of His body.
The μέλη, which is the heart of the statement, has the emphatic position. We
are not something apart from Christ, nor do we occupy only an accidental
relation to Him. We are veritable parts of that body of which He is head, and
this is the reasonwhy He nourishes and cherishes the Church; cf. the detailed
description in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.—ἐκτῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐκ τῶν
ὀστέων αὐτοῦ:being of His flesh and of His bones. This sentence, whichis
added by the TR, has considerable documentary testimony—[679][680][681]
[682][683][684], most cursives, such Versions as the Syr. and the Arm., and

such Fathers as Iren., Jer., etc. If it is retained, as is done by Mey., Ell.,
Reiche, Alf., etc., it will be an explanation of the affirmation that we are μέλη
τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ, drawnfrom the thought of our origin (ἐκ). We are
members of Christ’s body, as having the source of our spiritual being in Him.
This statementof our spiritual origin is expressedin terms like those used of
the origin of our physical life, the allusion being probably to the record of the
formation of Eve in Genesis 2:23. As the first woman derived her physical
being from Adam in the waythere recorded, so we Christians draw our
spiritual being from Christ. The evidence, however, is decidedly adverse, the
clause not appearing in [685][686][687][688], 17, 672, Boh., Eth., Method.,
Euthal., Origen (prob.), etc. The internal evidence may be said to be againstit,
in so far, e.g., as a new figure is suddenly introduced, the statementis carried
beyond the idea of relationship, and no clearor congruous meaning canbe
readily attachedto the new terms, flesh and bones. Nor is it easyin face of
evidence so old and so various to suppose that the words were mistakenly
omitted by homœoteleuton. The clause, therefore, is deleted from the text by
LTTrWHRV; Tr., however, giving it a place on the margin.
[679]Codex Sinaiticus (sæc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile
type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.
[680]Codex Sinaiticus (sæc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile
type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.
[681]Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by
Tischendorfin 1852.
[682]Codex Boernerianus (sæc. ix.), a Græco-LatinMS., at Dresden, edited
by Matthæi in 1791. Writtenby an Irish scribe, it once formed part of the
same volume as Codex Sangallensis(δ) of the Gospels. The Latin text, g, is
basedon the O.L. translation.
[683]Codex Angelicus (sæc. ix.), at Rome, collatedby Tischendorfand others.
[684]Codex Porphyrianus (sæc. ix.), at St. Petersburg, collatedby
Tischendorf. Its text is deficient for chap. Ephesians 2:13-16.
[685]Codex Vaticanus (sæc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889
under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.

[686]Autograph of the original scribe of ‫.א‬
[687]Autograph of the original scribe of ‫.א‬
[688]Codex Alexandrinus (sæc. v.), at the British Museum, published in
photographic facsimile by Sir E. M. Thompson (1879).
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges30. members]Limbs; the word used
above Ephesians 4:25; and cp. Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 6:15 (a strict
parallel), 1 Corinthians 12:27.
of his flesh, and of his bones] Three important MSS. (AB‫)א‬ supported by
other but not considerable authority, omit these words. It has been suggested
that they were inserted by transcribers from Genesis 2:23, as the next verse is
certainly quoted from Genesis 2:24. But the phrase here is not verbally close
enough to that in Gen. to make this likely. A transcriber would probably have
given word for word, while the Apostle would as probably quote with a
difference, such as we find here. And the difference is significant. “We” are
not saidhere to be “bone of His bone &c.,” which might have seemedto imply
that our physical frame is derived from that of the Incarnate Lord, but, more
generally, “limbs of His body, out of His flesh and out of His bones.” Our true,
spiritual, life and being is the derivative of His as He is our SecondAdam, in a
sense so strong and real as to be figured by the physical derivation of Eve
from Adam. “As for any mixture of the substance of His flesh with ours,” says
Hooker(Eccl. Pol. v. 56, end), “the participation which we have of Christ
includeth no such gross surmise[40]”.
[40] The remarkable chapterwhich thus closesdeserves verycareful study. It
will be seenthat Hooker’s view of “Christ’s body in ours as a cause of
immortality” is that it is “a cause by removing, through the death and merit of
His own flesh, that which hindered the life of ours.”
In brief, this statement, in the light of other Scripture, amounts to the
assertionthat “we,” the believing Church, as such, are, as in the Case ofEve
and Adam, at once the product of our Incarnate Lord’s existence as Second
Adam, and His Bride. This profound and precious truth is not dwelt upon,
however. Strictly speaking, it is only incidental here.
Bengel's GnomenHYPERLINK"/ephesians/5-30.htm"Ephesians5:30. Ὅτι,
because)The reasonwhy the Lord nourishes and cherishes the Church, is the
very close relationship, which is here expressedin the words of Moses

regarding Eve, accommodatedto the present subject. The Church is
propagatedfrom Christ, as Eve was from Adam; and this propagationis the
foundation of the spiritual marriage:for this cause, Ephesians5:31.—τοῦ
σώματος αὐτοῦ, ofHis body) The body here does not mean the Church, which
is contained in the subject, we are, but the body of Christ Himself.—ἐκ, of)
Genesis 2:23-24, in the LXX.—εἶπενʼ Αδὰμ, τοῦτο νῦν ὀστοῦνἐκ τῶν ὀστέων
μου, καὶ σὰρξ ἐκ τῆς σαρκός μου. Αὕτη κληθήσεται γυνὴ, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς
αὐτῆς ἐλήφθη. Ἕνεκεν τούτου καταλείψειἄνθρωπος τὸνπατέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ
τὴν μητέρα καὶ προσκολληθήσεται τῇ γυναικὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς
σάρκα μίαν.—ἐκ τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ, κ.τ.λ., ofHis flesh) Moses mentions bones
first, Paul flesh; because it is the bones chiefly that support the natural
structure, of which the former (Moses)is speaking;but in the new creation[of
which Paul is speaking], the flesh of Christ is more considered. Moreover,
Moses speaksmore fully; Paul omits what does not so much belong to the
subject in hand. It is not our bones and our flesh, but we, that are spiritually
propagatedfrom the humanity of Christ, which has flesh and bones.
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 30. - For we are members of his body [being], of his
flesh, and of his bones (the last sevenwords omitted in many manuscripts and
in the R.V.). The reference is to the original formation of woman as narrated
in Genesis 2. Her very name indicated that she was "takenfrom man." She
was takenfrom him and given to him. So the Church is takenfrom Christ and
given to him. Takenfrom his body, sprung from his incarnation and his
crucifixion and resurrection, the spiritual offspring of his humanity, and then
given to him, to be his servant, nay, above a servant, his companion, friend,
and confidant for evermore. If it had not been for the body of Christ
(Hebrews 10:5) the Church could have had no existence. No bride fit for the
King of heaven could have sprung from the earth. As Eve came from the
opened side of Adam, so figuratively the Church springs from the pierced side
of Jesus.
Vincent's Word StudiesOmit of His flesh and of His bones.
PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES

The Matchless Mystery BY SPURGEON
“Forwe are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones”
Ephesians 5:30
Beloved, it is a text that must not be lookedupon with the eyes of cold,
theologicalorthodoxywhich might make us content to say, “Yes, that is a
greatand important Truth,” and there leave it. It is a text to be treated as the
manna was that fell from Heaven, namely, to be tasted, to be eaten, to be
digestedand to be lived upon from day to day! It is a text for the quietude of
your meditation, when you can sit still and turn it over and, like Mary, ponder
it in your hearts. Long and loving should be your gaze upon the facets ofthis
diamond of Truth, this diamond of Revelation.
It is a golden sentence fitted for those choice hours when the King brings us
into His banqueting house and His banner over us is love. When the distance
betweenearth and Heaven has become less and less, till it scarcelyexists–those
undisturbed times when all is rest round about us, because He who is our Rest
enables us to lean upon His bosom and to feelHis heart of love beating true to
us. I ask you, O my Brothers and Sisters, therefore, as though you were quite
alone in your own chamber, to pray for that frame of mind which is suitable
to the subject, and to pray for me that I may be placed in that condition of
heart which shall bestenable me to speak upon it. We need our thoughts to be
focusedbefore they can revealto us the great sight before us. Get to the place
where Mary satat Jesus'feetand then will this text sound like music in your
ears.
Without any accompanimentof exposition from me, it will have all Heaven’s
music in it–“We are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.”
Sevenfoldwill be the happiness of the spirit which knows how to sit down and
to taste of the marrow and the fatness, to drink of the “wine on the less well-
refined,” which are to be found in this Inspired declaration. Before I preach
upon it, there is one thing which it is necessaryfor us to do. They have a way
in Scotland, before the communion, of “fencing the table,” that is to say,
warning all those who have no right to come to the table to avoid the sin of
unlawful intrusion, and so of eating and drinking condemnation unto
themselves. They help the hearers to self-examination, lest they should come
thoughtlesslyand participate in that which does not belong to them.
Now, my text is like a table of communion richly loaded, and far from you to
whom it does not belong, unless you learn the sacredway of coming in by the

Door, into this sheepfold, where the pasture is so rich and green. If you come
by Christ, the Way, come and welcome!If you rest in Him, if His dear wounds
are the fountains of your life, and if His atoning Sacrifice is your soul’s only
peace, come and welcome–forofyou, and such as you, and all of us who are
trusting in Jesus, it may be truly said–“Weare members of His body, of His
flesh, and of His bones.”
But if not Believers in Him, this heavenly verse has nothing to do with you. It
is “the children’s bread.” It belongs only to the children. It is Israel’s manna–
it falls for Israel. It is the stream which leaps from Israel’s smitten rock and
comes neither for Edom, nor for Amalek–but only for the chosenseed, alone.
Look back, then, to the beginning of the Epistle, and see of whom the Apostle
was speaking whenhe said, “we.” This little word, “we,” is like the door of
Noah’s ark–itshuts out and shuts in. Does it shut us out or in?
Now, the Apostle wrote his Epistle to those of whom he said, “Blessedbe the
God and Fatherof our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessedus with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as He has chosenus in Him
before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame
before Him in love.” Answerthis question, you who would enjoy this text–
Have you made your calling and electionsure? Has that matter ever been
decided in your spirit after honest searchand inquiry into the grounds of your
confidence? Have you been led to choose yourGod, for if so, your God had
long ago chosenyou! That matter is ascertainedbeyond all question and out
of it springs the undoubted assurance that you are one with Him, since of all
whom He has chosenit is true–“We are members of His body, of His flesh,
and of His bones.”
The Apostolic description is before you, I pray you read on–“Having
predestinated us into the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself,
according to the goodpleasure of His will.” Do you know anything about
adoption? Have you been takenout of the family of Satanand enrolled in the
family of God? Have you the Spirit of adoption in you? Does your soulcry,
“Abba, Father,” at the very thought of God? Are you an imitator of God as a
dear child? Do you feelthat your nature has been renewed, so that, whereas
you were a child of wrath, even as others, you have now become a child of
God? Judge, I pray you, and discern concerning these things, for on your
answerto this question depends your condition before God, your union with
Christ, or your separatenessfrom Him.
Note, still, the Apostle’s words as you read on, “To the praise of the glory of
His Grace, whereinHe has made us acceptedin the Beloved.” DearHearer,
do you know the meaning of those lastwords, “Acceptedin the Beloved”? You

can never be acceptedin yourself–youare sinful, and undone, and unworthy–
but have you come and castyourself upon the work, the blood and the
righteousness ofJesus? Are you, therefore, accepted, “Acceptedin the
Beloved”? Have you everenjoyed a sense of acceptanceso that you could
draw near to God, as no longera servant beneath the curse, but a son beneath
the blessing? If so, come and welcome to the text! It is all your own!
But note the next verse–“Inwhom we have redemption through His blood.”
Oh, dear Brothers and Sisters, do you know the blood? I do not care what else
you know if you do not know the blood. Nordo I much mind what else you do
not know. You may differ very widely in doctrine from some of the Truths of
God which I think I have learned from the Word of God, but do you know the
blood? Were you everwashedin it? Have you seenit sprinkled overhead and
on the side posts of the house where you dwell, so that the destroying angel
passes youby? Is the blood of Christ the lifeblood of your hope? God save me
from preaching, and you from believing in a bloodless theology!It is a dead
theology!Take Christ away, take the Atonement by a substitutionary
Sacrifice away–andwhat is there left? But, oh, if we in very deed have
redemption through His blood, then we are “members of His body, of His
flesh, and of His bones.”
The Apostle adds, “The forgiveness ofsins, according to the riches of His
Grace.” And here, again, I press home the question upon the consciencesof
the members of this Church, and upon the members of every professing
Church of Christ–Have you tasted forgiveness?Have you felt the burden of
sin? Have you gone with that burden to the foot of the Cross? Has the
Heavenly Father ever said to you, “Your sins are forgiven you”? Do you
believe in the forgiveness of sins, and that in reference to yourselves? Oh, do
not be satisfiedunless you do! Do not be put off with a bare hope that perhaps
your sin is forgiven you, but struggle after that blessedfull assurance whichis
able to say–
“Oh, how sweetto view the flowing
Of my Savior’s precious blood,
With Divine assurance knowing
He has made my peace with God!”
And if you do know, possessand enjoy the forgiveness of sins, then are you
“members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.”
Oh, how this last sentence concerning pardon and rich Grace seems to cheer
my soul! If none might come but those who never sinned, my guilty soul could
never venture near the Lord! If none might come but those who have

committed little sin, then I must be debarred. But it is “the forgiveness of
sins” on a grand scale!Let me read the words–“Theforgivenessofsins,
according to the riches of His Grace.”So it is greatforgiveness, the
forgiveness ofgreatsin, because of greatlove. O beloved Hearer, greatsinner
as you have been, yet if you are “acceptedin the Beloved,” and have
“redemption through His blood,” then all that is in the text belongs to you!
So I will keepyou waiting in the vestibule no longer, but setthe door wide
open, saying, “Come in, you blessedof the Lord. Why do you stand outside?”
I pray the Holy Spirit to help you come in to this high festival, give you a
sacredappetite and enable you, now, to appreciate the extraordinary
sweetness ofthe words before us! First, I shall try and expound–and it must
be but feebly what the text means and, secondly, what the text secures.
1. First, WHAT DOES THE TEXT MEAN? “We are members of His
body, of His flesh, and of His bones.” Readit in the light of the second
chapter of the book of Genesis, forit is evident that there is a distinct
allusion to the creationof before. The very words of Adam are quoted
and we are mentally conducted to that scene in the Garden of Eden
when the first man gazedupon the first woman, createdto be his dear
companion and helpmeet. What did Adam mean when he used these
words? The greatHusband of our souls must mean the same, only in a
more spiritual and emphatic sense.
First, there was meant here similarity of nature. Adam lookedat Eve and he
did not regard her as a stranger, as some creature of a different genus and
nature, but he said, “She is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.” He
meant that she was of the same race, a participant in the same nature. He
recognizedher as a being of the same order as himself. Now, that is a low
meaning of the text, but it is one meaning.
BelovedBrethren, think of this Truth for a moment. Jesus, the Son of God,
counted it not robbery to be equal with God. “Without Him was not anything
made that was made.” He is “very God of very God.” Yet He deigned, for love
of us, to take upon Himself our nature, and He did it completely, so that He
assumedthe whole of human nature, apart from its sin. And in that respect
we may say of ourselves–thatwe are “bone of His bone, and flesh of His
flesh.” The very nature which we wearon earth, Christ Jesus once carried
about among us, and at last carriedaloft to Heaven. You believe in His
Godhead–takeheednever to commingle His Godheadand His humanity.
Remember, Christ was not a deified man, neither was He a humanized God.

He was perfectly God, and at the same time perfectly Man, made like unto His
brethren in all things. Dwellfor a moment upon this Truth of God, for the text
sets it forth. Born of a human mother and swaddled like any other child, He
was, from His birth, as perfectly human even as you are. In nothing did He
differ from you except in this, that He never wanderedfrom God and broke
His Commandments, and He was not defiled with that hereditary taint of
Original Sin which dwells in you by nature. The like depressions–thosewhich
sadden your spirit–He knew. The temptations of our nature assailedHim.
Men and devils both sought to influence Him. He was amenable to all the
external physical arrangements of the globe.
On Him the showerpelted down and wet His garments. And on Him the
burning sun poured forth its undiminished heat. Upon His sacredPersonon
the lone mountainside, the dews descendedtill His head was wet with them,
and His locks with the drops of the night. For Him there were poverty,
hunger, thirst, reproach, slanders and treachery. For Him the sea tossedthe
boat as it will for you. And for Him the land yielded thorn and thistle, as it
does to you. He suffered, He ate, He toiled, He rested, He wept and He
rejoiced, even as you do, sin, alone, excepted. A realkinsman was He, not in
fiction, but in substantial reality. Are you man? Jesus was a Man! Do not
doubt it. Do not look at your Lord as standing up there on a pinnacle of
superior nature where you cannotcome near Him, but view Him as your own
flesh and blood, “a Brother born for adversity.”
For so he is. He comes to you and says, “Handle Me and see. A spirit has not
flesh and bones as you see I have.” He invites your faith to look at the prints of
the nails and the scarof the spear. Did He not, after He had risen from the
dead, prove His true humanity by eating a piece of a broiled fish and of a
honeycomb? And that same humanity has gone to Heaven! The clouds
receivedit out of our sight, but it is there–
“A Man there was, a real Man,
Who once on Calvary died;
And streams of blood and waterran
Downfrom His wounded side.”
That same blest Man exalted sits high on His Father’s throne. Believe this,
and you will see how He is bone of your bone, and flesh of your flesh. And
then remember that, as His Nature is as yours, so, in another sense, He has
made your nature as His, for you are born-again and gifted with a higher life.
You were carnal–He has now made you spiritual. You could not drink of His
cup, or be baptized with His baptism till His Spirit had come upon you.

But now you are made “partakers ofthe Divine Nature”–strong words, but
Scriptural–“partakersofthe Divine Nature, having escapedthe corruption
that is in the world through lust.” “Foras you have borne the image of the
earthy Adam, you shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” Now, you, as
spiritual men, cry out to God in prayer, and so did He when He was here. Now
you are in an agonyas you strive with Godand so was He, but the bloody
sweatis a part of His substitutionary work in which He trod the winepress
alone. His meat and drink was to do the will of Him that sent Him, and it is
yours, I trust–at any rate, it should be if you are your Lord’s. He lived for
God. He lived and died for love of men. And that same love of God and man,
though in a feebler measure, burns within your heart.
You are, therefore, now made, by His Grace, to participate in His moral and
spiritual Nature, and you will never be satisfiedtill you awakein His likeness.
And you will awake in His likeness, so thatwhen He sees you and you see
Him, then it shall be abundantly manifest to you that you are a member “of
His body, of His flesh, and of His bones”–
“Suchwas Your Grace, that for our sake
You did from Heavencome down.
You did of flesh and blood partake,
In all our sorrows one.
Ascendednow, in glory bright,
Still ours with us You are.
Nor life, nor death, nor depth, nor height.
Your saints and You can part.
Oh, teachus, Lord, to know and own
This wondrous mystery,
That You with us are truly one,
And we are one with Thee!
Soon, soonshall come that glorious day,
When, seatedon Your Throne,
You shall to wondering worlds display,
That you with us are one!”
Similarity of Nature, then, is the first meaning of the text.
Regard, I pray you, Brothers and Sisters, with much solemn attention, a
higher stepof the ladder. It signifies intimate relationship, for I hardly think
that Adam would have said quite so strongly, “She is bone of my bones, and
flesh of my flesh,” if he had thought that the woman would disappear, or
would become the wife of another. It was because she was to be his helpmeet
and they were to be joined togetherin bonds of the most intimate communion,

that, therefore, he said, “Notonly is she of the same bone and flesh as I am,
but she is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She is related to me.” What
a near and dear and loving relationship marriage has bestowedupon us! It is
a blessing for which goodmen dwelling with affectionate wives praise God
every day they live.
Marriage and the Sabbath are the two choice gifts of primeval love that have
come down to us from Paradise–the one to bless our outer and the other our
inner life. Oh, the joy, the true, pure, elevatedpeace and joy which many of us
have receivedthrough that divinely ordained relationship! We cannot but
bless God every time we repeatthe dear names of those who are now parts of
ourselves. Marriage createsa relationship which ends only when death parts
us. Only then may it may be dissolved. Alas, sin enters even here! A dark
crime may be committed, but, with the exceptionof that, it is for life–for
better, for worse–onlythe mortal stroke canpart.
Now think of it. As is your relation, O woman, to your husband, and as is your
relation, O man, to your wife, such is the relation which exists betweenyou, as
a believer in Jesus, and Christ Jesus your Lord! It is the nearest, dearest,
closest, mostintense and most enduring relationship that can be imagined. I
love and bless God, forever declaring that His relationship to us may be
likened to that of a father or a mother to a child. Did you ever hear those
words without tears–(Ithink I never did)–“Cana woman forget her sucking
child, that she should not have compassionon the son of her womb? Yes, they
may forget, yet will I not forgetyou.”
And yet there is a closerintimacy, somehow, in the relationship which is
declaredin the text, because there is a kind of equality betweenthe married
ones, tempered by that headship of which the Apostle speaksand which we
delight to recognize in our beloved Lord towards ourselves. The child cannot,
while it is yet a babe, at any rate, enter into its mother’s feelings. It is far
below the mother. But the wife communes with her husband–she is lifted up to
his level! She is made a partakerof his cares and sorrows, ofhis joys and his
successes,and the intimacy arising out of their conjugalunion is of the closest
kind.
Now–againI sayit, and I cannot open it up further than to say it–suchis the
relationship betweenthe Believer’s souland the Lord Jesus. Welldid the
spouse break out with the rapturous language, whichforms the first word of
the her relationship, but longedto enjoy the sweets ofit. My Brothers and
Sisters, I pray you may so enjoy it, that now, if you are poor in this world, if
you are an orphan, if you are almostalone in this greatcity, you may feel, “No
longeram I an orphan, no longer am I alone. My Makeris my Husband. The

Lord of Hosts is His name, and my Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel. And
from this day forth will I rejoice that I am bone of His bones, and flesh of His
flesh.” Similarity of Nature and closenessofrelationship are evidently in the
text.
But I clearlysee another and deeper meaning. It meant, from Adam’s lips,
mysterious extraction. I will not make bold to saythat he knew what had
occurredto him in his sleep. He might not have known all, but he seems to
have had a mystic enlightenment which made him guess whathad occurred–
at leastthe words seemto me to have that ring in them. “She is bone of my
bones”–fora bone had been takenfrom him, “and flesh of my flesh,” for out
of him had she been taken. He seems to have known that somehow or other
she sprang from him. Whether he knew it or not, Christ knows right well the
origin of His spouse!He knows where His Church came from. There is still
the mark in His side–there is the memorial in the palms of His hands and on
His feet.
From where came this new Eve, this new mother of all living? From where
came this spouse of the secondAdam? She came of the secondAdam. She was
takenfrom His side, right near His heart. Have you never read, “Excepta
corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone;but if it dies, it
brings forth much fruit”? Had Jesus neverdied, He would have been made to
abide alone as to any who could be helpmeets for Him, and could enter into
fellowship with Him. But, inasmuch as He has died, He has brought forth
much fruit and His Church has sprung from Him. And in that sense she is
bone of His bones, and flesh of His flesh.
“What do I mean by the Church?” asks one. I mean by the Church all the
people of God, all the redeemed, all Believers, as I explained at the
commencement. Do you think I mean by the Church the harlot of the seven
hills? God forbid that Christ should have fellowshipwith her! How can He so
much as look upon her except with horror? Do you think He means, by the
Church, the politically supported corporationthat men call a Church
nowadays? No, but the spiritual, the quickened, the living, the believing, the
holy people–wherevertheymay be–or by whatevername they may be called.
These are they that sprang of Christ, even as Levi from the loins of Abraham.
They live because they receive life from Him and at this day they are dead in
themselves–andtheir life is hid with Christ in God. So the text leads us to a
deep meditation as to mysterious extraction.
But I find the time goes too swiftly for me and I must observe, next, that I am
sure that in the text there is more than this. There is, in the fourth place,
loving possession. He said, “She is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.”

He felt she was his own and belongedsolelyto him. Of anything there might
be in the Garden, Adam was but ownerin the seconddegree. Butwhen he saw
her, he felt she was all his own. By bonds and ties which did not admit of
dispute, his bone and his flesh was she. Now, Beloved, at this moment let this
thought dance through your soul–you belong to Jesus–altogetheryou belong
to Jesus!Let not your love go forth to earthly things, so soiledand dim, but
send it all away, up to Him to whom you belong–yes, sendit all to Him.
“Setnot your affectionupon things on the earth,” but set it all upon things
above, for you belong wholly to your Lord. All that there is of your spirit, soul
and body–the treble kingdom of your nature–Christ has purchased by His
blood. It were a dark thought to cross a man’s mind, that his spouse belonged
in part to some other. It could not be! And will you provoke your Lord to
jealousy? Will you suffer it to seemso by your actions or your words? No,
rather say tonight, anew–
“‘Tis, done, the greattransaction’s, done!
I am my Lord’s and He is mine!
He drew me, and I followedon,
Charmed to confess the voice Divine.
High Heaven, that heard the solemn vow,
That vow renewedshall daily hear,
Till in life’s latesthour I bow,
And bless in death a bond so dear.”
“Foryou are not your own, you are bought with a price.” “We are members
of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.” We belong entirely to Him.
And to close this exposition–this skimming of the surface, rather–there is one
more matter and this is the very essenceofthe meaning. A vital union exists
betweenus and Christ. When the Apostle wrote, showing that we were one
with Christ, as the wife is with the husband, he felt that the metaphor, though
it set forth much, did not setforth all. He would have us know that we are
more closelyknit to Jesus than is a woman to her husband, for they are, after
all, separate individualities, and they may act and too often do so, far too
distinctly for themselves. But here he puts it, “We are members of His body.”
Now, here is a vital union, the closestimaginable!It is not unity–it is identity!
It is more than being joined to–it is being made a part of–andan essentialpart
of the whole!
Do you think I strain the text and go beyond the fact? Listen to this word. The
Apostle, in speaking ofthe Church, said, concerning Christ, that the Church
was His body, “the fullness of Him that fills all in all.” And note the majesty of

that speech–thatthe Church should be the fullness of Christ! Now, Christ,
without His fullness, is evidently not full–He must have His people–theyare
essentialto Him. The idea of a Savioris lost, apart from the saved. He is a
head without a body if there are no members. Without His people Jesus is but
a king without subjects, and a shepherd without a flock. It is essentialto any
true thought of Christ that you think of His people! They must come in. They
are one with Him in every true view of Jesus Christour Lord.
How are we one with Him? Ah, Brothers and Sisters, much might be said, but
I fear little would be explained by words. I want you to feel it and to be
comforted by the factof the vital union of Jesus and His people. Have you
never heard Him sayto you–
“I feel in My heart all your sighs and your groans,
For you are most near Me, My flesh and My bones.
In all your distresses, your Head feels the pain,
They all are most necessary, not one is in vain”?
Oh, do getto know this, you tried and tempted ones, you poor poverty-
strickenpeople of God! Get to know this, you who could not help coming here
tonight, wet as it was, because you must have spiritual meat, you were so
hungry after your Lord! Oh, do getthis morsel now, and feed on it! You are
one with Him! You were “buried in Him in baptism unto death,” wherein also
you have risen with Him! You were crucified with Him upon the Cross!You
have gone up into Heaven with Him, for He has raised us up together, and
made us sit togetherin the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And surely you
shall be actually in your very personwith Him where He is, that you may
behold His Glory! You are one with Him!
Now, tie up these five Truths of God like five choice flowers in a nosegay.
Band them, like sweetspices,and let them be a bundle of camphire and a
cluster of myrrh to lie all night upon your bosomto give you rest and to
sweetenyour repose. There is betweenyou and your Lord a similarity of
Nature and an intimate relationship! You have a mysterious extraction from
Him and He has a loving possessionofyou–and a vital union with you. Come,
now, we must only have a few minutes to catchsome of the juice that will flow
out of these clusters of Eshcolwhile we tread them for a moment, just to show
what the wines of the kingdom are like.
II. WHAT DOES THE TEXT SECURE? First, it seems to me, that the text
secures the eternal safetyof everyone who is one with Christ. You know the
figure we often use, that when a man’s head is above water you cannot drown
his feet–andas long as my Head is in Glory, though I am but the sole of His

foot–andonly worthy to be trod in the mire, how canHe drown me? Is it not
written, “BecauseI live you shall live also”–allofyou who are one with Him?
The idea of Christ losing members of His body is to me grotesque and at the
same time ghastly. Does He change His members like some aquatic creatures
which lose their limbs and get fresh joints? I know it is not so with Christ, the
secondAdam! Will He lose His members? Can He lose one member? NO!
Then can He lose all?–
“If ever it should come to pass
That sheepof Christ could fall away,
My fickle, feeble soul, alas,
Would fall a thousand times a day.”
But herein lies our safety–“Igive unto My sheep eternallife, and they shall
never perish; neither shall any pluck them out of My hand.” I know that some
have perverted this blessedTruth of Godinto the wickedlie that the Christian
man may live as he likes and yet be safe. No such doctrine is to be found
betweenthe covers ofthis Book!The doctrine of the safetyof the saints is far
other than that! It is that the renewedman shall live as God likes, shall
persevere in holiness and hold on his way until he arrives at the blessed
perfection of his Lord, changing from glory to glory into that image which he
shall reachand possessforever. I see–Ipity those who do not see it, but I will
not blame–I see, I think, strong reasonfor believing in the security of every
soul which is one with Christ.
But, next, I see here a very sweetthought. If I am one with Christ, then I
certainly enjoy, above all things, His love. Last Saturday week, in the evening,
I was trying to turn over this text to preach to you from it in the morning, but
I was wrung with bitter pains which made me feel that I should not preach,
and kept me wearily waiting through the night watches. Butdo you know
what comforted me very much about the text? It was that sentence which is a
near neighbor of it–“No man ever yet hated his own flesh.” I seizedupon that
and my sad heart cried out, “Surelythe Man Christ Jesus neveryet hated His
own flesh.” If we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones, He
may chasten, He may correctand lay on heavy strokes,and give sharp
twinges, and make us cry out–He may even thrust us in the fire, and heat the
furnace seventimes hotter–but He never canneglectand abhor His own flesh!
There is still love in His heart. I hate no part of my body, not even when it
aches. I hate it not, but love it still–it is a part of myself–and so does Jesus love
His people. And you, poor Sinners, who feelthat you are not worthy to be
calledHis people, nevertheless His love goes outto you, despite your
imperfections. Having loved His own, which were in the world, He loved them

to the end and He has left it on record–“As MyFather has loved Me, even so
have I loved you. Continue you in My love.”
Another most enchanting thought also arises from our subject. The Apostle
goes onto say, “No man everyet hated his own flesh, but nourishes and
cherishes it, even as the Lord of the Church.” Oh, those two words, “nourishes
it.” Are you living in a district where you do not getthe Gospel? Well, then, go
to the Gospel’s Lord and sayto Him, “Lord, hate not Your own flesh, but
nourish me.” Have you been for a while without visits from Christ? Have you
lost the light of His countenance? Do not be satisfiedwith nourishing–go
further and plead for cherishing! Ask for those love tokens, forthose gentle
words, for those secretblandishments known to saints, and to none but saints,
for, “the secretof the Lord is with them that fear Him and He will show them
His Covenant.” Go and ask for both these forms of love and you shall be
nourished and cherished!
The goodhusband does not merely bring so much bread and meat into the
house and fling it down, saying, “There, that will nourish you.” Oh, not so–
there are tender words and kind acts by which he cherishes as well as
nourishes. And your Lord will not only give you bread to eatwhich the world
knows not of, but He will give it to you according to His lovingkindness and
the multitude of His tender mercies, for He makes us to lie down in green
pastures, He leads us beside the still waters, gently guiding as a shepherd
conducts his flock. Rejoice,then, that your nourishing and your cherishing
are secure!
I will not keepyou longer when I have said this much. If we are members of
His body, of His flesh, and of His bones, then He will one day present us to
Himself, “without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing,” for the whole body
must be so presented. Alas, our spots are many, and sadly mar our beauty!
Brothers and Sisters, I love not to think little of my spots. I wish I had not
even a speck. Alas, our wrinkles! Let us not talk lightly of them. It is most sad
that on the Beloved’s darling there should be a solitary blot. It is the worst
wrinkle of all when a man does not see his own wrinkles, or when he does not
mourn over them. But there are spots and wrinkles. I hope we do not say,
“Yes, they are there,” and then add, “And they must be there.” No, Beloved,
they ought not to be there–there ought to be no sin in us.
If there is a sin which ought to be upon us, why it is clear it is no sin! A thing
that ought to be is not a sin. If we served our Masteras He deserves to be
served, we should never sin, but our lives would be perfect. Therefore it is our
daily burden that the spots and wrinkles still will show–butthis is our

consolation–thatHe will one day present us to Himself, holy and without
blemish, “not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing.”–
“Oh, glorious hour, oh, blest abode;
I shall be near, and like my God.
Nor spot nor wrinkle shall remain,
His perfectimage to profane.”
It will be a blessedthing, indeed, to have attained to this, to wearthe image of
the heavenly and be perfect even as our Bridegroom is perfect.
Then, remember, all the glory Christ has we shall share in. You cannot honor
a warrior who returns from the wars, when he was honored was altogether
honored as a man. And when the Master, atthe last, shall have finished all His
work and the whole battle that He undertook is finished and the victory
gained. When He enters perfectly into His joy, we, too, shall enter into the joy
of our Lord! Does He sit upon a throne? He has said we shall sit upon His
Throne. Has He triumphed? We shall bear the palm branch, too. Whatever
He has, we shall share. Are we not heirs of God, joint heirs with Jesus Christ?
My soulfeels ready to leap right awayfrom this body at the thought of the
glory that shall be revealedin us–notin Paul and Peteronly, but in us!
Poorthings, poor things, that struggle hard eachday with infirmities and
trials, you shall be with Him where He is, and shall behold His Glory forever!
So shall we ever be with the Lord. Comfort one another with these words.“–
“Since Christ and we are one,
Why should we doubt or fear?
If He in Heaven has fixed His Throne,
He’ll fix His members there.”
In this spirit come to the Communion Table and find your Masterthere! But
oh, if you are not resting in Him. If the blood was never upon you, you are
condemned already because youhave not believed on the Son of God! I pray
that your bed may be cold and hard as a stone to you tonight and your eyes
may forgetto sleep–andyour heart may know no rest till you have said–“I
will arise, and go to my Father, and will say unto Him, Father, I have sinned.”
Then take with you Jesus as a Mediator and draw near to the Throne of
Grace!PleadHis blood and merits, and you shall live! And then you, too, shall
be able to join with the saints who say, “We are members of His body, of His
flesh, and of His bones.” Amen. Amen. PORTIONSOF SCRIPTURE READ
BEFORE SERMON–Genesis2:18;Ephesians 5:22-33.
HYMNS FROM “OUR OWN HYMN BOOK”–761, 762.

A MESSAGE:I have revisedthis sermon at Cannes, to which place I have
come for health. I am happy to inform all friends that I am already much
better. The influences of a warm, sunny climate and restfrom great labor are
being blessedby Infinite Mercy to my restoration. I commend the work I am
obliged to leave to the prayers of God’s people and I desire, also, to thank
numerous friends for their substantial help to the College and Orphanage, so
that I am not tempted to be anxious about funds for these at a time when ease
of mind is especiallydesirable. With this I send most loving salutations to all
my readers. Maythe Lord send to our beloved land a great revival of true
religion. C. H. SPURGEON.
BRUCE HURT MD
Ephesians 5:29 for no one everhated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as
Christ also does the church, (NASB: Lockman)
Greek: oudeiHYPERLINK "http://studylight.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=3762"s gar
pote ten heHYPERLINK "http://studylight.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=1438"autou
sarka emisesen, (3SAAI) alla ektrephei (3SPAI) kai thHYPERLINK
"http://studylight.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=2282"alpei (3SPAI) auten, kathos kai o
ChHYPERLINK
"http://studylight.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=5547"ristoHYPERLINK
"http://studylight.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=5547"s ten ekklesian,
Amplified: For no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and carefully protects and
cherishes it, as Christ does the church, (Amplified Bible - Lockman)
NLT: No one hates his own body but lovingly cares for it, just as Christ cares for his
body, which is the church. (NLT - Tyndale House)
Phillips: Nobody ever hates or neglects his own body; he feeds and looks after it. And
that is what Christ does for his body, the Church. (Phillips: Touchstone)
Wuest: for no one ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, even as
the Christ, the Church,
Young's Literal: for no one ever his own flesh did hate, but doth nourish and cherish it,
as also the Lord--the assembly,
FOR NO ONE EVER HATED HIS OWN FLESH: oudeis gar pote ten heautou sarka
emisesen, (3SAAI):
• Ep 5:31; Proverbs 11:17; Ecclesiastes 4:5; Romans 1:31
• Ephesians 5 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
• Ephesians 5:25-31: Spirit-Filled Families - 2 - Wayne Barber

• Ephesians 5:25-33 Do You Really Love Your Wife? (Part 1) - Steven Cole
• Ephesians 5:25-33 A Job Description For Husbands - Steven Cole
• Ephesians 5:25-33 I'm the Boss, Aren't I? - Steven Cole
• Ephesians 5:25: God's Pattern for Husbands-1 - John MacArthur
• Ephesians 5:25-33: God's Pattern for Husbands-2 - John MacArthur
For (gar) is a strategic term of explanation which we do well to pause and ponder. In this case
"for" introduces Paul's straightforward explanation of why men should have no difficulty loving
their wives as they love themselves. We don't hate ourselves and should not hate our wives, with
whom we are one flesh through the covenant of marriage.
No one (3762) (oudeis from ou = absolute negation + de = marker of an additive relation + heis
= one) means that absolutely no one hated his own body (flesh). This pronoun emphasizes not
even one person ever!
Hated (3404) (miseo) means detested, rejected or abhorred. Miseo means to have a strong
aversion to something. The aorist tense is referred to by some as gnomic aorist expressing
something which is always true.
Flesh (4561) (sarx) can be used in many ways in the NT, so context is mandatory to determine
the meaning (this principle applies to all lexicon definitions - make sure the definition you select
fits with the context!). In the present context, Paul is referring to the physical body as functioning
entity.
BUT NOURISHES AND CHERISHES IT: alla ektrephei (3SPAI) kai thalpei (3SPAI)
auten:
• Isaiah 40:11; Ezekiel 34:14,15,27; Matthew 23:37; John 6:50-58
But - always query this term of contrast.
Nourishes and cherishes - Both words have an emotional content and express tenderness and
concern.
Nourishes (1625) (ektrepho from ek = out or intensifying meaning + trepho = nourish, rear,
feed) means to nourish up to maturity, to nourish in general, to nurture, to bring up from
childhood, to raise a child to maturity by providing not just for physical and but also for
emotional, soul needs (Eph 6:4-note). Ektrepho means to provide food for with the implication

of a considerable period of time and the food being adequate nourishment. This word could mean
that the man is to be the "breadwinner" or provider.
Webster says that nourish (from Latin nutrire = to feed, nourish) means to nurture, to rear, to
promote the growth of, to provide with the food or other substances necessary for growth and
health
The present tense pictures the continual process of nourishing leading up to an attained goal.
Ektrepho is found in a secular Greek writing…
“I have made the agreement and I will nurse (ektrepho) the infant slave Thermoutharion
for the two years”
Ektrepho is used 19 times in the Septuagint (LXX) (Ge. 45:7, 11; 47:17; 2 am. 12:3; 1 Ki.
11:20; 12:8, 10; 2 Ki. 10:6; 2 Chr. 10:10; Job 31:18; 39:3; Ps. 23:2; Prov. 23:24; Isa. 23:4; 49:21;
Ezek. 31:4; Hos. 9:12; Jon. 4:10; Zech. 10:9) and 2 times in the NT, here and Ephesians 6:4.
Here are a few examples of the uses in the Lxx.
Genesis 45:7 "And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth,
and to keepyou alive (Lxx = ektrepho) by a great deliverance… 11 "There I will also
provide (Lxx = ektrepho) for you, for there are still five years of famine to come, lest
you and your household and all that you have be impoverished."'
2 Samuel 12:3 "But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb Which he
bought and nourished (Lxx = ektrepho); And it grew up together with him and his
children. It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, And was like
a daughter to him.
Psalm 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.
(Lxx is rendered "he has nourished [Lxx = ektrepho] me by the water of rest.")
Zechariah 10:9 "When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in far
countries, and they with their children will live (Lxx = nourish "they shall nourish their
children") and come back.
Cherishes (2282) (thalpo) originally meant to warm, to brood, or to keep warm (as with with
body heat), to soften by heat. The idea is to cherish with a tender love and care.
Josephus uses thalpo to describe the young woman who provided warmth for King David (Jos.,
Ant. 7, 343)
Webster says that cherish (Old French chier = dear) means to hold dear, to feel or show affection
for, protect and care for lovingly, to keep or cultivate with care and affection.
Thalpo is used in the Septuagint (LXX) to describe a bird sitting on her nest…
Deuteronomy 22:6 "If you happen to come upon a bird's nest along the way, in any tree
or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the mother sitting (Septuagint = thalpo =
idea of brooding) on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the
young.
Job 39:14 For she abandons her eggs to the earth, and warms (Septuagint = thalpo) them
in the dust,

Husbands are to provide a secure, warm place for their wives. The Septuagint (LXX) usages of
thalpo suggest that men are to provide their wives with a nest, which pictures a place of a
security, a place of warmth, and a place of nourishment.
The only other NT use is found in first Thessalonians Paul explaining…
nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles
of Christ we might have asserted our authority. 7 But we proved to be gentle among you,
as a nursing (trophos related to trepho as in ektrepho in Eph 5:29) mother tenderly cares
(thalpo in the present tense) for her own children. (1Thes 2:6-7-note)
Neufeld writes that "In other literature, these two verbs (ektrepho, thalpo) together sometimes
stipulate the husband’s duties in a marriage contract (Gnilka, 285; Perkins: 134). But here they
depict the depth of care and concern the husband is to have for his wife. Such care is measured
by the degree of love all have for their own flesh and, much more important, by Christ’s care for
his own body, the church. (Neufeld, T. R. Y. Ephesians. Believers church Bible Commentary.
Scottdale, PA: Herald Press)
JUST AS CHRIST ALSO DOES THE CHURCH: kathos kai o Christos ten ekklesian:
Just as - See discussion of terms of comparison.
Just as Christ does for the church - The Lord clearly supplies every need of His body the
Church and husbands likewise are to do the same for their wives. They are not to just provide for
most of her needs or just provide when she is not too picky or too demanding. What the church
needs Christ supplies and husbands are to do the same to their wives without caveats or
qualifiers. There is one caveat - husbands are not to provide for her every want but her every
need. However even in this situation the husband is to help her discern the difference between
wants and needs, but to do it with gentleness and kindness. The husband is the provider, the
protector and the preserver. Husbands are missing the mark when they view their wives as
objects - cooks, baby sitter, house cleaner, sex partner, etc. She is God's gift and is be continually
cherished and nourished.
Just as (2531) (kathos) means that the manner and the extent of the care of the husband for his
wife is to be in a measure identical to that of Christ for His Bride, the Church.
Christ (5547) (Christos from chrio = to anoint, rub with oil, consecrate to an office) is the
Anointed One, the Messiah, Christos being the Greek equivalent of the transliterated Hebrew
word Messiah.

Church (1577) (ekklesia from ekkaléo = call out in turn from ek = out + kaleo= call) literally
"called-out ones". The Greeks used ekklesia for assembly of citizens called out to transact city
business. The church is a living organism, composed of living members joined together; through
which Christ works, carries out His purposes and He lives.
Everyone who has been saved belongs to the body of Christ, the universal church. The universal
church is manifested in the world by individual local churches, each of which is to be a
microcosm of the body of Christ. The church is to function under the leadership of the Holy
Spirit, operating under His sovereign rule. Jesus Christ is the Founder and Lord of His church
and has guaranteed its perpetuity until He returns.
Ephesians 5:30 because we are members of His body. (NASB: Lockman)
Greek: oti mele esmen (1PPAI) tou somatos autou.
Amplified: Because we are members (parts) of His body. (Amplified Bible - Lockman)
NLT: And we are his body. (NLT - Tyndale House)
Phillips: And we are all members of that body, we are his flesh and blood! ' (Phillips:
Touchstone)
Wuest: because members are we of His Body.
Young's Literal: because members we are of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones;
BECAUSE WE ARE MEMBERS OF HIS BODY: oti mele esmen (1PPAI) tou somatos
autou:
• Ep 1:23; Genesis 2:23; Romans 12:5; 1Cor 6:15; 12:12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21,
22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27; Col 2:19
Because - Pause and ponder this term of explanation.
Because we are members of His body - A man’s treatment of his body is compared to Christ’s
treatment of the church; he “nourishes and cherishes” the church, and verse 30 gives the basis for
this declaration. The NAS is a bit misleading for Paul is not giving the reason why Christ
nourishes and cherishes the church. The Bible Jerusalem rendering effectively conveys the
meaning…
This is precisely what Christ does for the Church: are we not the members of his Body?
Hodge adds that "This verse assigns the reason of the preceding declaration. Christ acts towards
his church as a man does towards his body, for we are members of his body. This might mean

simply that we stand before him in the same intimate and vital union that a man’s body sustains
to the man himself. The union between Christ and His people is mysterious. It may be illustrated
but cannot be fully explained. It is analogous to the union between husband and wife, who are
declared to be one flesh to express their community of life, and is especially analogous to the
union between Adam and Eve, because she derived her life from his flesh. As the relationships
are thus analogous, what is said of the one may be said of the other. To prove this and to justify
the use of the language which he had employed, the apostle cites the language of God in Genesis
2:24. (Ephesians 5 Commentary)
Members (3196) (melos) is literally a limb or member of the body. Here melos is used
metaphorically of "members" ("limbs") of the Church of which Christ is the Head.
John Eadie - The apostle has the idea of marriage and its relations before him, and he employs
the imagery of the original institute, which first depicted the unity of man and wife, to describe
the origin and union of the church and Christ. As the woman was literally, by being taken out of
Adam, bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh; as this duality sprung from unity, and was
speedily resolved into it: so the church is originated out of Christ, and, united to Him as its Head
or Husband, is one with Him. The language is, therefore, a metaphorical expression of this union,
borrowed from the graphic diction of Genesis; and this image evidently presented itself to the
apostle's mind from its connection with the origin and nature of those conjugal duties which he is
inculcating in the paragraph before us. The error of Meyer's exegesis is his restriction of the
imagery to the one example of Adam and Eve, whereas it has its verification in every nuptial
union, and hence the apostle's use of it. As Eve derived her life and being out of Adam, and was
physically of his body, his flesh, and his bones, so believers are really of Christ—of His body,
His flesh, and His bones, for they are one with Christ in nature and derive their life from His
humanity, nay, are connected with Him, not simply and generally by a spiritual union, but in
some close and derivative way which the apostle calls a mystery, with His body; so that they live
as its members, and become with it “one flesh.” Besides, in the next verse, the apostle takes his
readers to the source of his imagery. (Ephesians 5 Commentary)
Expositors Greek Testament - We are not something apart from Christ, nor do we occupy only
an incidental relation to Him. We are veritable parts of that body of which He is Head, and this is
the reason why He nourishes and cherishes the Church. (Ephesians 5 Commentary)
ALAN CARR
Ephesians 5:22-33
WHAT'S RIGHT WITH THE CHURCH?
Intro: This majestic passage uses the human institution of marriage to illustrate the relationship
between the Lord Jesus Christ and His Bride, the church. When we talk about the church, we
need to be clear that we are speaking about every saved person wherever they may be found.
You see, the word church comes from a word that means "a called out assembly." The true
church is comprised of every person called out of sin and assembled together in Jesus Christ.
When we think of the church, of course, we think of our local assembly. That is right and proper.

Every person where, who has been saved by grace, is a true member of the church of Jesus
Christ.
Now, people are always finding fault with the church. In fact, there are far too many people who
are far too good at pointing out what they think is wrong in the church. Well, unless you haven't
figured it out, no local church is perfect. Anytime people are involved in an organization, that
organization will be far less than perfect. Therefore, if you are looking for fault, you can be sure
that you will find it!
(Ill. Spurgeon tells a story of an American fruit-grower who once tried to persuade a friend to
taste apples from his orchard. The friend did not accept the offer, and the fruit grower was
offended. The friend frankly told the man that he had once picked up and tasted one of the apples
that fell over on the other side of the wall that bordered the orchard and admitted that he had
never tasted such a sour apple in his life. Relieved, the grower then explained that he had put
those sour apples across the fence to discourage children from stealing from his orchard, which
in reality contained some of the sweetest apples to be found in that part of the country. Many
people today make the same mistake of judging a church by one "bad apple.")
Of course, if you are the kind of person who looks for fault in the church, you ought to look at
your own heart first. It is evident that you have a problem! I would also like to point out the fact
that, more often than not, when I have seen something I thought was wrong in the church, it has
always turned out to be something wrong in my own heart instead. Tonight, I do not want to
point out what is wrong with the church, I want to talk about What's Right With The Church!
You might want to look around and say this or that is wrong, and needs to be fixed, but I want to
let you know that I'd rather focus on what is right. And, there is plenty right with the church. Let
me share that with you tonight.
I. IT HAS THE RIGHT CREATION
1 Cor. 3:11
A. It Was Planned By The Father - Eph. 1:4
B. It Was Purchased By The Son - Eph. 1:6-7
C. It Was Processed By The Spirit - Eph. 1:13-14
II. IT HAS THE RIGHT COMPONENTS
Eph. 5:25-27; Eph. 1:4-5
A. SavedSinners - Eph. 2:1-10
B. Stumbling Saints - Rom. 7:15-25
C. Shining Sons - 1 John 3:1-2
III. IT HAS THE RIGHT COMMUNICATION
1 Cor. 15:3-4
A. A Powerful Communication - Rom. 1:16
B. A Pleasant Communication - Rom. 10:13; Rev. 21:17; John 3:16
C. A Perfect Communication - John 6:37; Rom. 10:9

IV. IT HAS THE RIGHT CHALLENGE
Matt 5:13-16
A. Edify The Saints - 1 Thes. 5:11; Eph. 4:12; Eph. 4:29
B. Exalt The Savior - Heb. 13:1; 1 Cor. 10:31; Col. 1:18
C. Evangelize The Sinner - Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8
V. IT HAS THE RIGHT CONCLUSION
Eph. 5:27
A. The Blessing Of Our Hope - Titus 2:13; 1 Cor. 15:51-57; 1 Thes. 4:13-18
B. The Blessing Of Our Home - John 14:1-3; Phil. 3:20-21; Rev. 21:4
Conc: There's too much right with the church for people to be finding fault with her! If you have
a problem with the church, then you need to talk to the Lord about it and see whether or not thee
is a problem in your own heart first. I will say this, the church is too valuable to allow a few
disgruntled whiners to tear her apart. So, when someone has a problem with the church, they
have a problem with me! Folks, this church business is bigger than you or me! Therefore, we
cannot allow anyone to tear it apart.
So, instead of finding fault with the church, why don't we rejoice in what is right with it? Why
not thank God that He has blessed us with a church that is alive, growing and honored with His
presence? Why not look around tonight and thank God for the people who make up this church
body? I say there is plenty right with the church! That is what I want to look at. That is what I
want to focus on tonight, and God helping me, that's just what I will do!
I think that I shall never see
A church that's all it ought to be:
A church whose members never stray
Beyond the strait and narrow way;
A church that has no empty pews,
Whose pastor never has the blues,
A church whose deacons always deak,
And none is proud, and all are meek;
Where gossips never peddle lies,
Or make complaints or criticize;
Where all are always sweet and kind,
And all to others' faults are blind.
Such perfect churches there may be,
But none of them are known to me.

But still, we'll work, and pray, and plan
To make our own the best we can.
Ephesians 5:28-33
Sunday Morning Bible Study
August 13, 2006
Introduction
I found a story that I think paints a picture of a goodmarriage.
Illustration
The little old couple walkedslowlyinto McDonald’s that cold winter evening.
They lookedout of place amid the young families and young couples eating
there that night. Some of the customers lookedadmiringly at them. You could
tell what the admirers were thinking: “Look, there is a couple who has been
through a lot together, probably for 60 years or more!” The little old man
walkedright up to the cashregister, placedhis order with no hesitation and
then paid for their meal. The couple took a table near the back wall and
started taking food off of the tray. There was one hamburger, one order of
French fries and one drink. The little old man unwrapped the plain
hamburger and carefully cut it in half. He placedone half in front of his wife.
Then he carefully counted out the French fries, divided them in two piles and
neatly placed one pile in front of his wife. He took a sip of the drink, his wife
took a sip and then set the cup down betweenthem. As the man beganto eat
his few bites of hamburger, the crowdbeganto getrestless. Againyou could
tell what they were thinking: “Thatpoor old couple. All they canafford is one
meal for the two of them.” As the man began to eathis French fries one young
man stoodand came over to the old couple’s table. He politely offered to buy
another meal for the old couple to eat. The old man replied that they were just
fine. They were used to sharing everything. Then the crowdnoticed that the
little old lady hadn’t eatena bite. She just sat there watching her husband eat
and occasionallytaking turns sipping the drink. Again the young man came
over and beggedthem to let him buy them something to eat. The man again
explained that no, they were used to sharing everything together. As the little
old man finished eating and was wiping his face neatly with a napkin, the
young man could stand it no longer. Again he came over to their table and
offered to buy some food. After being politely refusedagain, he finally askeda

question of the little old lady: “Ma’am, why aren’t you eating? You said that
you share everything. What is it that you are waiting for?” She answered,
“The teeth.”
I think there’s a lessonin there somewhere.I think a goodmarriage is about
being so close thatyou share just about everything. It’s almostlike you’re a
part of eachother…
:28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own
bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.
ought – opheilo – to owe;the word speaks ofpersonalobligation rather than
death or life necessity.
You won’t die if you don’t love your wife like this, but this
is what ought to be done. This is what is proper. This is what YOU need to do for yourself.
Paul has alreadytold us that Christ is the head of the church:
(Eph 5:23 NKJV) For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church;
and He is the Savior of the body.
He wasn’t just talking about Christ as the “head” in the sense of being in charge, he was talking about the
head as in the head that sits on top of the body.
And as Christ is a head with His body the church, the husband is a head with his wife as the body.
How many of you men have eaten in the last twenty-four hours? Was it difficult to make yourself eat? How
many of you took a shower or a bath in the last twenty-four hours? We’re awfully glad you did.
A man needs to see that taking care of his wife is just as obvious as taking care of his own body.
:29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and
cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.
We nourish and cherish our own bodies, we all ought to nourish and cherish
eachother.
Lesson
Nourish
nourishes – ektrepho – to nurture to maturity; support; feed; to fatten
Nourish = meetneeds
Men and women are different. They aren’t like each other. This confuses men because we think that women
are like us, but they aren’t. We think we know what the other person needs, but we don’t always have it
correct.
Illustration
A concerned husband went toa doctorto talk abouthis wife.He says tothe doctor, “Doctor, I think mywife is deaf because she never
hears me the first time and always asks me to repeat things.”“Well,” thedoctor replied, “go homeand tonight stand about 15 feetfrom
her and say somethingto her. If shedoesn’treply move about5 feet close and say it again. Keepdoing this sothatwe’ll get an idea about
the severityof her deafness”.Sure enough, the husband goes homeand does exactly as instructed.He starts offabout15 feet from his
wife in thekitchen as she is choppingsome vegetables and says, “Honey, what’s for dinner?” He hears noresponse. He moves about 5
feet closer and asks again.No reply. He moves 5 feetcloser. Still noreply. He gets fed up and moves right behind her, about an inch
away, and asks again, “Honey, what’s fordinner?”She replies, “Forthe fourth time,vegetable stew!”

Sometimes a woman simply needs to be listened to.
A gal comes home from work and is goingon and on aboutthe problems she had during theday.The man thinks,“I’m going to drive
right down there and smack thatboss in the mouth!”Or he says,“Then why don’t you quit?” He’s trying tofix her problem, but maybe
all she wants and needs is someone tolisten to her.
Do you know what your spouse needs? If I asked you and your spouse to write down each other’s top ten
needs, how accurate would your listbe? Would you even know where to start? Why not just ask her?
Prayer – I have been finding that an excellent way to meet my wife’s comes when I pray for her. Prayer is like
going shopping at God’s grocery store. I am learning that God is faithful to answer prayer. I’m trying to
learn just what to pray for – the best things from God’s shelves at His grocery store, the things my wife really
needs.
Lesson
Cherish
cherishes – thalpo – to keep warm; to cherishwith tender love
One of the great dangers in marriage is letting the fire go out.
Our societytells us thatifthe fire goes out,it’s time to dump your spouse and geta newone.
God tells us to simplyrelight the fire. And maybe fan theflames a bit.
There are a great many lessons we can learn regarding marriage when we learn to look at the relationship
between Jesus and His church and learn to apply those same principles into our marriages. One such lessonis
how to get that “first love” back.
(Rev 2:4-5 NKJV) "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. {5} "Remember
therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and
remove your lampstand from its place; unless you repent.
Jesus is writingto His bride,the church. The church has “left”it’s firstlove. Jesus tells the church todo three things:
1) Remember
Every relationship will go through it’s ups and downs. It is a natural thing for the passion to die
down. But you don’t have to settle for a cold relationship. Remember what it was like when it
was hot. You need to have in your mind the direction you want to go – you want to go towards
passion.
2) Repent
Repent means to “turn around”. It means that you recognize that you’re going the wrong
direction and you make a u-turn.
Is there something in your life that is taking you away from each other? Is there something that is
drawing your heart away from your spouse? Turn around.
You may be putting too much time into work. You may be too interested in another person. You
may be more interested in your entertainment than in meeting your spouse’ needs. Repent. Turn
around.
3) Re-do
Do the first works. Do the kinds of things you uses to do when the passion was there.
We sometimes think this is hypocritical – we think, “How can I write her a love not or send her
flowers when I don’t feel passionate about her?”
We need to do those “first works” in order to bring the passion back. We do it by faith. We do it
because it’s an investment in our marriage.

Do the extra things. Open doors for her. Compliment her. Help her around the house. Give her a
back rub. Write her a love note. Take her out to dinner, just the two of you.
Marriage requires work. And if you put in the effort, you will see the payoff.
J. Allen Petersen said, “I do not know whether or not your marriage was made in heaven, but I
do know that all the maintenance work is done on earth.”
:30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His
bones.
He is the head, we are the body.
:31 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one
flesh."
Paul is quoting one of the most quoted passages ofthe Bible, from the story of
Adam and Eve in Genesis 2. There are two lessons here:
Lesson
Leaving
When God speaks of a man leaving his father and mother, He’s talking about leaving those relationships that
are closestand deepest.
This doesn’t mean that we stop talkingto ourparents or other peoplewe are close to.
The pointis that your marriage should be the most importantrelationship in yourlife.
The “treasure” principle states:
(Mat 6:21 NKJV) "For where your treasure is, there your heartwill be also.
I often think ofthis in terms of finances.The more you invest in something, themore attached your heart becomes.When someone
invests a lotof money in a car, it’s not surprisingthatthe thing takes a top priorityin a person’s life.You couldprobably gain an insight
into what itimportantin your life byjustanalyzingyour bank statement. Where is your treasure beingspent?Howmuch of my
“treasure” am I spendingfor myown pleasure?Howmuch is being spent on the things of God?
But there is alsoa sense in which a person invests “treasure”by the things theyshare from theirheart.
(Mat 12:35 NKJV) "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things,
and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
Here’s mypoint – husbands and wives, be careful aboutwhoyou are sharingyour “treasure”with.
It’s not uncommon for a husband or wife to spend more time with their co-workers than with
their spouse. It’s not hard for a friendship to develop among co-workers. But be careful about
sharing your “treasure” with a co-worker of the opposite sex. Maybe you’ve had a hard week and
your spouse hasn’t been too sympathetic. Don’t be complaining to your co-worker about it, it
only invests your “treasure” with them, and it will lead to your heart being drawn to them. Leave.

Lesson
Cleaving - joining
be joined – proskollao – glue to; to join one’s self to closely, cleave to
Being “one flesh” certainly involves the act of sex, but it’s way more than sex.
The connection between a head and bodyis bigger than a sexual connection, it’s a connection that keeps the headand body alive.
I wonder if we really understand just how close marriage is supposed to make a husband and wife.
I think thata husband and wife are supposed toneed and depend upon each othersomuch that if you were separated you’d die.
I think that for some of us, we’re afraid to get too close. We’re afraid we’re going to be hurt. We’re not sure
it’s safe to let someone get so close. And so we hold back. We keep up the walls. We wear the masks.
I think one of God’s goals for marriage is found in the description of the first marriage:
(Gen 2:25 NKJV) And they were both naked, the man and his wife,and were notashamed.
My point is not about nudity. My point is about openness. Can you truly be yourself with your
spouse or do you have to “cover up”? Openness leads to a closer union.
Perhaps we need to learn grace – we need to learn how to unconditionally love and accept each
other, even with all our flaws.
This is how Jesus loves us.
(Eph 4:32 NKJV) And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving (literally, “gracing”) one
another, just as God in Christ forgave (literally, “graced”) you.
If you would learn to be gracious to your spouse, perhaps they might learn to be gracious to you.

:32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ
and the church.
:33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his
own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her
husband.
Paul againsummarizes his two charges formarriage – husbands love their
wives, wives respecttheir husbands.
:32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ
and the church.
We often think of this quote from Genesis as purely about marriage, but Paul
brings it to our attention that it applies to the relationship betweenJesus and
His church as well.
He wants to nourish and cherish us.
We need to “leave” our old life and “cleave” to Him.
He wants us to have a close, intimate relationship with Him.
Isn’t it interesting where Jesus chose to perform His first miracle? His first miracle was
performed at a wedding, where He turned something ordinary like water into something
special like wine.
It starts when you open your heart to Jesus…The Gospel.
http://www.calvaryfullerton.org/Bstudy/49%20Eph/2005/49Eph05g.htm
Union with Christ
Text: Ephesians 5:30-32
Subject: The Union of Christ and His People
Date: Tuesday Evening — July 18, 2017
Readings: Bobbie Estes and Merle Hart
Introduction:
I want, as God the Holy Ghost will enable me, to talk to you about “a great mystery,” something
that cannot be known except by the revelation of God in the blessed experience of his saving
grace, something altogether hidden from human knowledge and reason. The title of my message
is — Union with Christ. You will find my text in Ephesians 5:30-32. — Union with Christ
(Ephesians 5:30-32)

(Ephesians 5:30) “For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. (31) For this
cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two
shall be one flesh. (32) This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”
“We are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.” — Truly, this is “a great mystery”!
“Lord Jesus, are we one with Thee?
Oh, height, oh, depth of love!
With Thee we died upon the tree,
In Thee we live above.
Such is Thy grace, that for our sake
Thou didst from heaven come down,
Thou didst of flesh and blood partake,
In all our sorrows one.
Our sins, our guilt, in love divine,
Confessed and borne by Thee,
The gall, the curse, the wrath were Thine,
To set Thy members free.
Ascended now, in glory bright,
Still one with us Thou art,
Nor life, nor death, nor depth, nor height,
Thy saints and Thee can part.
Oh, teach us, Lord, to know and own
This wondrous mystery,
That Thou with us art truly one,
And we are one with Thee!
Soon, soon shall come that glorious day,
When seated on Thy throne,
Thou shalt to wondering worlds display,
That Thou with us art one!”
“We are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.” — Having made that statement, the
Apostle Paul says, “This is a great mystery.” I do not hesitate to say that my text is one of the
most wonderful and meaningful statements to be found in the pages of Inspiration. It sets
forth the mystery of mysteries, the very substance of the most lofty doctrine of Divine Revelation
— the living, loving, and lasting union of Christ and his church.
Most assuredly, we shall never, at least not in this world, fathom the depths of this great
sea. He who handles such a subject as this needs to be filled with all the fulness of God. I readily
confess my inability to understand, let alone preach on this subject. It is too vast and too great for
me. I can no more hope to expound its meaning than a child can hold the ocean in his hand. This

is a text that must not be looked upon with the eyes of cold, theological orthodoxy, which
might make us content to say, “Yes, that is a great and important truth,” and then leave it. This is
manna from heaven. It is to be tasted, eaten, digested, and lived upon day by day, hour by
hour, and moment by moment.
This is a text to take to your closet, and there turn it over in the meditation of your heart. If
all you learn from this text is what I now preach to you, I fear that you shall have far less than a
tithe of its riches. When I am done preaching, get alone with your heavenly Husband and
worship. Then, in your heart, you shall rejoice in such blessed realities as tongue can never utter.
Even now, I ask you to pray for that frame of mind that is suitable to think upon such a subject.
Pray for me, that I may have that condition of heart that will best enable me to speak upon this
heavenly mystery. Come, like Mary, and set at the Savior’s feet, leaving all the cares of the day
behind you, and drink in the love of Christ which is like “wine upon the lees well refined,” that
is to be found in this inspired declaration. — “We are members of his body, of his flesh, and of
his bones.”
This is the children’s bread. It belongs only to God’s dear children. It is Israel’s manna. It
belongs to Israel alone. This is like the stream that flowed from Israel’s smitten Rock. It flows
neither for Edom, nor for Amalek, but for the chosen seed alone. If you are not joined to Christ
by a living faith, all that I have to say will be but sounding brass and tinkling cymbal. It is said
concerning the members of Christ alone — “We are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his
bones.”
Ephesians 1
Look back to the beginning of the epistle, and you will see who the Apostle is addressing when
he says “we.” That little word, “we,” is like the door of Noah’s ark. It shuts us in, or it shuts
us out. Does it shut you out or in? The Apostle wrote these words to those of whom it is written
—
(Ephesians 1:3) “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: (4) According as he hath chosen us in
him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in
love: (5) Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself,
according to the good pleasure of his will, (6) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he
hath made us accepted in the beloved. (7) In whom we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”
Is this all doctrinal theory with you, or is it a blessedreality of life?
· Chosen in Everlasting Love!
· Predestinated unto Eternal Salvation!
· Accepted in the Beloved!
· Redeemed by His Precious Blood!
· Blessed with All Spiritual Blessings!
· The Forgiveness of Sins!
· The Riches of His Grace!

Jesus was the source of matchless mystery

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