March 15th, 2015

If you'd open up your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 5.

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

Last week we started in a section in which Paul is addressing husbands and wives.

Married couples in the room.

Did you come this morning thinking that your marriage is beyond hope?

Did you walk into this building this morning thinking that your marriage is missing something?

Do you think that you're a failure as a wife?

Husband, do you think you're a failure as a husband?

Or maybe you just think your marriage is just fine.

I mean, everybody's happy.

No problems here.

Well, last Sunday we looked at Paul's exhortations to wives to come under their husbands' care.

But did you know in this passage, starting in verse 22 going through verse 33 of chapter 5,

the Apostle Paul spends three times as much holy writ on husbands than on wives.

He's got a lot to say to husbands.

So let's look at it now.

I'm going to start off in verse 22, bring us back up to speed with what he said to wives,

and then we'll read through 33.

So please read along with me in your Bibles.

This is God's Word.

Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord,

for the husband is the head of the wife,

even as Christ is the head of the church, his body,

and himself its Savior.

Now as the church submits to Christ,

so also wives should submit in everything to their own husbands, their husbands.

25.

Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,

that he might sanctify her,

having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word,

so that he may present the church to himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,

that she might be holy and without blemish.

28.

In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.

He who loves his wife loves himself,

for no one ever hated his own flesh,

but nourishes and cherishes it,

just as Christ does the church.

Because we are members of his body.

Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,

and the two shall become one flesh.

This mystery is profound.

And I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

33.

33.

However, let each one of you love his wife as himself,

and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Husbands, this morning, I want you to feel what's going on here.

It's not me exhorting you.

It's not your wife exhorting you.

It's God exhorting you through His Word.

And here's what he's saying.

Husband, love your wife like Christ loves His bride.

Love your lady like Christ loves His lady.

Now don't hear me wrong.

I'm not saying be Christ to your wife.

You can't.

You can't.

Because you're not.

You're not Jesus.

But what you can be,

what you must be,

is like Christ in the way you love this woman God has given to you.

Husbands, you have a high calling in marriage

to be like Christ in the way that you love her.

You are to exercise this responsibility entrusted to you

in love.

So this morning, I want you to see five points.

Five points.

We're going to pull it from the text.

The first point is going to be a little bit of a reminder.

So let's go to that first point right now.

So five points.

Here's the first one.

Five points.

Remember,

marriage is a dance.

Last week, I wanted to help you see

kind of the big sweep of our Bibles.

Creation, fall, redemption.

And in creation, in Genesis chapters 1 and 2,

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

we read that God created Adam and Eve

in His own likeness.

And so Adam bore the likeness of God

and so did Eve.

They are of equal value in God's sight.

Equal worth.

But what we also saw

is that God assigned them roles

based on Adam's manness

and based on Eve's woman-ness.

And so equal value,

but differing roles in this thing called marriage.

This dance.

So Adam was to lead his lady in this dance.

But then there was the fall.

And the dance was distorted.

The roles in this thing called marriage

were distorted.

Husbands would either abdicate or be tyrannical.

Wives would either be a floor mat or usurp.

Sin made a mess of the roles.

But it didn't stay there

because with the coming of Jesus,

Jesus came to redeem the roles in marriage.

He came to make right what was made wrong.

He came to bring order to that

which was placed into disorder.

And so what we read in Ephesians 5,

22-33,

is God's plan of restoration

of the roles in marriage.

And what we see is that

husbands are going to take their cues

from Jesus, the head.

We are the heads of our wives.

And so we are to lead our ladies.

And what you are going to see is

we lead out of love.

And what we read in 5-23

are that wives,

you are assigned a role.

And your role is the church-like response

to Christ.

To come under the care of Christ.

Come under the care of your husband.

What we see Paul doing in Ephesians 5,

22-33,

is making Christ the ultimate bridegroom

and the church the ultimate bride.

And they become our examples

as Christian husbands and wives.

They kind of determine our steps,

if you will,

in this thing called marriage.

What you are going to see is that

this Christ church basis

runs throughout 22-33.

Point two.

And let's now get into the passage.

Verse 25, we read this.

Husbands, love your wives

as Christ loved the church.

Husbands, love your bride

like Christ loves His bride.

Now what does that look like?

Well, it's a Christ-like love.

There are two mistakes, guys,

that we make in our husbanding.

We can fall off the horse on either side.

It's either abdicating

and we tempt our wife in a certain way.

Or we become tyrants

and we tempt our wife in a certain way.

Both are wrong.

Do you know what they both have in common?

It's about me.

It's about my comfort.

It's about what I want.

But what we see going on in verse 25

is what God is calling us to.

He's calling us out of abdicating

and He's calling us out of being a tyrant.

He's calling us to be like Christ

in the way that we love our wives.

That word love is that classic word agape.

And it's used six times in verses 25-33.

There is an emphasis on love in this passage.

Notice that the command in 25,

the exhortation isn't husbands,

head your wives.

It's husbands, love your wives.

Here's what that means.

God has entrusted husbands

with a responsibility

for the welfare of their wives.

And that responsibility

is to be exercised in Christ-like love.

And that agape love

is not a selfish love.

It's a love that is concerned

about the greatest good of another.

And so husbands,

what we're being called to here

is to lead in a certain way

in which we have the greatest good

of our wives in mind.

That's the love we're being called to here.

Can I just tell you something, brother?

In order for you to love your wife

like Christ,

you must first know what it means

to be loved by Christ.

Do you know His great love for you, brother?

Do you know He gave Himself up for you?

He died for you.

And now you're being called

to love your wives

in like fashion.

So, what kind of love?

It's a Christ-like love.

And that kind of love,

I've just been towing it,

is a sacrificial love.

He gave Himself.

It's a voluntary love.

In John chapter 10,

John 10 · chapter mention

Jesus is talking about Him

as the good shepherd.

And about eight times

in that passage,

He references Himself

as laying down His life.

In verse 18 in chapter 10,

He says this,

I lay down my life

of my own accord.

I do it voluntarily.

Brother,

you're being called

to love your wife

not as a strong-armed in,

God is angry,

but a calling to,

a wooing,

voluntarily loving your wife,

laying down your life.

Christ gave Himself

for His bride.

It's not only voluntary,

it's sacrificial.

He gave Himself.

He's talking about His death.

He's talking about the cross.

He's talking about

coming to an end to Himself

for the good of someone else,

His bride.

It's voluntary,

it's sacrificial,

it's substitutionary.

He gave Himself up for her.

He took what

was deserving,

His bride deserved.

You get it?

Martin Lloyd-Jones,

who was a wonderful

preacher and pastor

of a bygone era,

when he was preaching

through this passage,

he said something to the effect,

what God gives us

a pattern of,

husbands,

is none other than

the atoning work

of Jesus Christ

in the way we love our wives.

Husbands,

you want a model

for loving your wife?

Think cross.

Think atonement.

Brothers,

to love our brides

like Christ loved His bride

is to give ourselves

for them.

to give up our lives.

But you know what?

That giving up your life

is not the goal.

That's the means

to another end.

We give our lives

for something glorious,

for something splendid.

And we see that played out

in verses 26 and 27.

There are three that's

in 26 and 27.

Let me just read them to you.

Christ gave Himself up

that He, Christ,

might sanctify her.

The church.

That's in verse 26.

And then verse 27,

Christ gave Himself up

that He might present

the church to Himself

in splendor.

And then,

also in verse 27,

that she might be holy

and without blemish.

You know what

all those that's

have in common?

They're all purpose clauses,

which means this.

Jesus gave Himself up

for a goal.

He gave Himself up

for the splendor

of His bride.

For her holiness.

holiness.

He gave Himself up

for the greatest good

of the one He loved.

Holiness.

Let's go back to that

first that.

That He might sanctify her.

When you hear the word

sanctify,

I know many of you

in this room,

when you hear that word

sanctify,

you think of

sanctification,

the process

of being made

more and more like Jesus.

That work of God

that He does

in cooperation

with a saint

to become like Jesus.

But,

that's not how

this word is being used

here in this passage.

This sanctify

is actually

a one-time

definitive act

in which

God calls

a sinner

out of sin

and consecrates

that sinner

to God

in holiness.

And so,

instead of

progressive sanctification,

sanctification,

you need to be thinking

positional sanctification.

This is true

of you

in Christ.

You are

a holy one.

You are

a saint.

It happened

the moment

you believed.

God set you apart

for Himself.

And we see

how He did that.

That He might

sanctify her,

having cleansed her

by the washing

of water

with the word.

Christ sanctified

us

by cleansing

us.

It's a

moral,

spiritual

cleansing

that's being

spoken of here.

Cleansing

us from our

sin.

That's what

He's getting

at.

And He did

that by

washing us

with the water

of the word.

What is He

talking about

there?

He's talking

about the gospel.

Jesus

cleanses us

from sin

through the

message of

the cross

of Christ.

A sinner

believes in

what God

and Christ

has done

for them.

They hear

the message,

they believe

it,

and they

are cleansed

from their

sin.

Who will

wash away

my sin?

Nothing but

the blood

of Jesus.

So in

love for us,

Christ gave

Himself up

for us

to sanctify

us,

and He did

that by

cleansing us

with His

atoning

blood.

Behind this

is a really

interesting

practice.

In the

first century

there's this

thing called

the bridal

bath,

in which

a bride

on her,

or the

day before

her wedding

day,

would bathe

herself to

present her

clean to

her husband,

her bride.

Paul is

pulling on

that strength

that He

might

sanctify

her.

Second

that,

that He

might present

the church

to Himself

in splendor.

Now,

I want you

to see two

things here.

It's Christ

presenting the

church to

Himself.

And what that

means is this.

This is a

work of

Jesus.

Christ

doing a

work from

beginning to

end in

His

bride.

But the

other thing I

want to

point out

is this.

When this

presentation

takes place.

Whenever it

takes place,

Christ is

going to

present to

Himself a

church in

splendor,

without spot,

without wrinkle,

without any

such thing.

You know what

He's talking

about?

He's talking

about when

He comes

back.

Jesus is

going to

present,

to Himself

a church

perfected.

And what

that means

is this.

He's in

it for the

long haul.

He's making

us clean.

And on the

day He

comes back,

He's going

to present

us to

Himself

in

perfected

glory,

in

perfected

splendor.

Which brings

us to the

last of

that.

That she

might be

holy and

without

blemish.

It's in

contrast to

the without

spot,

wrinkle,

or any

such thing.

Those would

be spot and

wrinkles.

They're

imperfections.

We try to

cover those

up.

Christ died

for His

bride so

that He

could one

day present

her to

Himself in

moral

perfection,

in splendor.

The goal

of Christ's

sacrificial

death was

the moral

splendor of

the church.

That she

would be

holy and

without

blame.

maybe you're

thinking,

man, I

thought this

was a

passage about

husbands.

Husbands,

love your

wife like

Christ loved

the church.

Give

yourself up

for the

splendor of

your wife.

What kind

of splendor?

Paul spells

it out in

spiritual terms,

holy and

blameless.

brothers,

I know

many of

you are

wonderful

protectors of

your families,

of your

wives.

Keep on

doing that.

I know

many of

you are

just

outstanding

providers for

your wife.

Keep on

doing that.

That's right

on the money.

But if we

take our

cues from

Jesus in

this passage,

do you know

what our

greatest aim

is in

loving our

wives?

It's their

holiness.

This is a

call to

spiritual

leadership,

brothers.

This is a

call to

lead our

wives in

such a

way that

we lay

down our

lives for

their

greatest

good,

to be

like

Jesus.

So

brothers,

love your

wives into

holiness.

Lay your

lives down

so that

your wife

can

spiritually

thrive in

Christ.

You're

caring for

her

spiritual

welfare

above

all else.

But you

can't give

your wife

something that

you don't

have.

You can't

lead your

wife somewhere

that you

yourself are

not going.

So to

spiritually lead

your wife

starts with

your own

personal

holiness.

That's where

it starts.

And your

personal holiness

starts and

ends with

Christ.

brother, is

Jesus your

first love?

Are you

seeking to

obey the

greatest

commandment

to love

the Lord

your God

with everything

you got?

The greatest

thing that you

can do,

husband,

the greatest

thing that you

can do for

your wife

is to love

your God

with everything

you got.

To love

him without

any reservations.

all sails to

the wind

loving Jesus.

Full throttle

love for

Jesus.

That is the

greatest thing

that you can

do for your

wife.

That's where

spiritual

leadership

starts.

In your

private

devotion to

Christ.

Now, if

you're pursuing

Jesus that

way, do you

know who's

going to

notice?

Oh, your

wife will

notice that.

She might

not know what

to do with

you, actually.

She may

just want to

come under

your care

and trust

herself to

you fully.

Allow you

to lead

her into

greater and

greater holiness.

It might be

an adjustment,

but it's a

good adjustment.

Now, you

might be

thinking this,

but my wife

is more

spiritually

mature than

I am.

My wife

is a

spiritual

giant.

I'm just

showing up.

Well, brothers,

here's the

good news.

It's not

about how

mature you

are.

It's about

how faithful

you are,

living out

the role

God has

entrusted

to you.

You don't

have to be a

spiritual giant

to lead

your wife.

Look who

I am.

Your wife's

holiness is

not dependent

on you,

brother.

your wife's

holiness is

dependent on

Jesus.

So, because

he's the

vine, do

you know

what you

do?

Over and

over and

over again.

You point

your bride

to her

Savior over

and over

and over

again.

You love

her to

Jesus.

You love

her into

holiness.

There's

only one

Savior.

And to

love your

wife like

Christ is

not to

be Christ.

It's to

love her to

Christ.

Think of

your wife's

splendor as

Christ-likeness.

Holiness.

And your

job,

brothers,

is to

love your

wife so

that she

becomes more

and more

like Jesus.

You're not

seeking to

transform your

wife into

your image,

but you're

seeking to

love her

into the

image of

Christ.

Christ has

delegated you

the responsibility

and you

fulfill it

for the

glory of

Christ as

you depend

on Christ.

I'll tell

you what,

guys, I

think you'll

testify with

this, that

there's no

greater joy

for a

Christian

husband than

to see his

wife spiritually

thriving,

loving her

Savior.

so we

exercise our

responsibility,

our headship

in love

for the

welfare of

our wives,

and at the

top of that

list is her

spiritual health.

So here's

what that

means,

guys.

Our eyes

need to be

on Jesus.

In order to

lead your

wife well,

eyes on

Jesus, hearts

for him.

Second, very

practical

recommendation to

lead your

wives.

Pray for

your wife.

Make time,

maybe it's on

your commute,

maybe it's got

some down time

every day,

pray for your

wife.

It's

Christ-like.

Ben was

talking about

it earlier.

Romans 8,

Jesus

intercedes

for us.

He's at the

right hand

of God.

Hebrews

Hebrews 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7,

he is

alive

to intercede

for us.

Brothers,

let's intercede

for our

wives.

Maybe you're

saying right

now,

well,

I just

wouldn't

know what

to pray.

Let me

give you

some

suggestions.

Start

praying that

your wife

would love

Jesus above

all else.

start

praying

Ephesians

3,

16-19

for your

wife.

I find

myself

praying

that

for my

wife

a lot.

That

God

by his

spirit

would

strengthen

my

wife's

inner

being,

that

she

would

know

God's

great

love

for her.

And be

strengthened

by that.

Pray

for wisdom

for your

wife,

whatever

she's

facing

that

day,

whether

in the

workplace

or

in the

home.

Pray

for your

wife

for

patience,

especially

if she's

raising

little

ones.

Pray

for

them.

Direct

them to

the Bible

over and

over again.

If

Jesus

bathed

his

bride

with

the

gospel,

let's

be

bathing

our

brides

with

the

gospel,

reminding

them

over and

over again

who they

are in

Christ.

This

is who

you are.

This

is who

you are.

You're

blood-bought.

You belong

to the

king.

That's

who you

are.

Not

what you

look like.

It's

who you

belong

to.

And

you

belong

to

first

and

foremost

Jesus.

Young

men.

Young

unmarried

men in

the room.

I was

helping

move

somebody

yesterday

and I

was

working

alongside

two

young

guys

and I

said,

I got

something

in your

sermon

for you

tomorrow.

Middle

school

guys,

high

school

guys,

college

guys,

unmarried

guys.

You

don't get

married

and flip

this switch

and all

of a

sudden

you're

loving

your

wife

like

Christ

loved

the

church.

You

start

training

yourself

now

for that.

You

start

loving

now

that way.

Loving

your

mothers

and loving

your

sisters,

looking

out for

their

welfare.

Get in

the practice

of dying

to yourself

for the

welfare

of the

women

God

God

has

placed

in

your

life.

You're

going to

build

some

momentum

into

marriage.

Sisters,

unmarried

sisters,

I'm

just going

to give

you some

humble

advice.

Here's

who to

be looking

for,

for a

husband.

Someone

who's going

to love

Jesus more

than you.

That's who

you're looking

for.

He's

loving

Jesus more

than you.

He will

love you

well.

Well,

we've

taken a lot

of time

on this

first one.

Let's

now move

to point

three.

Husbands,

love your

wife as

Christ loves

his body.

This is in

verses 28

through 30.

So,

Paul has

been spending

a lot of

time in

comparing a

husband's

love for

his wife

to Christ's

love for

his bride.

But in

verse 28,

he seems

to change

metaphors.

He moves

from bride

talk to

body

talk.

He says

in verse

28,

in the

same way,

husbands

should love

their wives

as their

own bodies.

It's a

comparison.

What I

love about

the Apostle

Paul is

he's a

realist.

And so

what he's

doing here

is he's

appealing to

something every

husband can

relate to,

looking out

for his

own body.

Says it in

verse 29,

for no one

ever hated

his own

flesh,

but nourishes

it and

cherishes

it.

Okay,

just a

quick note.

In verse

28,

he refers to

the husband's

body,

and then in

verse 29,

he refers to

the husband's

flesh.

He's using

them synonymously,

and there's a

reason for that.

It's going to

come out later.

So hold on

to that

thought.

But what

Paul is

saying here

is as you

take care of

your own

body,

husband,

as you

rest it,

exercise it,

protect it,

as you feed

it and

clean it,

did I

mention feed

it?

Take that

way of

thinking and

apply it to

how you love

your wife.

Just as you

take care of

yourself,

love yourself,

take care of

your wife,

love your

wife.

Behind it's

the golden

rule,

love your

neighbor as

yourself.

Brother,

your closest

neighbor is

your wife.

But you

know what,

there's

something about

this that

kind of falls

a little flat

because just

before he's

talking about

loving your

wife like

Christ loved

the church,

it's like

the selfless

kind of love

and now he

says love

your wife

like your

body,

it's like

Paul,

he kind

of like went

from selfless

to selfish.

What's going

on here?

There's more

going on here.

There are a

couple clues in

this text to

help us see

that.

The first

clue is in

the beginning

of verse 28,

that first

clause phrase

in the same

way.

In the same

way,

husbands,

husbands should

love their

wives as

their own

bodies.

That phrase

in the same

way at the

beginning of

verse 28 is

actually pointing

back.

Pointing back

to what,

you ask?

Well,

the way that

Christ loves

the church.

But you

said,

well,

in verses

25 to

27,

Christ loves

his church

like a

bride.

He's not

talking about

loving his

church like

a body.

What are

you talking

about?

Look at

verse 23.

For the

husband is

the head

of the

wife,

even as

Christ is

the head

of the

church,

his body.

And there

it is.

Husbands are

to love

their wives

as their

own bodies

as Christ

loves the

church which

is his

body.

That's what's

under this

passage.

Under verses

28 and 29.

Even though

Paul has been

talking about

the church as

the bride of

Christ,

he now

introduces the

church as the

body of

Christ with

that phrase

in the same

way.

It's never

left his

thoughts.

So what we

see here is

Christ as a

model.

He's

appealing to

us husbands

to love our

brides as

Christ loved

his church.

In this

case, his

body.

In verse

29, we

read this,

for no one

ever hated

his own

flesh, but

nourishes it

and cherishes

it.

Just as

Christ does

the church

because we

are members

of his

body.

Do you

see what

Paul is

doing right

there?

He is

exhorting

husbands to

love their

wives as

their own

bodies just

as Christ

loves his

body, the

church.

And so

when it

talks about

hey,

husbands,

nourish and

cherish your

wife like

you do your

own body,

just as

Christ did

the church.

What we

can say

there is

Christ

nourished and

cherishes

his body,

the church.

So

husbands,

nourish your

wives.

That word

nourish is

going to

show up

again just

around the

corner in

Ephesians 6.4.

It's the

only other

place it

shows up

in the

New Testament.

And in

that context,

Paul is

telling parents

to do

this, to

raise your

children in

the discipline,

nurture,

and

instruction of

the Lord.

And the

idea there

is that we

nurture our

children into

maturity.

We nurture

our children

into adulthood.

We bring

them up to

live out the

fullness of

who God has

made them to

be.

That's our

task as

parents.

But when we

look at it

here in

this verse,

we've got to

remember Paul's

not talking to

parents, he's

talking to

husbands.

And he's

using the

framework of

bodies.

So here's

what he's

getting at.

It would

appear that

Paul wants

a husband

to nurture

their wives

as they do

their own

bodies into

health.

Physical,

emotional,

spiritual health.

Think of how

Jesus nurtures

his own body.

The church.

He provides

for all of

our needs.

He has our

greatest good

at heart.

He wants

us to thrive

under his

headship.

vitality.

Think vitality.

Husbands, you're

being called

here to lovingly

exercise your

responsibility as

head so that

your wives

thrive.

We don't

exercise our

headship to

squelch our

wives.

That's not the

picture here.

We leverage our

responsibility as

husbands.

we love our

wives so that

they become

what God has

fully called

them to be.

We want

our wives

to thrive.

Sisters,

married sisters,

are you feeling

God's love for

you right now?

Do you get a

sense of what

God wants for

you in your

husband?

He is looking

out for you.

not looking to

put you under

someone's

thumb.

Not only are

husbands to

nourish their

wives, we are

to cherish our

wives.

In that original

sense of that

word, it

actually means

warmth, as

in tenderness.

This word also

shows up in one

other place in

the New Testament.

It's in 1

Thessalonians 2

7.

And Paul starts

by saying this,

but we were

gentle among you

like a nursing

mother taking

care, cherishing

her own

children.

So when we

hear that word

cherish, brothers,

we think

tenderness.

We think

warmth.

We think

gentleness.

We exercise

our responsibility

gently,

tenderly,

just as

Christ tenderly

cares for his

body, the

church.

Christ nourishes

and cherishes

us because we

are so

intimately

connected to

him, he

thinks of us

as part of

him.

That's how

much he loves

us.

And so what

we're getting

told here,

brothers, is

this.

We are so

intimately

connected to

our wives,

we must think

of them as

part of us

just as the

church is

part of

Christ.

We are to

love our

wives as

Christ loves

his body.

Point four.

Husbands,

love your

wives just

as Christ

loves his

church and

is one with

his church.

In verse

31, Paul

quotes

Genesis

2.24.

2.24

happens, this

is one of my

favorite passages

of scripture.

Remember

this?

Adam is

naming all of

the animals,

he bear,

she bear,

he giraffe,

she giraffe,

he gorilla,

she gorilla.

Remember

that?

And there's

no she

man.

he's like,

he man,

where's the

she man?

He gorilla,

she gorilla,

no she

woman,

she man,

there's none

of that.

Remember what

God does?

Falls asleep

and he pulls

out of Adam

one of his

ribs and he

forms Eve

out of his

ribs.

Do you

remember that?

And then do you

remember what

God does?

He presents

her to

Adam and

in my

little

imagination,

this is how

I think it

went.

You ready?

Adam wakes

up,

oh man,

and before

him is

something amazing.

I think he

would have said

the equivalent,

Hebrew equivalent

of whoa.

Whoa,

God you're

good.

Whoa,

whoa,

whoa,

whoa,

whoa.

And then he

says,

she came out

of man.

Whoa,

man,

whoa,

man.

You get

it?

It is

Adam naming

Eve in

utter joy.

He's no

longer alone.

He is a helper

fit for him.

And God

provided her.

for him.

And so

Genesis 2

24

is the

summing up

of what

God did

in Genesis

2.

It is the

biblical

foundation

for marriage.

It's shot

through your

Bibles.

It reads,

therefore a man

shall leave

his father

and mother

and hold

fast to

his wife

and the

two shall

become

one flesh.

Paul has

been talking

about Christ's

love for

his bride

and Christ's

love for

his body

as a

motivator

for husbands

to love

their wife

as their

bride,

as their

wife,

as their

body.

But by

quoting

Genesis 2

24 here,

Paul is

bringing it

all together

in a

climax in

his way

of thinking.

He's bringing

together these