Shadows to Substance: Marriage & Christ with His Church - DJ Dickerson

This morning in our continuation of our

series shadows to substance

we have noted throughout this series uh

again from the beginning just a reminder

I don't know which part this one is I

have lost count again uh but God has

been teaching us through shadows

temporary pictures that point forward to

something greater and as we continue

this series this morning we are reminded

that every shadow shadow finds its

meaning and its fulfillment in Jesus

Christ.

I want us to think this morning that

from the very beginning of creation,

God did not merely create institutions.

He created pictures.

Before there was a nation, before there

was a covenant, before there was a

church, God instituted

marriage.

And he did so with purpose far greater

than companionship alone.

Because really,

when you walk through this lesson with

me, you'll find that marriage was never

just about Adam and Eve.

It was never just about family structure

and

human happiness.

Marriage was designed by God to be a

living illustration,

a shadow of the most profound

relationship the world would ever know.

And that is Christ and his church.

Paul makes this unmistakably clear in

Ephesians chapter 5. We're going to go

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

to this passage a little bit later on in

the lesson as well, but Ephesians

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5, I want to just to note here

on the onset of verse 32.

In verse 32, you find it says, "This is

a great mystery,

but I speak concerning Christ

and the church."

Now, this is what Paul is saying after

describing marriage. Again, we're going

to look at this passage a little bit

later, but remember this.

This is a great mystery, but I speak

concerning Christ and the church. And

that's what we're talking about this

morning is marriage and Christ with his

church.

That's our shadows to substance lesson

here because we're going to trace

marriage from its divine origin to its

ultimate meaning. And we will see how

the union of husband and wife was meant

to point us forward to the eternal union

between Jesus Christ and his redeemed

people.

Now, as you go back to Genesis chapter

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

2,

you're going to notice again marriage

established by God.

And that's where the shadow begins for

us this morning. The shadow begins

Genesis chapter 2 and verses 18 down

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

through verse 25. I want you to read

that passage with me again as I say many

times. Make sure to prove all things

according to God's word, not DJs.

Genesis chapter 2, I want us to start

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 18 down through verse

25. Read with me. And the Lord God said,

"It is not good that man should be

alone. I will make him a helper

comparable to him. Out of the ground the

Lord God formed every beast of the field

and every bird of the air and brought

them to Adam to see what he would call

them. And whatever Adam called each

living creature, that was its name. So

Adam gave names to all cattle, to the

birds of the air, and to every beast of

the field. But for Adam there was not

found a helper comparable to him. And

the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall

on Adam. And he slept, and he took one

of his ribs and closed up the flesh in

its place. Then the rib which the Lord

God had taken from man, he made it to a

woman. And he brought her to the man.

And Adam said, "This is now bone in my

bones and flesh in my flesh. She shall

be called woman because she was taken

out of man. Therefore a man shall leave

his father and mother and be joined to

his wife, and they shall become one

flesh." And they were both naked, the

man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

If you'll notice that the first time

that God says something is not good

is not about creation,

it's about loneliness.

What he say in verse 18, it is not good

that man should be alone.

God is showing that human beings were

not meant to live isolated lives.

We were designed for relationship. And

in marriage, God creates the closest

human relationship on earth.

And so God designed a helper comparable

to him.

Now I want us to make a note here.

Sometimes you'll hear me do this in

lessons like this that that the word

helper does not mean servant.

It does not mean that they are inferior

in such a way. God himself is called he

himself he said called our helper in

scripture

the idea is partnership someone suited

corresponding completing what is lacking

the word that we use in our house kids

and I is we compleiment each other

I mean I like to think I compliment but

you know sometimes kids might say I

don't know but right God makes Eve to be

comparable means fitting equal in worth

different in ro

but perfectly matched in design. There's

beautiful pictures that are being given

to to us here. And so as Eve is uh taken

from Adam's side, you notice that in

verses 21 and 22 again,

God forms Eve from Adam's rib. He does

not take from his head as if she is to

rule over him. Not from his feet as if

she is to be trampled by him,

but from his side. Do you ever think

about from his side? To me, I was

thinking about close to his heart.

That's what I was thinking about

because really that's what marriage is.

It's about unity. It's about closeness.

And if you notice there a declaration

that God makes in this as well is that

in verse 24 he says they shall become

one flesh.

So really when you break it down you see

God's design a helper comparable to him.

You see God's method taken from Adam's

side. And then God's purpose is that

they are to be one flesh. Right. Right.

all through there, is it?

And so what he did is said marriage is a

new primary bond

and it's stronger than previous family

ties because one flesh is more than

physical union. Friends, that's a shared

life.

It's a shared mission. It's a shared

purpose. It's shared identity. It's a

shared covenant.

Now, here's the key for our series.

In the Garden of Eden,

God introduced oneness as a shadow of

greater oneness that would come through

Jesus Christ.

Earthly marriage, as I mentioned, is a

is a really the closest illustration God

gives of the kind of union Christ would

have with his people. And I'm going to

show you some things from the

scriptures.

And so if marriage is a Godmade picture,

then I would submit to you that treating

marriage lightly

dishonors the one who drew the picture.

And if marriage is designed for oneness,

then selfishness is the very enemy of

marriage from day one.

Think about from the scriptures. Now,

marriage is a covenant, not a contract.

Now, there's a lot of passages, and I

and for time's sake, I don't have to go

I I don't have the time to go into all

of them, but I want to use these, as I

say many times, to stimulate our our

thoughts. And I want you to dig further

into what I'm sharing with you, just a

portion I'm sharing with you this

morning. But mar but marriage when you

think about even Malachi's day Malachi 2

and verse14 I want you to look at that

now we know God is calling the people

out on on a lot of things here uh

through through Malachi

uh giving God the leftovers the scraps

as we noted in chapter one as well but

he says in chapter 2 verse14 yet you say

for what reason because the Lord has

been witness between you and the wife of

your youth with whom you have dealt

treacherously

yet she is your companion and your wife

by covenant.

See, it doesn't say contract, does it?

Now, they might have had a different

view on this as you go and you study.

That's the that's the natural man's side

that takes over. But a contract

basically says, "Well, I'll stay as long

as you meet the terms."

A covenant says, "I'm committed because

I gave my word before God."

And you ever think about the word

covenant in the scriptures really goes

hand in hand with faithfulness, doesn't

it? God made a covenant with his people.

God made a covenant with Abraham and

that equates to that of faithfulness,

doesn't it? So think about this.

Marriage vows, right? Vows are what we

would call covenant language. We may not

call them that. We might say, "Well, I

had married vows." That's covenant

language.

Marriage says I belong to you and it

demands loyalty. It demands exclusivity

and it demands devotion

and that means for faithfulness

and that covenant

language

it also means sacrifice.

You see,

in a covenant, love isn't measured by

convenience.

Love is measured by commitment. And

that's why true covenant love persists

through hardships and disappointments

and sickness and struggles and all of

those things. That's why in marriage

vows, you hear that and sickness and in

hell, you know, all of those.

I want you to think about it. A contract

though is like a rental agreement.

I'll stay as long as the place suits me.

Remember, that's the selfishness part of

it. But a covenant's not like that.

Covenant's like a deed. And this is

mine. I'm invested. I'm staying.

And the Bible treats marriage like a

covenant deed. It's not a rental

contract.

And the reason marriage is covenant is

because it is patterned after God's

covenant love.

God is not a contract. God God is a

covenant God.

And I know this because what the

scriptures reveal over and over again,

not just with Adam and Eve in the very

beginning, but as you go through the

passages of Old Testament scripture, it

unfolds in the type of language that God

uses

especially in relation to Israel.

Y'all remember that Israel uh is

identified at times as the unfaithful

spouse. I show I want to show you some

scriptures here because we have the

warning of the shadow as well that's

being given to us. You'll find this kind

of language used in the prophets like

Hosea uh Jeremiah if you're if you're

engaged in our our our yearly Bible

reading uh schedule then last night you

probably in Jeremiah chapter 3 were

Jeremiah 3 · chapter mention

reading this kind of language this kind

of language that you hear in Jeremiah

Jeremiah 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3 even and later on in Jeremiah

and also in the book of Ezekiel you

you'll see this where God repeatedly

used marriage language to describe his

relationship ship with Israel.

Because what he's showing us, he said,

"I'm your covenant husband." They were

his covenant people. When they went

after idols, you know what God called

it? Spiritual adultery. That's what he

called it.

Hosea is I would say Hosea is one of the

clearest examples. Uh God uh tells Hosea

to love an unfaithful wife to show

Israel what they were doing to God.

And in Hosea 2:es 19 and 20, look what

it says. Hosea 2 19 and 20. I will betro

you to me forever. Yes, I will betro you

to me in righteousness, in justice, in

loving kindness and mercy. I will betro

you to me in faithfulness and you shall

know the Lord.

That's the kind of language that's being

used.

Now, some may ask, well, wait a second,

DJ, why is God using this kind of

language?

Well, again, the prophets often

portrayed Israel as an unfaithful wife.

And when they were unfaithful, that

means that what they were doing is they

were turning away from that relationship

they had with God. And what were they

doing? They're found turning to idols.

They were breaking covenant vows. And

they were pursuing other lovers.

The imagery found not only in the book

of Hosea, but also found as I mentioned

Jeremiah and Ezekiel, that imagery is

quite uncomfortable when you read it.

Last night, Jeremiah chapter 3, I was a

Jeremiah 3 · chapter mention

little uncomfortable reading it. Okay.

But although it may be uncomfortable we

read it, it's intentional

because God wanted his people to

understand the pain of spiritual

unfaithfulness

in relational terms that they could feel

and that we could feel.

Because just as adultery wounds a

marriage, idolatry wounds the covenant

relationship with God.

And there are powerful

powerful lessons that are being taught

throughout the scriptures on this

because Israel's story or their account

is showing us a warning of the shadow

that you can be close to God's blessings

and still be unfaithful in heart.

Isn't that what Israel was doing?

You can have an outward show of religion

and still have inward wondering.

Didn't Jesus talk about that as well?

But you see, God does not end the story

with an unfaithful bride.

What the Old Testament does in its

shadow is it sets the stage for a

bridegroom

who will come and purchase a bride with

his own blood,

Christ and his church.

So friends, what this is doing is it

prepares us for the New Testament where

God does not abandon the marriage

imagery, he perfects it.

Think about the bridegroom. That's how

Christ is introduced.

Through the flips of the pages, you find

that the substance has arrived.

The scripture reading that brother Bill

read this morning. John chapter 3 27-30.

John 3 · chapter mention

What did you notice in verse 29? He who

has the bride is the bridegroom, but the

friend of the bridegroom who stands and

hears him rejoices greatly because of

the bridegroom's voice.

See, John was making a very declaration

of who the bridegroom was and is.

And not only do we find John actually

speaking of Jesus in these kinds of of

terms as a bridegroom,

but Jesus himself in Matthew 9 and:e1

15, Jesus said to them, "Can the friends

of the bridegroom mourn as long as the

bridegroom is with them?

But the days will come when the

bridegroom will be taken away from them

and then they will fast.

You see in that passage Jesus is

explaining why is this disciples were

were not fasting because the bridegroom

was present and he's referring to

himself.

Likewise, in the parable of the 10

virgins, Jesus again presents himself as

the bridegroom

that emphasizes readiness, faithfulness,

and preparation for his return.

See, we get the same imagery,

but it's perfected in Christ.

Now I want you to think

the kind of claim that Jesus is making

here

in Israel's

go back to Isaiah for that matter.

Isaiah 54 and verse 5 I I I mentioned

how how God made statements like you

know uh the ones you see in Isaiah 54

and verse 5. For your maker is your

husband, the Lord of hosts is his name,

and your redeemer is the holy one of

Israel. He is called the God of the

whole earth.

So when you look at that,

when Jesus in the New Testament calls

himself the bridegroom, he's not merely

using poetry.

He's actually revealing identity,

his mission, his purpose.

Because what he's saying is, "I've come

to claim my covenant people." That's

what he's saying.

I I think it's interesting of all the

descriptions that Jesus gives,

uh, the bridegroom has always been very

interesting to me.

Like

why does he use this kind of imagery? I

mean a lot of times we think about a

king who conquers by force you know but

what does a bridegroom do? A bridegroom

is one who wins by love because Jesus

did not come to dominate with violence.

He came to redeem with sacrifice.

And when you look at how the Bible, the

New Testament passages explains the

bride. Who's the bride? It's the church.

The church is the bride. Here's the

fulfillment part.

I want you to go back to Ephesians

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5. We started there this morning

[clears throat]

and and I want you to look at this the

whole here. Ephesians chapter 5.

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

I want you to read with me beginning in

verse 22 down through verse 33.

Wives, submit to your own husbands as to

the Lord. For the husband is the head of

the wife, as also Christ is head of the

church, and he is the savior of the

body. Therefore, just as the church is

subject to Christ, so let the wives be

into their own husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives just as Christ

also loved the church and gave himself

for her, that he might sanctify and

cleanse her with a washing of water by

the word, that he might present her to

himself a glorious church, not having

spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but

that she should be holy and without

blemish. So husbands ought to love their

own 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 the Lord does

the church. For we are members of his

body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

For this reason, a man shall leave his

father and mother, and be joined to his

wife, and the two shall become one

flesh.

This is a great mystery.

But I speak concerning

Christ and the church.

Nevertheless, let each one of you be in

particular so love his own wife as

himself and let the wife see that she

respects her husband.

I I'm going to tell you a key line key

line here is

verse 25.

Husbands, love your wives just as Christ

also loved the church and gave himself

for her.

As mentioned, marriage is the shadow.

Christ and the church is a substance.

Now, if you take all those scriptures

and and I I would say expound really,

you you see Paul expounds on these and

and what he draws here.

One of the things that you notice is

sacrificial love.

Christ loved the church and gave himself

for her.

Friends, that's not sentiment. That's

the cross.

Christ's love is proven in pain, blood,

and sacrifice.

And think about that as as husbands,

love is not measured by words.

It is measured by giving. It's actual

action because I've said this all along

many times in our love series we did a

while back, right? 1 Corinthians chapter

1 Corinthians 13 · chapter mention

13. I can say I can tell Kenzie I love

her all day long. I can tell the kids I

love them all day long.

But words,

that's all they are unless there's

something demonstrated with them. Right?

Think about this as the church. If

Christ loves us like that, how can we

treat him so casually?

How do we treat him so casually?

Paul and says Christ, what he did in

verse 26, what did what didn't Christ

do? He cleanses the church with a

washing of water by the word. You see,

the bridegroom does not leave his his

bride in filth. He purifies her. Christ

doesn't merely forgive. He transforms

because that's what true faith does. It

seeks holiness.

A bride preparing for the wedding does

not roll in the mud and call it freedom.

At least mine didn't. Okay,

look at the presentation. And in verse

27, he might present her to himself a

glorious church,

not having spot or wrinkle or any such

thing, but that she should be holy and

without blemish.

Christ is preparing the church to be

presented glorious.

I thought about that being wedding

language

because Christ intends a pure bride.

that the church is is not shaped by the

world's stains.

We are preparing for a presentation.

And that's why when we think about these

words that all throughout the scriptures

that again what I have been able to

share with you just a little bit this

morning, there's a lot of depth to this

topic actually.

But Paul quotes Genesis chapter 2

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

in this passage

and then says this refers to Christ in

the church. And friends, Ephesians 1 all

the way back in Ephesians chapter 1 22

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

and 23. What did Paul say about Jesus?

And he put all things under his feet and

gave him to be head over all things to

the church which is his body the

fullness of him who fills all in all.

That means unity is not optional.

It is a part of the marriage picture.

Division and bitterness are are like

marital betrayal

to the oneness Christ designed.

And what we see in this passage,

the imagery portrayed is headship and

loving le leadership.

Christ leads the church for her good,

not his ego.

His headship is sacrificial. It's

gentle. It's holy.

Friends, authority without love is

tyranny.

Love without guidance is weakness.

And Christ models love and guidance with

his authority.

And that's why when you read these

passages, you see them as being so

important.

So important.

And what it was all designed for to

begin with.

And what it all points to

is the marriage supper of the lamb and

the final consummation.

You look at Revelations chapter 19. You

Revelation 19 · chapter mention

know, we were studying the book of

Revelation not too long ago. A lot of

imagery that's used there as well.

Revelations chapter 19. I want you to

Revelation 19 · chapter mention

look at verses 7-9.

Let us be glad and rejoice and give him

glory. For the marriage of the Lamb has

come, and his wife has made herself

ready. And to her it was granted to be

arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright,

for the fine linen is the righteous acts

of the saints. Then he said to me,

"Write, blessed are those who are called

to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And

he said to me, "These are the true

sayings of God."

Have you ever thought that earthly

marriage points to a heavenly reality?

The day when faith becomes sight, when

the church is finally home and the

bridegroom receives his bride in full

glory. Isn't that exactly what Ephesians

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5 was talking about?

Isn't that what Revelation chapter 19 is

Revelation 19 · chapter mention

pointing to?

Think about these words. His wife has

made herself ready.

This speaks how we live faithfully.

The bride prepares. Think about all the

scriptures that speak as to how

Christians prepare

through repentance,

baptism, holiness, devotion,

perseverance, all of those.

Look at the next thing. Blessed are

those who are called to the marriage

supper.

The gospel call is a wedding invitation

and to refuse it is to refuse

the bridegroom.

Friends, what does this mean for us

today?

Marriage is sacred

because it reflects Christ.

That's why we defend it.

That's why we honor it and that's why we

treat that relationship as holy, sacred.

But I'll submit to you that what is

being

warned and what's being pointed out is

the same as it was in the Old Testament

days.

And that is faithfulness.

The greatest threat

to the bride is spiritual adultery.

Now spiritual adultery was mentioned in

the Old Testament using that kind of

language to un have some understanding

again in relational terms that we would

be able to understand the hurt and the

pain

that such adultery brings to the

marriage.

Well, you actually find that same type

of language in James chapter 4 and

James 4 · chapter mention

verse4.

Adulterers and adulteresses, do you not

know that friendship with the world is

enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants

to be a friend of the world makes

himself an enemy of God.

Do you know what he's saying? Spiritual

adultery is is loving the world more

than Christ.

It's treating Christ, treating his

church, treating in such a way, treating

the bridegroom as casual.

It's casual.

What does his words mean to us?

Did you find yourself distracted this

morning with other things?

Was his words really important?

his church. Is it really important?

Because think about yourself, salvation

is relationship.

Christianity is not merely rulekeeping.

It's covenant love. It's loyalty to

Christ.

There are those

who have experienced in their marriages

what it was like to be cheated on.

And they can tell you

what that was like.

The pain and the agony, the distrust

of someone who swore vows,

said, "I'll be faithful to you." And

what's what's the words that's usually

at the end? Till death do us part.

And I thought,

how does that make God feel

when he has prepared a marriage supper

that is beautiful,

that translates into eternity,

and he says, "It's yours.

promises that he made.

And how often

do we find ourselves

looking at the world,

the lust of the flesh, the lust of the

eyes, and the pride of life,

and we commit spiritual adultery.

after he gave his only begotten son to

die on the cross for us.

And we treat him as casual.

We treat him as if he's just

convenience.

Anybody like being used like that? You

like being used as something convenient?

I'll come whenever I feel like coming

here and do this and do that. I'll I'll

study the word. I'll I'll be prayerful

whenever I there's an emergency in my

life. I'll do this and I'll do that.

Friends, your marriages won't like that,

do they?

No, they don't.

Cuz that's not the way God intended

marriage.

He wants us to be committed to him.

And I'm asking this morning, are we

serious about our commitments

or are we committing adultery,

spiritual adultery?

The pictures that God gives us,

they are

astounding.

You have handouts there in the back. Yet

again, the chart,

there are scripture references, right?

prove all things according to his word,

not DJ's.

Read those. Get those copies. If you'd

like them in PDF format emailed to you,

let me know. I'll do that

because he's showing us the shadows and

the substance here. Here they are again.

We've been talking about the shadow of

the marital relationship, earthly

covenant relationship, physical union,

temporary, but the substance that's

fulfilled in Christ in the church is

eternal covenant relationship, a

spiritual union, and eternal

marriage began in Eden as a shadow of

covenant oneness.

Israel's story, their very account

recorded for us in the Old Testament, it

warned of unfaithfulness.

Christ arrived as the bridegroom, the

church as his bride. In heaven will be

the marriage supper, eternal union with

the lamb. Marriage is the shadow and

Christ and his church are the substance.

Friends, in Revelations 21, I'm going to

use verse two and verse 9.

Then I, John, saw the holy city, New

Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven

from God, prepared as a bride adorned

for her husband. Look the imagery.

There's the imagery again. Look at verse

9. Then one of the seven angels who had

the seven bowls filled with the seven

last plagues came to me and talked to

me, saying, "Come, I will show you the

bride, the lamb's wife."

You see, through the inspiration of the

Holy Spirit, God's writers use this

imagery to communicate the powerful

truths we have considered this morning.

First, the marriage relationship was

something their readers understood well.

The joy, the intimacy, the beauty when

both partners remained loving and

faithful.

And secondly, God chose this familiar

picture to help his people grasp the

profound spiritual reality of Christ as

the bridegroom and the church as his

bride.

The language of marriage powerfully

conveys the qualities that God desires

in that relationship. And you know what?

Here they are again. Purity, devotion,

fidelity, and steadfast faithfulness.

In the end, marriage was never merely an

earthly institution.

It was designed to point beyond itself

to a greater union, a greater love, and

a greater hope found in Christ

and in his church.

That's the shadows to substance. This

morning,

I'm asking you to seriously look into

your heart

and what we have discussed about being a

member of his body,

of his church, the oneness that Jesus

prayed for in John chapter 17.

John 17 · chapter mention

And we have to ask the question, are we

part of the bride, his church? Again,

Jesus loved the church so much, he gave

himself for her. And friends, you can

enter that covenant relationship. The

gospel calls you this morning to respond

according to God's plan of salvation,

not mine and not yours. It's God's. That

you believe that Jesus Christ is the son

of God. Repent of your sins. confess

Jesus to be the son of living God and be

baptized for the remission of your sins

to rise and walk in newness of life as

Romans 6:es 3 and 4 says and the Lord

will add you to his church his bride as

he did in Acts 2 and verse 47

and friends if you've been unfaithful

you know the bridegroom still calls you

back

again that language Hosea uses

that's a whole another lesson for

another time,

but he still calls you back

because he loves

He loves you.

Zion's call sweetly rings over land and

sea, bidding us to look to realms above,

friends, where the marriage

supper

certainly is at. You're subject to

invitation call.