And and in verse 25, I’m just I’m just going to I’m I’m going to read this. The reason I’m going to read this just I just want you to hear it. I just want it to wash over you because our culture says that our perspective is wicked and it’s evil and it’s detrimental to women. It says that our view is the problem.
And we’ve got we’ve got Christians who are now trying to back away from patriarchy, back away from from male headship because we’re ashamed. We’re ashamed of this. Husbands, love your wives. Husbands, love your wives. We could we could stop right there, say amen, and sing a hymn, and already be better than the world.
Amen. Cuz the world’s not saying that. The world’s not saying, you know what, men, love your wives. The world is saying, just take all you can from women. use them. The text says, “Husbands, love your wives. Love your wives as Christ loved the church.” Even it’s even defining it, right? Cuz we don’t we don’t even we don’t even know what that is, okay? We we we we’ve succumbed to these Greor Roman myths of even what love is.
But so the text is going to going to clarify that husbands love your wives. Not he doesn’t say you have to have you know these whatever 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 might present the church to himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing that she might be holy and without blemish.
In the same way, like this, this is how husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. She’s not just mine, she’s me. 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.
That’s what the world says is hatred toward women. Offensive domination and abuse of women. And if it is, then that means Christ is an abuser of his bride, the church. That That’s what they’re saying. Why am I why am I making that argument? Verse 31, therefore a man shall leave his father and mother, hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
This mystery is profound, and I’m saying that it refers to Christ and the church. So if this is a picture of evil, wicked patriarchy, then the gospel is a picture of wicked, evil patriarchy. and we have blasphemed Christ’s love for his bride, the church. That’s why we can’t give this ground. That’s why this matters. But when when we switch this around and change this up and it it becomes a free-for-all and you can define it any number of ways that you want to, then what we’re doing is ultimately we’re blaspheing this glorious and beautiful picture
