Ephesians 5:29–32 — for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are members of His body. 31 FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
We are completing a brief survey of the character of the union that is forged by the Holy Spirit between a believer and the Lord Jesus Christ, and is proclaimed in baptism. We certainly haven't by any means touched on all the things that could be said, but we will leave the reader to explore more of the dimensions and facets of this wonderful truth.
For now, we will consider that this union is inscrutable, which means it is impossible to understand or interpret. In the words of Paul, it is a great mystery. He quotes the passage from Genesis 2:24 in which Adam and Eve are joined, becoming one flesh in the marriage union. Then he says that this is the nature of the union that has been created between Christ and His bride, the church. Immediately we pause in wonder and our minds stumble at truth so deep and unreachable.
What we can grasp by analogy of the union between husband and wife, though, is that this is most intimate - there is no more intimate relationship on earth than that between a husband and his bride. It is also a union that is (or should be) founded upon deep love. It is a bond that is (or should be) long-lasting. In fact, it is eternal as we saw last time. Finally, it is a sharing union in which everything that is the husband's belongs to the wife, and all that is hers belongs to him. If these things are true on earth between a man and a woman, we can only imagine that they are magnified, sanctified and made far more glorious insofar as they pertain to the union between Christ and His bride, the church (comprising all true believers down through the ages).
We have to admire and adore our God and our Savior for such unspeakable love and condescension! If our minds cannot take it in, it is equally certain that our lips cannot find words that can bear the weight and the glory of these things. We can only marvel and rejoice that we who are believers shall have eternity in heaven to experience this union first hand, and gradually to understand it more fully.
This is a good place to conclude our devotions on the union every believer has with Christ, and why baptism is such a precious opportunity for us to reflect on it, whether our own baptism or that of others. In the next few meditations, we'll think about the practical implications of the fact that true believers are joined with the Lord Jesus Christ.
