In the marriage ceremony the Bride takes to herself the name of the Bridegroom. This happens in a public ceremony and is accompanied by sacred vows. The bride becomes a part of another family. On the spiritual level when an individual places his trust in Christ Jesus as Master and Savior, he acquires a new identity. This person is called a “Christian”, having taken to himself a new name. The “Christian” becomes a part of a new spiritual family, and the public declaration of this fact is takes place in the sacrament of baptism. 

To be a Christian, then, means that you are responsive to the Lordship of Christ Jesus in a manner that a Christian wife would respond to her husband. Christ is for the Christian the initiating, protecting leader in the relationship. He loved His Bride more than his own body when He sacrificed His life for her. The believer in Christ is the one who submits to His authority and so becomes a valued helper and confidant in a manner corresponding to a wife who responds to the sacrificial love of her husband. 

God gives to the married couple the right, the privilege and the command to reproduce offspring. One fundamental purpose of marriage is the propagation of the human race. So it is for the Christian with his Savior. What does God desire? When Christ departed this earth after His resurrection from the dead, His last words were: “Go into all the world and make disciples of all the nations”. In other words, procreation is an essential part of the Christian’s life. Christians remain on earth to reproduce spiritual children as the Holy Spirit works through the preaching of the gospel and produces the “new birth” of conversion among others. 

Marriage is designed to be permanent between one man and one woman. The marriage vows declare, “for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, until death us do part”. This also is representative of the truth that those who have truly come to trust in Christ are in a covenant with Him that is unbreakable. Those who come to Him will never be cast away. No one will ever snatch them out of the Savior’s hand. He who began this good work in them, will complete it. Marriage brings security and permanence into a relationship. We have no need to fear abandonment or desertion. 

Marriage is also a relationship of exclusivity. There is a proper place for jealousy in marriage. When God chooses a people He says, “You shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God (Exodus 43:14). Married people do not share other lovers. When the marriage covenant is made, faithfulness to one lover is legally pledged and expected. Adultery is a breach of this covenant. Can you imagine the Lord Jesus saying to His bride, “I have given My life for you. I will love you continuously and exclusively. Now just go out and live loosely. I don’t care if you are faithful to Me or not”? Such a thought is unimaginable! The married couple forsakes past loyalties in order to be devoted to one another in their new relationship. 

Moreover, this exclusive valuing of one another in marriage is a picture of what the activity of Christian worship is all about. Worship is “worthship”. We honor and value and respect our spouse so much that we prefer them above all others, desire to be with them through all circumstances, and pledge to be exclusively and permanently “for” them. This is what God means when He says to His betrothed, “I will be your God and you shall be My people.” 

One of the most beautiful verses in the Bible occurs after the marriage of Genesis 2 in verse 25, “And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” In other words, in the marriage relationship there is one person with whom you may be completely visible, vulnerable, and open, and at the same time be completely accepted, safe and secure. This is the kind of intimacy that every soul intuitively longs for, and it can only be realized within the boundaries and blessings of marital union. Again speaking of the larger picture of Christ with His bride, such a relationship of openness and acceptance, of vulnerability and security is possible when the Christian realizes the shame of his sin has been eradicated by the death of Christ. In Jeremiah 30:21, 22 God asks this penetrating question, “I will make him draw near, and he shall approach Me, for who would dare of himself to approach Me? declares the LORD. And you shall be My people, and I will be your God.” 

The answer to this question is, “No one of himself would dare to approach the holy God”. There is no earthly marriage that perfectly images the covenant love between Christ and His people. This is because those who call themselves Christians are not perfect in love, devotion and commitment. If we say we have not sinned, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins He is faithful and true to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Every earthly marriage in its reality is based upon the willingness of the couple to forgive one another. In this forgiveness comes deeper fellowship and bonding. When we think of entering into a holy God’s presence, we do not have to go there unaccompanied. Christ Jesus, who died for our sins and who took away our reproach, accompanies us into the presence of His Father in heaven. We realize we are “accepted in the beloved Son”. We find that we are adopted into God’s family and have gained all the rights of a son. Because of such mercy, before God we are no longer enemies or aliens. We can be naked and unashamed. The One who knows us best, loves us most. We experience the freedom of being known and yet loved. We hear the creator of the universe say, “You are mine and I am yours.” 

What does it mean to be a Christian? It means that I can observe a Biblical wedding ceremony and a godly married union between a Christian husband and wife and in a very earthy way see a larger picture of the covenant Christ has entered into with His church. If you claim the name of Christ as your own name, does your marriage to Him show these characteristics? 

Pastor, Steve Jennings