Love Others : Passion in Marriage

Pastor Lee Meng Chiam

Why should I get married?

Ephesians 5:31-33

Marriage is the gospel personified. The greatest earthly representation of the spiritual unity of Christ and His church.

There are 3 pairs of relationship in this passage :
(1) Head and Body
- Submit to Christ (Ephesians 5:22-24)
- It comes out of reverence (respect) for Christ
- Christ as the head (Ephesians 5:21)
- Christ is our example (Ephesians 5:25-30)

Love, in the Christian sense, does not mean an emotion. It is a state not of the feelings but of the will; that state of the will which we have naturally about ourselves, and must learn to have about other people."
- C.S. Lewis -

(2) Husband and Wife
- A husband and A wife (Ephesians 5:31)
- Celebrate the differences
- Marriage is God's idea (Genesis 2:24)

Opposites Attract : "Desire"
Opposites Annoy : "Duty"
Opposites Affirmed : "Delight"

(3) Christ and Church
- Showcase the gospel's power
- Filled with the Holy Spirit (The Spirit Power)
Ephesians 5:18
Ephesians 5:32-33
Matthew 22
- The Sacred Promised
Covenant is based on promise, not performance

Husbands love their wives.
Wives respect their husbands.

Agape : Servant love
Philia : Friendship love
Storge : Sibling
Eros : Lover's love

When we see our marriage as contend rather than contest, we are in the new place of being passionate for God.

For richer, for poorer.
For better, for worse.
For sickness, for health.
Till death do us part.

"Two imperfect people got married and it was the promise that made the marriage. And when our children were growing up, it wasn't a house that protected them; and it wasn't our love that protected them - it was that promise."
- Thornton Wilder -

I didn't marry you because you were perfect. I didn't even marry you because I loved you. I married you because you gave me a promise. That promise made up for your faults. And the promise I gave you made up for mine.

"If you understand what holiness is, you come to see that real happiness is on the far side of holiness, not the near side."
- Timothy Keller -

"The first purpose in marriage - beyond happiness, sexual expression, the bearing of children, companionship, mutual care and provision, or anything else - is to please God. The challenge, of course, is that it is utterly selfless living; rather than asking, "What will make me happy?" we are told that we must ask, "What will make God happy?""
- Gary Thomas -

"Marriage is a laboratory for developing God's love in you. He'll use your spouse to build His values, attitudes, morals and character within you... Marriage is a life-long process designed to teach you to see the needs of another person as more important than your own."
- Rick Warren -