This is a talk given to Tabor Combined Chapel for 30th August 2017
Today I am going to make a couple of remarks about same-sex marriage. I obviously can’t say everything there is to say because of time constraints. If you want more then speak to me another time. My discussion is divided into two: the first part is about the eschatological goal of marriage and the second is to do with how we need to act when same-sex marriage becomes legal in Australia. I am basing my discussion around Ephesians 5 and 6. It is interesting and not at all co-incidental that the most well known passage about marriage and the most detailed passage about spiritual warfare in the New Testament occur in the same book, the letter to the Ephesians.
If we are going to speak about same-sex marriage in any theological sense we must understand what marriage actually means. It is not firstly about children or about companionship or about sexual activity as such. The meaning of marriage is far deeper than that. In Ephesians 5:22-32 Paul gives instructions about how husbands and wives are to relate to one another. But this passage is not just about human marriage. The constant references to Christ make this plain. For example, “For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, of which he is the Saviour” (v 23). “Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (v 25). The final two verses of the passage connect these instructions to Genesis and then to Christ and the church. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh” (v 31). This quotes Gen 2:24, and in the next verse Paul explains the deeper meaning of Gen 2:24, “This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church” (v 32).
Humans were made in the beginning as male and female and were made this way so that they could unite into one flesh in marriage. The two distinct kinds of human being – male and female, who share a common humanity – come together as one. The distinction and the oneness, the common humanity in two kinds that become one again, mirror the distinction and oneness which is eternally present in God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit and yet one God.
And Paul tells us that marriage between male and female is a profound mystery. What does Paul mean by a mystery? He is not making some poetic statement that merely sounds lovely. Instead he is connecting the deeper meaning of marriage with the gospel. The New Testament use of the word mystery is to express the fact that the grace of God has been revealed to humanity in the person of Jesus. All that God had purposed for us from before creation and that has been hidden has come to light with the coming of Jesus. So mystery is about the gospel. The other mentions of the word mystery in Ephesians (1:9; 3:3-4, 9) verify this fact.
“Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus” (Eph 3:2-6).
Since mystery refers to the gospel and marriage is called a mystery, it is clear that marriage is in a profound way connected with the gospel and the purpose of God for humanity. When we look at the book of Revelation, a book which reveals the final destiny of humanity, we see marriage is of great significance at the end. In chapter 19, just after the fall of the Great Prostitute of Babylon, the world systems which reject God, there is a loud voice from heaven.
“Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: ‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.’ (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.) Then the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ And he added, ‘These are the true words of God’” (Rev 19:6-9).
The marriage of the Lamb and the church appears again in the penultimate chapter.
“Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away’” (Rev 21:1-4).
Marriage, then, is a metaphor for the perfect relationship of intimate love and glory that is the destiny of those who will be united with Jesus Christ at the end of the age. The deepest meaning of marriage is the church being united to God and eternally in his presence.
Consequently, when the issue of same-sex marriage arises it is not a matter of “marriage equality”, nor is it a matter of justice. It is not a matter of freedom to love whoever you want. This is the rhetoric we are subjected to, but it is not the truth. The people of God should not fall for this, since we have been given the perspective of God. God has shown us human destiny as explained in the gospel. Marriage is about Christ and the church becoming united eternally. Anything which comes against marriage as the union for life of a man and a woman is actually an attack on the gospel. Same-sex marriage is not a mere change of two words in the marriage act. It is the devil’s assault on human destiny. Satan is trying to draw Australia as far away from God as possible by utterly undermining the gospel so that no one can know the truth.
I am no fool and I am sure that despite the best efforts of conservative Christians, same-sex marriage will become a reality in this country soon. Even if God in his mercy grants us a little more time, it is plain enough that this battle is lost to us for now. The result for Christians in Australia will be less religious freedom and less freedom of speech. Persecution will ramp up and being a Christian will become more difficult. Therefore, we need a strategy for dealing with this. We need to know how to stand when the day of evil comes, because it is coming and is nearly upon us. That is where the next chapter of Ephesians comes in.
Eph 6:10-18, as it connects to the rest of Ephesians, provides a helpful strategy for the church under persecution. This is a passage directed at the church as a whole, not at individual Christians. We must stand together or we will not stand strong. Jesus said that a house divided against itself cannot stand (Mark 3:25). More than ever the church needs to be united around Christ and its understanding of the gospel. I will consider the passage piece by piece.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (6:10-12). Jesus is far above every power and every name that is named. The evil powers are no match for him (see 1:18-23). Regardless of the fact that the devil may win a small victory in deluding people about same-sex marriage, Jesus is still Lord over all. Remember that, know we have the ultimate victory, no matter what happens here and now.
We must take our stand against the devil’s schemes because he is the real enemy, not the LGBTQ lobby. They are mere pawns in the hands of the evil one. There is likely to be a lot of venom and vitriol uttered against the church and against us as individuals if we hold to the gospel. But this is not ultimately directed at us. It is against God; it is against Jesus; it is against the gospel. Therefore, we don’t treat these people as the real enemy. Don’t return the slander or the hatred.
The fight against spiritual forces is waged with spiritual armour and spiritual weaponry. Let’s consider each in turn.
“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist” (6:14). Truth holds up everything and without it we will stumble. Truth it is found only in Christ and not in the culture that has rejected God. The church must therefore focus on Jesus. One of the outworkings of the truth in Jesus is the way the church acts. “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour, for we are all members of one body” (Eph 4:25). We need to both proclaim the truth of Christ and act truthfully towards one another.
The next piece of armour is the breastplate of righteousness (6:14b). Of course Christ is our righteousness (2 Cor 5:21). This is an objective fact. But in our lives we also need to live out righteousness. The psalmist prays, “Lead me, LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies—make your way straight before me” (Ps 5:8). We do have enemies and we need to walk in righteousness so that no accusation can stick. The enemy will continue to slander the people of God, but let us give them no ammunition. They will tell lies about us without a doubt. Don’t give them a reason for their hatred. This will expose the fact that the world’s hatred of the church is actually hatred of God.
“and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” (Eph 6:15). It is interesting that warfare is conducted with peace. The gospel offers peace with God. But it also tells us that Christ is our peace (Eph 2:14); he gives peace between different kinds of people. He has united Jew and Gentile into one body, the church. This is not a time for enmity between Christians. It is a time for reconciliation within the church. Get reconciled to others. We cannot preach peace with God when there is a visible lack of peace between believers.
“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Eph 6:16). The shield was a rectangular one that Roman soldiers would lock together to make something like a turtle shell. Together they would be able to stop the fiery darts of the enemy. Christians need to band together to protect one another from the enemy. The goal is unity in the faith and in the knowledge of Christ (4:13). We are not in this fight as individuals but as a united group. If there is no unity, many will get hurt in the fight.
“Take the helmet of salvation” (Eph 6:17a). Ephesians emphasises two things about salvation. Christ is the Saviour and he willingly suffered and died for our salvation. Suffering on behalf of others is something even the ungodly understand. Secondly, salvation is by grace and can only occur when the gospel is proclaimed. Grace is not earned. The way the church will demonstrate to the world that our God is true is by willingly suffering for others without requirement from them. This is how Jesus won over you and me.
“and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph 6:17). This is the first of the offensive weapons. It is offensive in that it is a weapon to fight with rather than armour to defend ourselves with. It is offensive in another sense as well. The word of God is the gospel of the cross. The cross is always an offense (Gal 5:11). When the persecution comes let it be because we are people of the cross. Proclaim Christ and him crucified. The only way that Australia will be transformed is through the gospel. It will not be changed by moralistic arguments. If you and I cannot be changed by the law of God alone then the country cannot either. Remember that they need salvation because they are lost.
And finally, “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (6:18). Pray about everything. Pray for one another within the church. The more difficult it gets to be a Christian in Australia the more we will need to pray for one another. But don’t wait for things to get hard. Pray now. Get into the habit of praying for those who are presently experiencing persecution in other parts of the world and those who are beginning to experience it here. Listen to the voice of the Spirit. Develop your relationship with God now. We will each of us need that deep intimacy when freedom of religion goes down the drain as it will no doubt do soon.
Most importantly the church must be united around Christ by having a thorough and deep understanding of the gospel. Without unity we will fall, not stand. Without Christ at the centre we will not be united. Without a deeper concentration on the gospel the battle will be lost. Many will fall because they do not know the gospel. Our spiritual enemy is out to destroy the church. But God has a greater plan. His plan is “to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ” (Eph 1:10). The devil is already defeated. When we know God through the gospel, we will know the truth about our destiny and we confident that when the day of evil comes we will stand.