Presbyterian & Reformed

But it wasn’t intentional. I really did plan to dig into Sibbes, get him finished and do only one more summary post.

But I can’t do it! This guy is such sweet meat and I am such a dolt. We read through Stu Weber’s The Four Pillars of a Man’s Heart in my Men’s group - finishing it this morning. Because our next books were tardy, we read through the section addressed to wives at the end. The clarifying thought that most men came back with was that we are to love our wives as Christ loved the church. This was sound and godly advice for all and from all men there - from the elders to the unmarried - we all benefited from this.

But then Richard took me and shook me this afternoon and hung me upside down to look at this verse from another angle. Yes, we are to love our wives in a masculine husbandly way as modeled by His great love for his bride. But what he showed me today was that the rest of the verse was also for me - and I was to love in a wifely way, as part of the bride, my Husband Christ.

This threw me. The fact that Sibbes was calling forth from me a ‘conjugal love for Christ’ was shocking. A conjugal love for Christ so that I will not change my Lord … and husband! (p. 60) A couple of pages back on 58 he likewise says "Mercy is a part of the church’s marriage inheritance. Christ betroths her to him ‘in mercy’ (Hosea 2:9)." Ok - all nice and safely institutional so far, think I. Plunge on! "The husband is bound to bear with the wife as being the ‘weaker vessel’ (1 Pet 3:7)". Go, I cry! That meshes with this morning’s truth! And then - wham! "And shall we think Christ will exempt himself from his own rule, and not bear with his weak spouse?"

Wha? Where did that come from? I, the personal me I, not the congregational we; I am the spouse of Christ?

Ok - so it’s Sibbes and not SIBBES - divinely inspired - but still. I am to love my husband. Seek His glory. Subject to His rule. Covet His love. Desire His touch. All these things resonated as perfectly true. And in my loving bride obedience to Christ, we model godliness for own wives.

It makes much more sense in my head where I can simply groan with understandings beyond my skill to set forth here. I am an idiot and I’m sure that there are those that can say either "Of course, dunderhead. How could you not have known this?" and there may be them that can say "How abhorrent! Have you not read Hezezekial 45:9 where it doth say, …"

And yet for me, I am delighted to have conjugal love for Christ. I am delighted to have him husbanding me personally as a bride to him - me and not just ‘the church.’ Maybe it’s de-emphasized in my Presbyterian tradition or perhaps I am sinfully sleeping at those mentions of this from teachers. Today, at least, I am grateful to have brothers in Christ to show me how to be a better husband - and Sibbes to show me how to be a better wife.