Dear Friends,
I used to think Ephesians 5:32 was a tack-on phrase. Paul has been talking about the relationship of husbands and wives. He has laid out a radical model of mutual submission . . . wives submit to your husbands, husbands lay down your lives for your wife. Then almost as an afterthought, he decides to throw this phrase on at the end: “This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church” (NIV). I used to think Paul said these words as way to soften the blow to what he has said. Maybe he said it to answer the annoyance of those who are not married wondering what this section of the letter has to do with them. Maybe Paul said it to make the topic sound more spiritual. That is what I used to think about the phrase, and for that reason I largely just ignored it.
Now I think of the phrase as a light bulb moment for Paul. As he is writing along suddenly he realizes he has been speaking not just about husbands and wives but also the church and the words are thrown into the flow, said with shouted excitement. Instead of being an add-on these words are the climax of the whole section.
Let’s take a step back and see what I mean. Immediately before the exclamation Paul sums up his argument for mutual submission with these words: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh (5:31, NIV). In western culture, of which I am a part, these words are not particularly stunning. But in the Asian/Eastern culture they were originally written in, they are disturbing. For the recipients of Paul’s letter his words struck at the very fabric and foundation of society. A child’s duty to their parents is supreme. The expectation is you will move your family, abandon your career, adjust everything to take care of your parents. To do anything else is to threaten the very core of society.
While we may not understand the child’s duty to parents we all have areas we feel duty bound to that what we see as the core of good a society. Many of us hold allegiances to civic groups, to family, to career, to political ideals, to nation. When we become disciples of Christ we leave all of those things behind. No longer can we claim to be married to them. 
No longer can they dictate our values, customs, and choices. Now we are married to Christ. Now we are united with him. Now this relationship is supremely and exclusively the center of our life.
All of the demands and expectations of society must always be considered not just as secondary to Christ but in the context of and through the lens of Christ. Once we were citizens of the United States, Russia, Australia, China, Pakistan, or England. For the follower of Christ, we have renounced our citizenship. We are citizens of the Kingdom of God and to its laws we must submit.
If a passport was printed to show your real citizenship what would be on the front? The United States of America? Materialism? Happiness? Career? You last name? or Kingdom of God?
Blessings,
Pastor Stephen
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