Death and Resurrection
The Marriage Covenant Kills the Old and Resurrects Something New
In Genesis, we read,
Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought [them] to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that [was] its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: "This [is] now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.1 (italics mine)
Here, we see the creation of the marriage covenant. Post after post could be spent studying everything packed into these few verses. For now, I want to focus on the death and resurrection aspects of this covenant.
When a man and a woman walk into the church on their wedding day, they walk in as two separate people. Mr. Joshua Smith walks in as Mr. Smith, son of Mr. Smith and Mrs. Smith senior. He’s likely to have begun preparations for establishing his own household but, in significant ways, he remains deeply connected to his parents’ household for now. Covenantally speaking, he has not fully broken ties with his father’s covenantal headship. He goes to their house frequently for dinner, spends holidays with them, helps them with projects around their home, etc. Mr. Smith also has friends of his own and friends through his parents’ household. He enjoys certain activities and participates in church life as an individual, volunteering in certain ministries that align with his gifting and calling. He’s busy discerning and living out the mission and vision God has given him.
Miss Johnson walks in as Miss Grace Johnson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, and still under Mr. Johnson's covenantal headship in a fuller way than Mr. Smith is under his father’s headship. She doesn’t still live at home with him, but she recognizes that Mr. Johnson is her covenantal head until such time as she marries. She is intricately involved in her parents’ household, helping with younger siblings, helping put on holiday get-togethers, and taking on her own projects in preparation for keeping a good home when she’s married. Miss Johnson participates in church life as an individual and as a member of Mr. Johnson’s household, volunteering in ministries that align with her giftings and callings, but also participating in the ministries to which the Johnson family has committed.
These are the two individuals who walk into the church the morning of their wedding celebration, both walking to their deaths.
As they walk through the wedding ceremony and the minister asks them their vows, the guests are watching the breaking down of the two individuals standing before them and the minister. The two individual personalities, with their previous freedoms and commitments, are lowered into the grave never to rise again. With each new vow, a chunk of the old person is chiseled off.
But something else is happening simultaneously. With each new vow, something new is being resurrected in glory. Mr. Smith, the individual with his individual freedoms and commitments, dies. He is then resurrected as Mr. Smith, the covenant head of his marriage to the woman before him, with all of the freedoms, commitments, and responsibilities that come with that position. Miss Johnson, as an individual with her own freedoms and commitments, dies. She is then resurrected as Mrs. Smith, in covenant as the wife of Mr. Smith, with all of the freedoms, commitments, and responsibilities that come with that position.
A new entity, another and separate Smith household, has been born. Mr. Smith and Miss Johnson as they were before no longer exist; having been resurrected together, they are something new: the Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Smith family. This was only possible because they each died as individuals and took on new life as husband and wife.
Adam was put into a deep sleep, which signifies a sleep near death. During this sleep, God fashioned and brought to Adam a woman, the perfect companion and helper for Adam. Adam, upon waking, returning from that near death, and seeing this perfect companion for him created anew from his rib, bursts into poetry. Now, at last, is a helper suitable for him! Now, at last, someone who can perfectly assist him in fulfilling the commands and calling given to him by God! She did not exist, and now she does, perfectly fashioned for Adam.
Millennia later, another Man went into the grave, though this time quite literally. Out of the nations, God takes a rib and fashions a beautiful bride for His Son. While in the grave, God made for Him a perfect companion and bride and brought her to Him. Upon His resurrection and waking, He encounters His bride in a garden, where He instructs her to go and speak to His disciples of His resurrection.2 His mission is now her mission, and she obeys. Later, He further instructs His bride in the mission given to them by God,
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, [even] to the end of the age." Amen.3
All marriages, from the first one on, point to the ultimate marriage between God incarnate and the people He has made His own, the bride given Him by His Father, the people He uses to accomplish His will for creation. He has set everything aright and is actively working that out in the world, and we get to be a part of it as His bride.
Thanks be to God.
Mark 16:9, John 20:11-18 NKJV