Marriage embodies the relationship of Christ and his people in ways that are profound and mysterious (Eph. 5:32). Because it’s bound with the one-flesh reality of marriage, sex must inevitably do the same. This means that passages like Ephesians 5:22–33 apply to so much in our marital relationships, including how we approach sex as husbands and wives. Spouses ought to love one another as their own flesh, and their relationship should resemble the relationship between Christ and his church.
Throughout the Bible, God often describes his relationship with his people in marital and sexual terms. Where this is applied to their faithlessness, disloyalty, and fickleness, the sexual language used to illustrate this can be powerful, even disturbing. For example, Jeremiah 2:24 describes the idolatrous Jews as being like wild donkeys in heat. Their going after other gods is often compared to adultery (Hos. 4:12–14; Jer. 3:20; Isa. 57:8; Ezek. 6:9).
But we also see marriage imagery used positively. For example, in sexually suggestive ways, God describes himself with his people as a husband spreading his garment over his wife to cover her nakedness, bathing and anointing her, dressing her with fine clothes and jewelry in Ezekiel 16:8–14. It’s an image of a husband who delights in his wife and wants to admire her beauty. This metaphor give us a picture of how a married couple’s sexual relationship can image the love between Christ and his church in its tenderness, generosity, and delight. These images not only show the loveliness and goodness that can be realized in the physical relationship between husband and wife rooted in godly mutual love, but also how this reflects deep and enduring spiritual realities.
