1 00:00:00,715 --> 00:00:05,351 I want to read to you the first words 2 00:00:05,351 --> 00:00:09,527 in the Bible concerning marriage. 3 00:00:09,527 --> 00:00:13,197 This is found in Genesis 2:21. 4 00:00:13,197 --> 00:00:17,617 "So the Lord God 5 00:00:17,617 --> 00:00:21,953 caused a deep sleep 6 00:00:21,953 --> 00:00:26,112 to fall upon the man." 7 00:00:26,112 --> 00:00:32,980 This is not myth. 8 00:00:32,980 --> 00:00:37,028 This is what God did. 9 00:00:37,028 --> 00:00:42,597 Our Lord called this Word - the Word of God - 10 00:00:42,597 --> 00:00:44,250 He called it truth. 11 00:00:44,250 --> 00:00:45,702 This is truth. 12 00:00:45,702 --> 00:00:51,337 These first chapters of Genesis, 13 00:00:51,337 --> 00:00:54,854 they are truth. 14 00:00:54,854 --> 00:00:56,702 Back in the beginning, "the Lord God 15 00:00:56,702 --> 00:01:00,067 caused a deep sleep to fall on the man. 16 00:01:00,067 --> 00:01:03,526 While he slept, took one of his ribs 17 00:01:03,526 --> 00:01:08,087 and closed up its place with flesh. 18 00:01:08,087 --> 00:01:11,958 And the rib that the Lord God had taken 19 00:01:11,958 --> 00:01:16,335 from the man, He made into a woman 20 00:01:16,335 --> 00:01:22,570 and brought her to the man. 21 00:01:22,570 --> 00:01:25,007 Then the man said, 'This at last 22 00:01:25,007 --> 00:01:27,948 is bone of my bones, 23 00:01:27,948 --> 00:01:32,057 and flesh of my flesh. 24 00:01:32,057 --> 00:01:34,430 She shall be called woman 25 00:01:34,430 --> 00:01:40,464 because she was taken out of man.' 26 00:01:40,464 --> 00:01:43,192 Therefore..." 27 00:01:43,192 --> 00:01:44,865 So far you have: 28 00:01:44,865 --> 00:01:49,522 the woman has been created. 29 00:01:49,522 --> 00:01:51,310 But here are the first words - 30 00:01:51,310 --> 00:01:53,637 although the word "marriage" is not 31 00:01:53,637 --> 00:01:55,375 in this verse, 32 00:01:55,375 --> 00:01:58,821 here's where we first see it. 33 00:01:58,821 --> 00:02:02,565 Genesis 2:24 "Therefore, a man 34 00:02:02,565 --> 00:02:07,484 shall leave his father and his mother 35 00:02:07,484 --> 00:02:12,999 and hold fast to his wife, 36 00:02:12,999 --> 00:02:19,241 and they shall become one flesh." 37 00:02:19,241 --> 00:02:25,783 Those are the first words on marriage. 38 00:02:25,783 --> 00:02:30,511 But here's what's remarkable. 39 00:02:30,511 --> 00:02:34,920 You go forward thousands of years, 40 00:02:34,920 --> 00:02:37,902 and here comes a man. 41 00:02:37,902 --> 00:02:41,406 We know him as the Apostle Paul. 42 00:02:41,406 --> 00:02:43,186 You know why he was an apostle? 43 00:02:43,186 --> 00:02:48,182 Because the Lord Jesus Christ made him that. 44 00:02:48,182 --> 00:02:53,791 This man speaking as he was being led 45 00:02:53,791 --> 00:02:57,929 by the Spirit of God under inspiration, 46 00:02:57,929 --> 00:03:02,457 he quotes this exact verse 47 00:03:02,457 --> 00:03:06,752 in Ephesians 5. 48 00:03:06,752 --> 00:03:10,333 Listen to this: Ephesians 5:31. 49 00:03:10,333 --> 00:03:13,796 "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother 50 00:03:13,796 --> 00:03:15,940 and hold fast to his wife, 51 00:03:15,940 --> 00:03:19,523 and the two shall become one flesh." 52 00:03:19,523 --> 00:03:23,023 Same words right out of Genesis 2:24. 53 00:03:23,023 --> 00:03:25,476 He quotes in Ephesians 5 54 00:03:25,476 --> 00:03:27,643 thousands of years later 55 00:03:27,643 --> 00:03:33,943 to Gentile Christians at Ephesus. 56 00:03:33,943 --> 00:03:35,583 And you know what? 57 00:03:35,583 --> 00:03:38,698 He doesn't finish that by saying, 58 00:03:38,698 --> 00:03:40,095 Ephesians, there you have it. 59 00:03:40,095 --> 00:03:43,675 Those are the first words on marriage. 60 00:03:43,675 --> 00:03:46,580 That's the classic text that you want to go to 61 00:03:46,580 --> 00:03:48,549 when you want to figure out what marriage 62 00:03:48,549 --> 00:03:51,043 between a man and a woman ought to look like. 63 00:03:51,043 --> 00:03:52,956 That's not what he says. 64 00:03:52,956 --> 00:03:54,353 You know what he says? 65 00:03:54,353 --> 00:03:55,405 A lot of you do. 66 00:03:55,405 --> 00:03:58,458 Some of you don't. 67 00:03:58,458 --> 00:04:01,023 This is what he says. 68 00:04:01,023 --> 00:04:07,226 "This mystery is profound, 69 00:04:07,226 --> 00:04:10,157 and I am saying that it refers 70 00:04:10,157 --> 00:04:13,966 to Christ and the church." 71 00:04:13,966 --> 00:04:18,928 It's like, really, Paul? 72 00:04:18,928 --> 00:04:22,785 That has to do with Christ? 73 00:04:22,785 --> 00:04:25,003 He goes back and he finds this text 74 00:04:25,003 --> 00:04:28,045 that doesn't say anything about Christ. 75 00:04:28,045 --> 00:04:29,598 It has to do with a man 76 00:04:29,598 --> 00:04:31,211 leaving his father and his mother 77 00:04:31,211 --> 00:04:33,417 and clinging, holding fast, to a wife, 78 00:04:33,417 --> 00:04:38,672 and Paul being led under inspiration of God - 79 00:04:38,672 --> 00:04:42,079 He's speaking the very truth of God - 80 00:04:42,079 --> 00:04:43,802 he says, you know what? 81 00:04:43,802 --> 00:04:46,420 You know what this really has to do with? 82 00:04:46,420 --> 00:04:49,485 It has to do with Christ. 83 00:04:49,485 --> 00:04:53,640 It has to do with Christ and the church. 84 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:56,075 I mean, have you ever noticed? 85 00:04:56,075 --> 00:04:58,482 Not just the Apostle Paul, but all over the place. 86 00:04:58,482 --> 00:05:01,288 It's interesting. Paul, no matter what he's talking about, 87 00:05:01,288 --> 00:05:03,052 he ended up at Christ. 88 00:05:03,052 --> 00:05:04,780 Have you ever noticed that? 89 00:05:04,780 --> 00:05:08,296 And yet Christ Himself came along, 90 00:05:08,296 --> 00:05:10,872 and remember on the road to Emmaus? 91 00:05:10,872 --> 00:05:12,916 He's got these two men 92 00:05:12,916 --> 00:05:15,472 and He opens up Scripture, 93 00:05:15,472 --> 00:05:21,189 and He just says, "it's all about Me." 94 00:05:21,189 --> 00:05:23,779 You know what's amazing? 95 00:05:23,779 --> 00:05:27,669 Is everything points to Christ. 96 00:05:27,669 --> 00:05:30,612 Everything is for Christ. 97 00:05:30,612 --> 00:05:32,719 Everything. 98 00:05:32,719 --> 00:05:36,568 You go into Scripture, and it says 99 00:05:36,568 --> 00:05:40,832 that through Him everything was created. 100 00:05:40,832 --> 00:05:42,581 It's for Him. 101 00:05:42,581 --> 00:05:43,994 It's by Him. 102 00:05:43,994 --> 00:05:45,324 It's through Him. 103 00:05:45,324 --> 00:05:49,082 There's nothing made that was not made by Him. 104 00:05:49,082 --> 00:05:51,388 I was out walking yesterday and I was looking - 105 00:05:51,388 --> 00:05:52,715 I was looking at the trees 106 00:05:52,715 --> 00:05:53,743 and I was thinking, 107 00:05:53,743 --> 00:05:57,934 the trees lose their leaves and look dead. 108 00:05:57,934 --> 00:05:59,963 And then the spring comes, 109 00:05:59,963 --> 00:06:03,238 and there they are again. 110 00:06:03,238 --> 00:06:06,556 Something dead coming to life. 111 00:06:06,556 --> 00:06:09,667 That's a picture of the resurrection. 112 00:06:09,667 --> 00:06:12,347 And then you can look over and you can see the sun. 113 00:06:12,347 --> 00:06:14,615 The sun rises. 114 00:06:14,615 --> 00:06:17,813 Jesus says, "I'm the light of the world." 115 00:06:17,813 --> 00:06:21,318 Every day, every season 116 00:06:21,318 --> 00:06:23,838 of fall and winter and spring, 117 00:06:23,838 --> 00:06:26,928 we get a picture of Christ coming out of the grave. 118 00:06:26,928 --> 00:06:29,973 Every day as the sun rises. 119 00:06:29,973 --> 00:06:31,922 Christ came into this world and He said, 120 00:06:31,922 --> 00:06:35,747 "I am the light of the world." 121 00:06:35,747 --> 00:06:38,555 It says light came into the world. 122 00:06:38,555 --> 00:06:40,612 It came into the midst of the darkness. 123 00:06:40,612 --> 00:06:42,412 Every night, we have darkness, 124 00:06:42,412 --> 00:06:44,400 and every day, that sun breaks forth 125 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:45,983 over the Eastern horizon. 126 00:06:45,983 --> 00:06:47,908 And it's a picture - all of it - 127 00:06:47,908 --> 00:06:50,365 it's declaring the glory of the Lord. 128 00:06:50,365 --> 00:06:52,565 We're told in Scripture that you can go out 129 00:06:52,565 --> 00:06:58,711 and you can look at the sky and the stars. 130 00:06:58,711 --> 00:07:01,223 That's the glory of Christ. 131 00:07:01,223 --> 00:07:04,578 That's His handiwork. 132 00:07:04,578 --> 00:07:05,876 As I was walking along, 133 00:07:05,876 --> 00:07:06,878 I look from the trees 134 00:07:06,878 --> 00:07:08,532 and I look over to the river - 135 00:07:08,532 --> 00:07:09,673 the San Antonio River - 136 00:07:09,673 --> 00:07:11,903 and I'm thinking water. 137 00:07:11,903 --> 00:07:15,063 It's not just like the authors of Scripture came along 138 00:07:15,063 --> 00:07:16,951 or Christ came along and He said, 139 00:07:16,951 --> 00:07:19,673 "Hm, where can I find good illustrations?" 140 00:07:19,673 --> 00:07:21,079 You have to recognize, 141 00:07:21,079 --> 00:07:24,346 He created everything the way He created it 142 00:07:24,346 --> 00:07:26,907 to put His glory on display. 143 00:07:26,907 --> 00:07:29,937 It's all about Him and it's all for Him. 144 00:07:29,937 --> 00:07:31,331 It's not just second hand. 145 00:07:31,331 --> 00:07:33,681 Everything, including marriage. 146 00:07:33,681 --> 00:07:35,409 I look over at the San Antonio River 147 00:07:35,409 --> 00:07:37,026 and I'm thinking water. 148 00:07:37,026 --> 00:07:39,170 Does water take us back to Christ? 149 00:07:39,170 --> 00:07:42,663 He's talking about living water. 150 00:07:42,663 --> 00:07:44,399 He has the water of life. 151 00:07:44,399 --> 00:07:45,994 He says, "If you're thirsty, 152 00:07:45,994 --> 00:07:47,248 you come unto Me." 153 00:07:47,248 --> 00:07:51,054 Literally everywhere that we look. 154 00:07:51,054 --> 00:07:52,615 You look at the church, 155 00:07:52,615 --> 00:07:53,983 and you look at Scripture. 156 00:07:53,983 --> 00:07:56,347 It says Jesus Christ is the Head of the church. 157 00:07:56,347 --> 00:07:57,699 You look at governments. 158 00:07:57,699 --> 00:07:59,598 And what does Scripture say? 159 00:07:59,598 --> 00:08:03,166 I mean, it talks about all thrones 160 00:08:03,166 --> 00:08:05,496 and power and dominion, 161 00:08:05,496 --> 00:08:07,503 rulers and authorities - 162 00:08:07,503 --> 00:08:08,964 they were created by Him 163 00:08:08,964 --> 00:08:10,257 and they're for Him, 164 00:08:10,257 --> 00:08:12,386 and He rules over all of them. 165 00:08:12,386 --> 00:08:13,841 He rules in the church. 166 00:08:13,841 --> 00:08:15,214 He's the Head of the church. 167 00:08:15,214 --> 00:08:17,544 He rules over all the governments of this world. 168 00:08:17,544 --> 00:08:19,979 They're on His shoulders, right? 169 00:08:19,979 --> 00:08:22,080 We have this Wonderful Counselor, 170 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:25,720 and He comes. 171 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:28,918 He rules the nations with a rod of iron. 172 00:08:28,918 --> 00:08:30,287 He is in control. 173 00:08:30,287 --> 00:08:32,128 Everywhere we look. 174 00:08:32,128 --> 00:08:33,972 You go into the church and you see 175 00:08:33,972 --> 00:08:36,346 that they're in this book. 176 00:08:36,346 --> 00:08:39,550 And yet, this book is a book of truth, 177 00:08:39,550 --> 00:08:41,656 and Jesus came into the world and said, 178 00:08:41,656 --> 00:08:44,024 "I am the Truth." 179 00:08:44,024 --> 00:08:46,018 He tells those two on the road to Emmaus, 180 00:08:46,018 --> 00:08:48,242 "The Scriptures - they're all about Me." 181 00:08:48,242 --> 00:08:50,630 And you know what's interesting? 182 00:08:50,630 --> 00:08:55,448 I was watching something the other day 183 00:08:55,448 --> 00:08:57,459 and they had the camera 184 00:08:57,459 --> 00:08:59,389 pointed in a certain direction 185 00:08:59,389 --> 00:09:02,395 and different people were walking by, 186 00:09:02,395 --> 00:09:05,128 but I noticed there were couples. 187 00:09:05,128 --> 00:09:06,630 That's not uncommon to see. 188 00:09:06,630 --> 00:09:08,664 You know, if you went down to San Antonio, 189 00:09:08,664 --> 00:09:10,481 this is Fiesta Week, and you looked, 190 00:09:10,481 --> 00:09:13,691 you would see couples. 191 00:09:13,691 --> 00:09:15,839 What are we supposed to see in that? 192 00:09:15,839 --> 00:09:19,189 When you see a man and a woman, 193 00:09:19,189 --> 00:09:20,861 and they're married, 194 00:09:20,861 --> 00:09:24,582 Paul says the profound mystery of all of this 195 00:09:24,582 --> 00:09:28,409 is it's got to do with Christ. 196 00:09:28,409 --> 00:09:31,193 You see a man and a woman - they're going to walk up here. 197 00:09:31,193 --> 00:09:32,989 You know what we're supposed to see? 198 00:09:32,989 --> 00:09:34,531 We're supposed to see Christ. 199 00:09:34,531 --> 00:09:35,649 Christ. 200 00:09:35,649 --> 00:09:39,870 Every couple - the man is a picture of Christ. 201 00:09:39,870 --> 00:09:41,439 And what Paul is dealing with 202 00:09:41,439 --> 00:09:44,538 is that the husband ought to love. 203 00:09:44,538 --> 00:09:47,618 I mean, if there's anything that we ought to see in a couple, 204 00:09:47,618 --> 00:09:49,663 it is the love of Christ. 205 00:09:49,663 --> 00:09:50,574 Think about that. 206 00:09:50,574 --> 00:09:53,188 He's to love her like Christ loved the church. 207 00:09:53,188 --> 00:09:54,482 There is the emblem. 208 00:09:54,482 --> 00:09:56,578 Every couple in this world. 209 00:09:56,578 --> 00:09:57,597 Isn't it amazing? 210 00:09:57,597 --> 00:09:58,923 We walk through life 211 00:09:58,923 --> 00:10:00,184 and everywhere we look, 212 00:10:00,184 --> 00:10:02,035 where we see a married couple, 213 00:10:02,035 --> 00:10:04,442 God wants us to see Christ. 214 00:10:04,442 --> 00:10:06,768 I mean, you can look at the trees and the leaves 215 00:10:06,768 --> 00:10:08,005 and the water and the sun, 216 00:10:08,005 --> 00:10:10,807 but also here, it's like God has surrounded us 217 00:10:10,807 --> 00:10:13,704 with all of these pictures of Christ. 218 00:10:13,704 --> 00:10:15,193 He is everywhere. 219 00:10:15,193 --> 00:10:17,970 And in this, I mean, if there's any demonstration 220 00:10:17,970 --> 00:10:20,854 in this of Christ, 221 00:10:20,854 --> 00:10:23,806 it's His love. 222 00:10:23,806 --> 00:10:28,109 I mean, think about the love of Christ. 223 00:10:28,109 --> 00:10:31,242 I'll tell you one thing about his love for this woman, 224 00:10:31,242 --> 00:10:36,716 would you all say it's special? 225 00:10:36,716 --> 00:10:39,265 Like really special? 226 00:10:39,265 --> 00:10:42,184 Like he doesn't even want to look at any other woman. 227 00:10:42,184 --> 00:10:44,161 He wants to gaze in her face. 228 00:10:44,161 --> 00:10:45,590 That's the way Christ is. 229 00:10:45,590 --> 00:10:47,495 His love is special. 230 00:10:47,495 --> 00:10:49,947 It says that he is to love her 231 00:10:49,947 --> 00:10:51,867 like Christ has loved everybody? 232 00:10:51,867 --> 00:10:53,044 No. 233 00:10:53,044 --> 00:10:57,047 Like Christ loves the church. 234 00:10:57,047 --> 00:10:59,247 Oh, what special love! 235 00:10:59,247 --> 00:11:00,320 And you know what? 236 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:02,447 You've got these dry theologians out there 237 00:11:02,447 --> 00:11:04,084 that want to tell you that love, 238 00:11:04,084 --> 00:11:05,770 there's no feeling. 239 00:11:05,770 --> 00:11:08,235 What garbage is that? 240 00:11:08,235 --> 00:11:13,368 "It's a commitment." 241 00:11:13,368 --> 00:11:16,148 "You do right for the one you love." 242 00:11:16,148 --> 00:11:18,714 "You take care of them 243 00:11:18,714 --> 00:11:20,678 and you provide for them." 244 00:11:20,678 --> 00:11:22,741 "There are certain rules and regulations 245 00:11:22,741 --> 00:11:24,165 that guide love." 246 00:11:24,165 --> 00:11:25,950 That's all a bunch of garbage. 247 00:11:25,950 --> 00:11:29,969 I'm not saying that there isn't a place 248 00:11:29,969 --> 00:11:34,099 for love to do right by that person; 249 00:11:34,099 --> 00:11:36,757 for love to give oneself. 250 00:11:36,757 --> 00:11:39,116 But we all know it. 251 00:11:39,116 --> 00:11:40,591 The thing we like about love 252 00:11:40,591 --> 00:11:42,254 is the delight of it. 253 00:11:42,254 --> 00:11:44,305 And don't we find that in Scripture? 254 00:11:44,305 --> 00:11:47,031 You find that Christ comes along, 255 00:11:47,031 --> 00:11:50,411 and He talks about the delight that He has for His people. 256 00:11:50,411 --> 00:11:52,460 He's crying out to His Father, 257 00:11:52,460 --> 00:11:56,191 "Father, I want them to be where I am." 258 00:11:56,191 --> 00:11:59,938 "I want them to behold My glory." 259 00:11:59,938 --> 00:12:01,400 And you know the thing about 260 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:05,258 the love that Christ has for the church? 261 00:12:05,258 --> 00:12:09,862 Dorothy's already beautiful. 262 00:12:09,862 --> 00:12:12,874 But, Christ, He takes the ugly. 263 00:12:12,874 --> 00:12:15,559 He loves the ugly. 264 00:12:15,559 --> 00:12:17,004 But have you ever noticed, 265 00:12:17,004 --> 00:12:20,439 He doesn't intend to keep His bride ugly. 266 00:12:20,439 --> 00:12:22,360 He loves them beautiful. 267 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:25,015 Isn't that what we find there in Ephesians 5? 268 00:12:25,015 --> 00:12:29,613 No spot. No wrinkle. No blemish. 269 00:12:29,613 --> 00:12:31,160 You go to the Song of Solomon, 270 00:12:31,160 --> 00:12:34,435 which is a picture of Christ's relationship to His church, 271 00:12:34,435 --> 00:12:36,713 and He looks at His bride and He says, 272 00:12:36,713 --> 00:12:41,207 "You are altogether beautiful." 273 00:12:41,207 --> 00:12:46,645 He loves His church beautiful. 274 00:12:46,645 --> 00:12:48,139 He loved. 275 00:12:48,139 --> 00:12:50,962 He loved. Oh, He loved sacrificially! 276 00:12:50,962 --> 00:12:54,180 What love He gave! 277 00:12:54,180 --> 00:12:56,419 He gave in His love. 278 00:12:56,419 --> 00:12:58,041 His love was very giving. 279 00:12:58,041 --> 00:13:00,495 He put it all on the altar for His bride. 280 00:13:00,495 --> 00:13:02,250 Did He not? 281 00:13:02,250 --> 00:13:04,431 I mean, you think about that. 282 00:13:04,431 --> 00:13:13,207 I was reading in Luke 12. 283 00:13:13,207 --> 00:13:16,795 He's just talking about His distress. 284 00:13:16,795 --> 00:13:19,737 He's anticipating the coming of the cross, 285 00:13:19,737 --> 00:13:22,330 and He's saying, "Great is My distress." 286 00:13:22,330 --> 00:13:24,144 He says I've got this cup to drink, 287 00:13:24,144 --> 00:13:26,434 or I've got this baptism to be baptized with, 288 00:13:26,434 --> 00:13:28,879 and great is My distress 289 00:13:28,879 --> 00:13:30,976 until this is accomplished. 290 00:13:30,976 --> 00:13:33,037 I mean, Christ walked through this world 291 00:13:33,037 --> 00:13:34,851 under great stress. Why? 292 00:13:34,851 --> 00:13:36,722 He was looking towards the cross. 293 00:13:36,722 --> 00:13:38,352 What was the cross all about? 294 00:13:38,352 --> 00:13:41,009 The cross was all about paying the payment 295 00:13:41,009 --> 00:13:42,501 that was needed to be paid 296 00:13:42,501 --> 00:13:44,801 to make that bride beautiful. 297 00:13:44,801 --> 00:13:47,871 Altogether lovely. 298 00:13:47,871 --> 00:13:50,812 Great distress. 299 00:13:50,812 --> 00:13:56,438 He said that His soul, 300 00:13:56,438 --> 00:13:59,167 brethren, His soul was full of sorrow. 301 00:13:59,167 --> 00:14:00,917 He was there in the garden. 302 00:14:00,917 --> 00:14:03,417 He sweat as it were great drops of blood. 303 00:14:03,417 --> 00:14:05,669 He was under incredible sorrow. Why? 304 00:14:05,669 --> 00:14:07,967 Because He was going to become sin 305 00:14:07,967 --> 00:14:12,828 for the sake of His bride. 306 00:14:12,828 --> 00:14:17,902 His love. Have we ever seen such love? 307 00:14:17,902 --> 00:14:20,062 I mean, I was trying to think about Him. 308 00:14:20,062 --> 00:14:22,134 The distress that He would have been 309 00:14:22,134 --> 00:14:25,460 feeling in His soul. 310 00:14:25,460 --> 00:14:28,289 Having to become sin. 311 00:14:28,289 --> 00:14:31,215 Having a bride, and He has to become sin. 312 00:14:31,215 --> 00:14:34,179 He has to be alienated from His Father; 313 00:14:34,179 --> 00:14:36,147 forsaken of His Father. 314 00:14:36,147 --> 00:14:38,584 He has to become sin. 315 00:14:38,584 --> 00:14:40,165 He has to be crushed. 316 00:14:40,165 --> 00:14:42,937 He has to bear the wrath of God 317 00:14:42,937 --> 00:14:44,771 in the place of His people. 318 00:14:44,771 --> 00:14:46,913 What was that like? 319 00:14:46,913 --> 00:14:48,895 What horrors before Him! 320 00:14:48,895 --> 00:14:52,037 And yet for that joy that was before Him, 321 00:14:52,037 --> 00:14:53,635 He endured that suffering. 322 00:14:53,635 --> 00:14:57,803 He went to that cross. 323 00:14:57,803 --> 00:15:01,083 And I'll tell you, 324 00:15:01,083 --> 00:15:05,130 this King - He's purchased a queen. 325 00:15:05,130 --> 00:15:08,519 And He means to take that queen home with Him. 326 00:15:08,519 --> 00:15:09,973 He means to. 327 00:15:09,973 --> 00:15:11,684 And the time is short. 328 00:15:11,684 --> 00:15:13,681 This is an emblem. 329 00:15:13,681 --> 00:15:15,700 This is an emblem of a great hope. 330 00:15:15,700 --> 00:15:17,729 Oh, can you imagine it? 331 00:15:17,729 --> 00:15:19,951 Can you imagine when death takes hold 332 00:15:19,951 --> 00:15:20,854 of the Christian? 333 00:15:20,854 --> 00:15:22,820 Or when Christ comes? 334 00:15:22,820 --> 00:15:25,753 And He comes to claim His bride. 335 00:15:25,753 --> 00:15:31,170 And Paul talks about a pure virgin 336 00:15:31,170 --> 00:15:34,554 that he wants betrothed to Christ. 337 00:15:34,554 --> 00:15:37,038 And Christ comes and takes 338 00:15:37,038 --> 00:15:40,995 a pure virgin made beautiful. 339 00:15:40,995 --> 00:15:42,848 No spot. No wrinkle. 340 00:15:42,848 --> 00:15:44,034 Can you imagine? 341 00:15:44,034 --> 00:15:45,636 How many of us in this room? 342 00:15:45,636 --> 00:15:46,793 That's going to be us! 343 00:15:46,793 --> 00:15:48,281 Can you imagine the first time? 344 00:15:48,281 --> 00:15:49,837 There's going to come that time. 345 00:15:49,837 --> 00:15:56,406 You altogether in your beauty. 346 00:15:56,406 --> 00:15:58,958 We're going to be like Him. 347 00:15:58,958 --> 00:16:01,688 We're going to see Him as He is. 348 00:16:01,688 --> 00:16:03,909 He says, "Father, I desire that they 349 00:16:03,909 --> 00:16:06,846 be where I am that they may behold My glory." 350 00:16:06,846 --> 00:16:08,119 We're going to be there. 351 00:16:08,119 --> 00:16:10,273 And what John says - 1 John 3 - 352 00:16:10,273 --> 00:16:11,932 we're going to behold that glory. 353 00:16:11,932 --> 00:16:14,959 We're going to see Him in all of His beauty. 354 00:16:14,959 --> 00:16:18,691 And we're going to be like Him. 355 00:16:18,691 --> 00:16:20,708 And there is going to be that first moment 356 00:16:20,708 --> 00:16:24,012 where there is going to be the eye contact 357 00:16:24,012 --> 00:16:28,304 with the One who so loved us 358 00:16:28,304 --> 00:16:30,527 that He gave His life. 359 00:16:30,527 --> 00:16:33,061 He became that sin offering. 360 00:16:33,061 --> 00:16:35,928 He took my sin and bore it on Him. 361 00:16:35,928 --> 00:16:38,546 My shame was laid on Him. 362 00:16:38,546 --> 00:16:39,676 And there He is. 363 00:16:39,676 --> 00:16:43,148 Can you imagine the first eye contact 364 00:16:43,148 --> 00:16:45,095 with our Beloved? 365 00:16:45,095 --> 00:16:47,587 With Him who bought us. 366 00:16:47,587 --> 00:16:48,982 What you're seeing here, 367 00:16:48,982 --> 00:16:50,903 it points to that. 368 00:16:50,903 --> 00:16:52,412 What glory! 369 00:16:52,412 --> 00:16:59,623 What hope we have as Christians! 370 00:16:59,623 --> 00:17:03,520 Well, you two would like to get married, wouldn't you? 371 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:04,816 Why don't you come back up 372 00:17:04,816 --> 00:17:06,662 and we'll do that.