Cultivating a Healthy Marriage with Tim Keller
Cultivating a Healthy Marriage with Tim Keller

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

August 20, 2024

AI Summary

5 min read

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

In the final sermon of his 1991 series on Ephesians 5, Tim Keller makes a startling claim: you cannot fully understand marriage without understanding your relationship with Christ, and you cannot fully understand your relationship with Christ without understanding marriage. The two illuminate each other in ways that neither can achieve alone. Paul’s statement in Ephesians 5:32—"This is a great mystery, but I am talking about Christ and the church"—is not a throwaway line. It is the key that unlocks both the meaning of Christian marriage and the meaning of the gospel itself.

What Marriage Teaches About the Gospel

Marriage, Keller argues, teaches us about grace and repentance in a way nothing else can. Before marriage, most people think they understand repentance. After marriage, they realize they barely knew what it meant. The reason is simple: in marriage, you cannot be saved by your performance. You cannot earn your spouse's love through good behavior. You must be saved by sheer grace, by constant forgiveness, by constant repentance.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:05) **Introduction & Setup** - Tim Keller opens the final sermon in his Ephesians 5 marriage series, acknowledging he won't be able to cover every question people have asked.
  • 2 (04:27) **What Marriage Teaches About Christ: Grace & Repentance** - Keller argues that marriage uniquely teaches why our relationship with Christ must be based on grace and repentance, not performance.
  • 3 (10:52) **The Mechanics of Repentance and Electing Love** - Keller details the two sides of reconciliation: the offended party's "electing love" and the offender's genuine repentance.
  • 4 (16:29) **The Power of Repentance in All of Life** - Keller argues that repentance is the best medicine for depression, bitterness, and false accusation, because it puts you back in control of your responses.
  • 5 (24:55) **What Marriage Teaches About Christ: Intimacy & Fruitfulness** - Keller uses the marriage analogy from Romans 7 to show that Christians are "married" to Christ and must remain in intimate union with Him to bear spiritual fruit.
  • 6 (30:52) **What Christ Teaches About Marriage: Relativizing Marriage** - Keller argues that seeing Christ as the true Bridegroom shows that marriage is "penultimate"—an image, not the ultimate reality.
  • 7 (35:10) **Singleness, Divorce, and the True Marriage** - Keller extends the "penultimate" principle to singleness and divorce, showing that Christ completes what human marriage cannot.

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Guests on this episode

Tim Keller

Show Notes

We look now at the peak verse of the most famous biblical passage on marriage. It’s Ephesians 5:32, where Paul says, “This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.” He says everything he’s said about marriage has also been about Christ and the church. 

This verse teaches there are some things we would never know about marriage if we didn’t know about how we relate to Christ by faith. Conversely, there are things we would never know about our relationship with Christ if we didn’t know about marriage. You can’t completely understand one without understanding the other. 

I’d like to look at this under these two headings: 1) what does marriage teach us about our relationship with Jesus? and 2) what does our relationship with Jesus teach us about marriage?

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 13, 1991 Series: Marriage. Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33.

To receive the devo offer in this episode of "The Meaning of Marriage: A Couple's Devotional," visit https://gospelinlife.com/devo

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

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