If loving God is the greatest commandment why do we find the theme of “union” of love in Church history? Isn’t it going beyond scripture to add “union”? The great spiritual writers believed it was biblical because scripture is very clear that our love for God is not unrequited; He returns the love (which He initiated in the first place). Our relationship of love produces a union, since each one is loving the other and receiving love from the other. Mutual love produces union, as Colossians 3:14 states: “Beyond all these things put on love, which is [a]the perfect [grk. teleiotes] bond of unity.” (NASB) Footnote [a]: lit. ”the uniting bond of perfection”.
We experience this union in part now but it is “not yet” fulfilled. One day our love will be consummated; but that will only be possible when we are completely transformed so that we can be fit for union with God and not be consumed by His holiness.
But this union is not like the union that Plato or Buddha imagined in which self merges into a “One” and we lose our distinct personality. Instead, we will retain our “self”, and in fact it will be completed in the way God originally intended. That is why we find the theme of spiritual marriage in scripture; in marriage neither spouse loses personhood rather they mature and learn how to become one of heart. The term “spiritual marriage” refers to this biblical theme. (The spiritual marriage theme is also found among many of the great Christian teachers in history.)
Below are some of the prominent verses on spiritual marriage:
Hosea 2:19-20 (NIV) “I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord.”
Isaiah 62:4-5 (ESV)
“You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
5 For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your sons marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.”
Ephesians 5:31-32 (NIV) “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.”
Revelation 19:6-8 (NIV) “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: ‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.’ Then the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’
The idea that our perfected state is a “spiritual marriage” will be a paradigm shift for some. It is not common to hear that the union of love or spiritual marriage is the highest good God intends for people, but we should consider whether scripture teaches that anything else is higher. Calvinist’s sometimes use the term “mystical union with Christ”, which is very close, but scripture uses the analogy of marriage in addition to mystery and oneness. Calvin himself referred to a “sacred marriage, by which we become bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, and so one with him…” (Institutes 3.1.3) So the term “spiritual marriage” is used by writers because it includes the scriptural analogy of romantic love. In this matter we can’t let our tradition get in the way of scripture. Even traditions can evolve for the better.
Thus spiritual theology is grounded in eschatology. What God has revealed about the fulfillment of the kingdom tells us where we are going now; it tells us in general what He is making out of us. Spiritual marriage begins with conversion and is completed in the next age. In the eschaton we will see Him and be transformed as we become one with Him in love. So we know to stay on that trajectory and not be sidetracked from the highest thing by good things.
The Host would especially love to have your comments on this post thru email or online. Is this a partly new way of thinking for you? Does it make sense?
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