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of the dispensation of the Mystery, it is dealing with the relationship of husbands and
wives who belong to this dispensation. If Eph. 5: teaches that the church is "the bride",
Eph. 6: teaches that the church is "a child" and "a slave", neither of which titles are true.
The last two may be true of course of individuals.
The great Mystery.
When the Apostle draws to the conclusion of his exhortation to wives and husbands
he says, "This is the great mystery, but I speak with a view to Christ and His church"
(Eph. 5: 32). That there is a mystery in marriage let anyone decide after reading
Matt. 19: 5, 6, "And they twain shall be one flesh". Such is the quotation from Gen. 2:
"Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh", is the comment of the Lord
Himself. But, says the Apostle, granting the sanctity and the mystery of marriage under
the thought of "one flesh", the great mystery I have in mind is that union with the Lord
which makes "one spirit". Nevertheless, turning back to the typical union of man and
wife he continues:--
"Nevertheless let each one of you individually so love his wife as himself: and the
wife see that she reverence her husband" (Eph. 5: 33).
We have not felt called upon to enter into a detailed examination of the idea that the
church of the Body is also the Bride, not wishing to spend time disproving an obvious
failure to discern things that differ. If, however, we have misjudged our readers and there
are those who have misgivings on this point, we draw attention to the booklet The Bride
and the Body.
Children and their parents.
"Children, obey your parents in the Lord" (Eph. 6: 1).
How are we to understand the clause "in the Lord"? Does it imply disobedience to
parents if they are not "in the Lord"? Does it mean only obey your parents in those things
that you recognize are "in the Lord"? The first suggestion seems to be quite apart from
the spirit of the Scriptures, the second presupposes too advanced a stage of spiritual
perception. Col. 3: 20 supplies an answer:--
"Children, obey your parents with respect to all things: for this is well pleasing in the Lord."
While the children here addressed would probably be connected with the church (for
otherwise they would not hear this passage read at all), they are not placed upon so high a
platform as that of husband and wife. The first reason given in Eph. 6: 1 is the
primitive one, "for it is right".
In the training of our children, while grace and love and even an appeal to their
profession of faith are all legitimate, there is a sense in which it differs from that of the
more adult believer. Not only is such obedience "right", but the Apostle even goes back