a tale of two covenants

Imagine that I promised you the most amazing gift in the world, and you were given the right to receive it up front -- say, a golden ring, for example. Now suppose that having received this gift, you felt entitled to use it however you'd like, and chose to melt the gold to fashion a grill for your teeth. Consider the transaction that may occur the next time we ran into one another: you might smile widely and attempt to convince me that you've created something much better. Would I have cause to be angry or offended, or is the use of my gift of little relevance to its honor?

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The Pharisees were constantly plotting against Jesus to trap him in some form of lawful blasphemy. On one such occasion, they broached a topic that is still debated today:

Some Pharisees came to [Jesus] to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?"

"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

"Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"

Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."

The disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry."

Jesus replies, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it. (Matthew 19:1-12, emphasis added)

This is not going to be a post about divorce, though I have much to say on the church's treatment of the matter -- particularly in regards to women. Perhaps this is another post for another day. Rather, I want to focus on Christ's acknowledgment that a practice was allowed that was not intended in God's covenant. Moses provided a compromise because the people's hearts were evil, as they would have likely left their wives with or without the permission of the Law.

I force myself to wrestle with passages such as these. If God created marriage to operate in a specifically holy fashion, why would we be allowed to make our own rules? Jesus is clearly not in the business of promoting this compromise, as he reestablishes the covenant given by the Father. Though the teaching is hard, we are not granted excuses for changing the covenant. Rather, Jesus informs his disciples that man should choose the righteous life that he is willing to accept.

With Christ's institution of the new covenant, we must recognize that His covenant with the Church and God's covenant of marriage are intrinsically linked. And just as each covenant was designed to operate in the same manner -- man devotedly leading his wife, just as Christ leads the Church -- both are prone to the same corruption, including in this present age. Thus I began to wonder: if corruption was permitted in the days of Moses because man's heart was evil, has the same occurred with His Bride, with our most common justification being that it has always been allowed?

This I know for sure: hundreds of years passed between the time of Moses and the life of Christ, and men were not condemned for practicing divorce under the conditions that Moses gave. Today's church operates with an easier teaching than those presented by Paul in Ephesians 4-5 and permits the brotherhood of those living in darkness, because we chose to corrupt our holy assembly as an infomercial for the lost -- dare I say, because our hearts were evil. We can rest our laurels on practices the church established before our time, but Christ is not interested in justifying traditions that compromise His covenant.

The good news is, just as God has no intent of scrapping His covenant of marriage, Christ's covenant has set apart one means by which His glory is to be radiated: His Church. Do not assume that because He has not discarded His promise that He is pleased with our corruption. But He intends to present Her as holy and blameless, and this will require a return to His original covenant. We cannot present ourselves according to our compromises or convince Him that our tradition predates His desire. The Bride built upon His foundation is the one He wants, and if we cannot accept the "hard" teaching that He has given, we may as well not accept His covenant at all.

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children, and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person -- such a man is an idolater -- has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore, do not be partners with them.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:

"Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."

Be very careful, then, how you live -- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church -- for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery -- but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you must also love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. (Ephesians 5)