If someone entirely unacquainted with Christian Scripture or church history were given a copy of just the Old Testament, and that person read it carefully and thoroughly, one of the first things he would wonder would be, “Where’s the sequel? Where is the second part?” The Scriptures that were given to Israel were clearly looking forward to something else; they were structured for a fulfillment that was not realized in that day. Another way of saying this is that it was not good that the old covenant should be alone.
When God brought the new covenant to us through Christ, He was bringing fulfillment to something that had been perfect, and yet was clearly incomplete. And so Christ is the crown of the old covenant. Christ is the fulfillment of all the unfulfilled promises. In the coming of Christ, the Old Testament becomes what it always was, but which it had been in concealed form. But when Christ came, after Him came the Church, just as it had been in the Garden.
The types and figures of the Old Testament are the mysteries that Paul referred to, and he tellingly made this point about all these mysteries in his discussion about marriage and Christ and the Church. There is a great mystery here, Paul says, and that means it is not a little mystery. It is not a trifle. There are profound depths here, and we can only begin to explore them.
When God created Adam, that solitary man was the entire human race—perfect, and yet clearly incomplete. God looked at him and said that it was not good for man to be alone, and that he was in great need of fulfillment. God looked at that man, and said “not done.” God looked at man and said incomplete.
So men are a lot like the Old Testament—a lot of unfulfilled promise there. There is so much potential, so much energy, and so much activity. Some might point to the violence or to law. None of these things should be mentioned in a spirit of criticism—we are talking about God’s Word, which is holy, righteous, and good. And yet something was still missing. We know that something was missing.
Paul tells us that the Church is the fullness of Christ, just as Christ is the fullness of all things. “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all” (Eph. 1:22-23). Some might wonder how the created bride here can be the fullness of a divine groom who made all things, and who fills all things. Still, there it is. Paul said it.
The Bible teaches that Christ, who is the fullness of all things, is nevertheless filled in some important sense by His bride, the Church. So a man’s wife is not an afterthought, or a footnote. When woman was created, it was not God saying, “oh, yeah.” Just as the glory of the new covenant is the crowning glory of all that went before, so also woman is the crowning glory of man. She is the crown, the capstone. This is basic to scriptural imagery, and it is not to be confused with the Victorian ideal of putting women on a pedestal. The biblical picture is not that of a porcelain doll, but is rather consistent with what we find throughout Scripture, which is the idea of the weight of glory. The role of the man is not trivial in this, for he must bear or carry that weight. He must have broad shoulders, and must know what God has called him to do. When God speaks, everyone, both husbands and wives, must proceed with gladness to their appointed station, and in such obedience, each one will find a peculiar and designated glory.
Because we don’t hear this taught very often, we must be careful not to assume that it is some kind of speculative fancy. The Bible teaches this directly and plainly, and straight up the middle. The woman is her husband’s crown (Prov. 12:4). The glory of wisdom, pictured as a great lady, is described as the one who bestows a crown on the one who exalts her (Prov. 4: 9). The woman is the glory of the man, Paul teaches (1 Cor. 11:7). He even goes so far as to evoke Isaiah’s great image of the Shekinah glory, and he applies this to the glory that is the woman, and the glory that the woman has (1 Cor. 11:15; Is. 4:5-6). What is the Shekinah glory? It is the presence of God. So Christ is the image and glory of God, and the Church is the glory of Christ.
So husbands, love your wives as Christ sacrificed Himself for His bride. Love your wives in such a way as to make them your glory. Wives, respect your husbands as the Church does to Christ—but respect your husbands by being that crown and glory.
We can see all of this enacted before us now. With Mary Katherine adorned and arrayed like this, in resplendent glory, if we are thinking scripturally, the thought that should come immediately to mind is this . . . Andrew never looked so good.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.