Ortlund, Ray. Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel. Short Studies in Biblical Theology 2. Wheaton: Crossway, 2016. 117pp, excluding end matter.
Summary and Critique
Overall, Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel should be commended for its brevity and clarity on the theme of marriage throughout Scripture. Obviously, Ortlund did not treat or even acknowledge every passage on marriage in the Bible—that would have gone against the aims of the series. However, Ortlund did treat the main passages in enough detail to convincingly demonstrate that marriage is a major theme throughout Scripture and of eternal importance in the world. Ortlund did an excellent job of setting marriage within the eternal purposes of God, giving significance to marriage that many seldom consider. For this he must be praised.
My biggest negative critique of Marriage is Ortlund’s writing style. Marriage reads like a sermon with too many flowery words and a frustratingly high use of the m-dash (—) that more often than not makes the sentence unnecessarily confusing and difficult to read.
Detailed Summary of Content
Ortlund claims that marriage is the “wraparound concept for the entire Bible, within which the other themes find their places” (16). The Bible is bookended by marriage: Adam & Eve’s marriage (Gen 2) and the marriage of Christ to his bride, the Church (Rev 19–20).
Ortlund traces the theme of marriage through the Bible beginning with Genesis–>Law–>Proverbs–>Prophets–>New Testament (Jesus, Paul, Revelation). The book concludes with a few comments on modern marriage.
Ortlund sets marriage within God’s creation of the universe, including the creation of man and woman, in Genesis 1. In Genesis 2, God gives marriage to humanity as a permanent good (31), with Genesis 2:24 providing the biblical definition of marriage (28), which Ortlund summarises as “one mortal life fully shared between one man and one woman” (31, 80).
Because of Adam and Eve’s sin, marriage is no longer perfect (Gen 3). Wives will desire to control their husbands, instead of being a helper (48), and husbands will dominate their wives unkindly (49). Although imperfect, every marriage still retains “a remnant of Eden” (54).
The book of Proverbs emphasises “form and freedom” regarding sex (65). Sex only happens within marriage between one man and one woman (form), and should happen often within that marriage (freedom).
God’s people are united to God like a bride to her husband (74–77). The prophets speak of Israel as God’s bride who has been an unfaithful wife, a whore (Ezek 16, 23).
The New Testament reaffirms marriage as defined in Genesis 2:24 (79): Matt 19:3–10; 1 Cor 6:15–20; Eph 5:22–33.
The apostle Paul reveals that the Christian’s body is united to Jesus. Because of our unification with Jesus, “We are physical extensions of Christ in the modern world” (86). As such, “sexual sin does more than complicate a human marriage . . . . sexual sin violates the marriage [between Christ and his people]” (88).
Ephesians 5:22–33 (verse 31 in particular) explains that the reason Christians (should) get married is the love of Jesus for us (99). Marriage was given to humanity in the Garden of Eden to reenact and image the greater love story—the love of Jesus for his church and the uniting of Jesus to his church (100). Because marriage points to a reality beyond the married couple, even single Christians should care about marriage.
The theme of marriage culminates in the book of Revelation (Rev 19:6–9; 21:1–5). The church has finally become fit for her husband and the wedding celebration can begin when Jesus returns (104). It is Jesus, however, who makes the bride (the church) ready and fit for eternal union with Jesus (105).
Ortlund sums up the theme of marriage in the Bible as follows:
“the universe we live in was created primarily with marital romance in mind. The heavens and the earth were created for the marriage of Adam and Eve. The new heavens and the new earth will be created for the marriage of Christ and his bride. The whole of cosmic reality exists as the venue for the eternal honeymoon of the perfect husband with his perfect bride in marital bliss forever and ever.”
Ortlund, Marriage, 211
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