Ephesians 5:27: Holy and Without Blemish

Ephesians 5:27
[27] so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. (ESV)

Paul continues in this beautiful illustration of the husband loving his wife in the same manner as Christ loved the Church.  The Savior desires to present the church in purity.  But, the reality is, we are not pure.  In so many ways we have been unfaithful to our loving husband, Jesus Christ.  We have loved ourselves, we have loved pleasures, we have loved the things that destroy our relationship with Jesus.

This leads me to what I love about the Savior.  He not only desires that we be holy, but by the sacrifice of his very life for us he purchased our purity.  The purity that we have is not that which we have earned, but rather it is a gift that we could never earn. 

Philippians 3:9
[9] and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— (ESV)

The righteousness that we have does not come from our own efforts to be holy (attempting to keep the Law), but through faith in Christ.  Here is the reality.  Christ requires perfect purity of his bride.  However, he also gives to us what he requires us to have.  He is a wonderful Savior. 

Now, in the way that the Savior provides our purity, the husband should love his wife in such a way that he helps her to continue to walk in purity.  His life should not be involved in behaviors that would hinder her walking in purity in any way.  The husband has the same desire for his wife that the Savior has for his church; purity.

Husbands, are you hindering or helping your wife to walk in spiritual purity?  For all of us, let's take a moment and give praise to our Savior, who has given us his righteousness through the work of the Cross!