FBC Morning Worship Service

Good morning. See on this Lord's Day. Thank the Lord for his goodness and providing this opportunity for us to gather together. And to worship him today. I hope you've had a good week and able to see the Lord's hand of blessing in some way or another in this past week.

How he is how has he answered? How has he answered your prayers this week any left lingering? I'm sure there are some that are holding out that you're holding out to holding on to and persisting in prayer.

That's always a necessary part of our Christian walk. But how have you look you look back on the week? How has God graciously answered? That's always a blessing on the Lord's Day to do that kind of reflection and then to to worship him.

Praising him for all he has done and is doing in our lives. Well as we have come together to worship today, I want to just before we begin Emphasize a few things in your bulletin. One of them is the Wednesday night time together.

We've been looking at these videos on the torchlighter series looking at different individuals characters from church history and This week we're looking at a person. I never I don't think I'd ever heard of him before.

I don't know why but Samuel Morris was a young man converted at age at the age of 14 as a result of some work of some missionaries and So he came to Christ and then he wanted to be a missionary to his own people.

So what he planned to do to be prepared for that and be effective in that was to come to this United States from Liberia and prepare for the work of the ministry and then go back to his people and Well, you just have to come to find out how that turned out for Samuel Morris, but that's Wednesday night and encourage it to come and join in on that time.

Now next Lord's Day is the 4th of July. Of course, it's a day. We celebrate our nation's independence, but more importantly. It's a day that we celebrate our spiritual independence our spiritual freedom from bondage, but the message of the morning next Lord's Day will be by Ron Burnett and Encourage you to be here.

You've heard him before he's been here frequently. I Was planning to be gone, but we've kind of changed our plans a little bit and I think we will be here next Sunday. So nevertheless Ron's going to be speaking in the morning service and then in the evening it's the first Sunday of the month and we've been doing the young married and single adult fellowship meetings on those first Sundays and meeting at the foreman's and Next week next week won't be any exception even though it's the 4th of July, but note the time change, okay?

Meeting at 430 and be doing a cookout and Having a good time together. There'll be some games and prizes for the kids and and so forth. They asked you to bring some meat for grilling and a dish to pass.

If you're planning to attend. There's also a sign-up sheet on the for your bulletin board just to let them know how many to plan for. Encourage you to to join in for that now, they they promised that Anything organized will be done well in advance of being able to go to the fireworks if you're so inclined.

And not going to just go home and go to bed. I mean you've got time to do that, too, but You can do the fireworks as well. So if you're not in the YMSA Fellowship group Encourage you to take advantage of that the holiday celebration have someone in your home and have a little get-together.

Maybe a get-together going also to the fireworks if that's your thing but but just just take advantage of these times to get to know one another and to Fellowship with one another and to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ by iron sharpening iron.

And use that opportunity other than that, I just want to emphasize that on the The missionary wall and some of the pockets. There are some new missionary prayer letters from the will acquits Hammermeister's and the stroops and this is the best way to keep in touch with and keep up to date with what's going on.

With the missionaries pick up their prayer letters courage to grab those on your way out today. All right, we've come together to worship the Lord and as we begin I just want to read this from Psalm 70 verse 4 Speaking to the Lord.

Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love your salvation say continually. Let God be magnified. And let him be magnified in our worship today. Jim come lead us in our opening him.

Thank you pastor.

It's on page number 26. So let us all stand together and Sing this praise unto the Lord together on page number 26 and your hymnals all four verses. Thank you Lord for daily loading up. Thank you Lord for the beauty and the abundance of your creation.

And supplying our needs. And we just thank you for our church. We think the Bible Lord if we can know you. Know more about you. Pray that you would speak to us from your word this morning. Help shape our thoughts to be in line with your word Lord.

Make us like Christ.

Praise things in Jesus name. Amen. Maybe seated. I want to read in responsibly Psalm 71 the first eight verses. If you want follow in your bulletin in the back of your bulletin. Its first eight verses of Psalm 71.

Reading responsibly. I'll start and then you pick up verse 2 and we'll go back and forth. Let's read the word together. Psalm 71 verse 1 in you O Lord I put my trust. Let me never be put to shame. Be my strong refuge to which I may resort continually.

You have given the commandment to save me for you are my rock and my fortress. For you are my hope O Lord God. You are my trust from my youth. I have become as a wonder to many but you are my strong refuge.

Let my mouth be filled with your praise and with your glory all the day. Let's sing that psalm put to music in our Psalter number 151. Jim.

Again, one 151 in the Red Books Psalter. It would sing just the first three verses 1 2 3 of 151 as we pray together.

We want to remember our missionary of the week the hammer Meisters Darren and Elizabeth Serving in Surrey British Columbia right outside of Vancouver in their prayer letter that's available this week.

They mentioned that they're actually able to hold services again and gather, you know, Canada has been really really Strict and tight especially with churches, you know, it's like other things there you can be pretty lax about but churches they've been pretty hard on and And Darren and Elizabeth are rejoicing that they can meet together with their people.

A lot of the people have come back to church as they've regathered and they've Recently received some new folks into the membership. And so that is a great blessing to them. But just pray for God to continue to use their work in British Columbia.

And then we want to continue to pray for Jody nap. Jody was sharing in Sunday school this morning that Jody Was moved this past week to a rehab facility and but then last night in the night she fell and hit her head and they ended up having to transport her to Swedish American in Rockford and She was this morning in intensive care.

I don't know if she's been moved yet or not. But I want to continue to pray for Jody and for Bob that the Lord would encourage encourage him. Jody's also been struggling with a great deal of confusion as she's kind of come out of the the couple of months of sleep and medication so pray for God to give clarity to her mind and Then pray for Kent Foster.

Kent was in the hospital Monday through yesterday came home yesterday. Still struggling with a lot of with some fluid problems and oxygen. Needing oxygen and so forth. So pray for the Lord to continue to strengthen Kent as he Recovers, let's look to the Lord in prayer.

Shall we we do. Thank you our God that you are our refuge. You are our strength. And we thank you that in your grace and in your kindness you have brought us to this place. Not only here locally, but this place in our lives we were dead and trespasses and sins and those of us who have come to faith in Christ have done so because By your grace you have worked a work of miraculous work within us.

Where we were dead, but you made us alive. We were blind, but you gave us eyes to see we were deaf. But you gave us ears to hear and you and your grace granted us the faith to trust in the only Savior the redeeming work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you gracious father for your mercy for your grace that has brought us to this place. We thank you for what you have provided and done in this past week. Thank you for the needs of our lives that have been met.

We thank you for prayers that have been answered and we certainly See those answered prayers in the lives of both Jody and Kent even the last couple of days. But these folks are still in great need and we pray that you would Undertake and their behalf you would touch their bodies and in Jody's case also her mind.

Give give clarity to her thinking. I pray that the clouds would lift. I pray that she would make connections and and none and gain understanding just help the The fog to dissipate and I pray that she would be able to think and see and understand clearly.

Also pray for healing to her body. And for Kent we ask Also that you would continue to strengthen him from this last episode this week. I pray that again, the fluid would dissipate the oxygen would do its would serve its purpose and and He would be able to regain Regain his strength physically.

We just pray for him and pray that you would be gracious to him. Encourage encourage Laurie as well as she cares for him. We thank you father for the missionaries that we support and the and the work that they are doing.

I think particularly of the Hammer Meisters and British Columbia. Thank you father that they can assemble again and and do so without fear of the government's interference. And I pray that you would bless their assembly today.

I Pray that you would use Darren in the preaching and the teaching of the word. I pray that those who attend would be would would would hear and they would grow and understand. We pray for souls to be converted and we thank you for those who have and for the recent additions that they've had in their church and Just pray that this would continue.

They'd continue to see fruit and fruit that remains Bless that work. We pray we pray that you would provide for them as well in their support needs and I pray that others would come alongside and see the importance of that work and Share the burden that they carry.

Father we thank you for those who? Who are shut in today and yet we pray for them. We pray that you would encourage them today. We pray for Sue cherry and Pray for Jeannie Ludwig pray that you would meet the needs of these ladies and just father Encourage them in these long months of isolation.

We pray for Dean Kinnaman and for Bob Klein and pray that these men would Sense your presence and your encouragement among them the Jed Hunsberger pray that he might soon be able to come back to fellowship.

Here pray that you would encourage him in his living situation as well for Maxine Gomer, we thank you father for The strength that you've given to her and yet we pray for Ongoing strengthening of her body.

May she soon be able to come back and join us in church as well. Father, thank you for each one who is able to attend today. Thank you for the health and strength that you've provided. Thank you for the interest that you've given us in the desire as your people to assemble together To worship you to serve you with our praise with our attention with our response.

To your word bless as we've come together for that purpose today, and we ask it in Jesus name Amen, it's on page number 55 in your supplement.

Songbook number 55 relentless love and we'll all stand together you would a reminder to those that Would have children and we have a children's church and at the end of the last verse you are in dismiss your children in good care there we also have the give me the Parents lounge did I get it right the parents lounge and so let's all stand together and Available to you as well.

Let's all sing together four verses of number 55 relentless love. God said On me in spite of me salvation's work Savior sovereign love for me Relentless love of earth. My heart I would Was unreturned Till by a grace unsought.

My rebel soul was caught Redeemed by love that would not be Raised up Free my savior sovereign love. Relentless love preserves my life unbelief Sustains me through my sin my doubt my greed since Christ has done it all.

His wounded hand sold me sinners cheap.

On Me.

Relentless love transforms my soul and his delight exceeds the fleeting joys. Held by his love for me a whole which sets me free I have my heart's desire that is.

I.

The Scripture Reading and Congregational Worship

Scripture message our text today judges chapter 2 verse 11. Chapter 3 verse 6 encourage you to turn in your Bible and as we read together judges chapter 2 verse 11 Through chapter 3 verse 6 encourage you to follow along in your copy of scripture.

As I read beginning in verse 11 of chapter 2 Says then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers who had brought them out of the land of Egypt and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them and They bowed down to them and they provoked the Lord to anger.

They forsook the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtoreths and the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel so he delivered them into the hands of Plunderers who despoiled them and he sold them into the hands of their enemies all around so that they could no longer stand before their enemies wherever they went out the hand of the Lord was against them for calamity as the Lord had said and as the Lord had sworn To them and they were greatly distressed.

Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who had plundered them yet. They would not listen to their judges, but they played the harlot with other gods and bowed down to them.

They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord. They did not do so and when the Lord raised up judges for them the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge.

For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them. And it came to pass when the judge was dead That they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers by following other gods to serve them and bow down to them.

They did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way. Then the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel and he said because this nation has transgressed my covenant Which I commanded their fathers and has not heeded my voice.

I Also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died. So that through them I may test Israel whether they will keep the ways of the Lord to walk in them as their fathers kept them or not.

Therefore the Lord left those nations without driving them out immediately. Nor did he deliver them into the hand of Joshua. Now these are the nations which the Lord left that he might test Israel by them.

That is all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan. This was only so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war at least those who had not formerly Known it. Namely five lords of the Philistines all the Canaanites the Sidonians and the Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath and They were left that he might test Israel by them to know whether they would obey the commandments of the Lord which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

Thus the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites the height the Hittites the Amorites the Perizzites the Hivites and the Jebusites. And they took their daughters to be their wives and gave their daughters to their sons and they served their gods.

It's a brief prayer my father. I pray that from this passage before us We would take seriously the sober warning that is found therein. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. I think Infidelity has to be one of the greatest heartaches in a marriage relationship.

Coupled with that is a depth of pain that is probably unsurpassed in in human experience. The depth of pain that The one that has been spurned. The experience it's said to be greater than if the spouse had died.

It's a pain that may never go away completely. It's a pain that has Has plunged the the spurned lover into despair depression sometimes even harmful behavior harmful to the spouse harmful to the other partner even harmful to oneself.

It's a pain that calls out for the lover to return to repent. For the love to once again be reciprocated in this text in Judges chapters 2 and 3. The Lord is responding to those who have spurned his love.

They claim to be his people. They profess him on one hand to be their God. But his love his love they've abandoned for that of other gods. Passage serves as a warning to all who profess to be believers in Jesus and the warning is this.

To beware lest you spurn the love of the divine Savior. So let's establish first of all the fact that in this passage. The Lord is the consummate lover. He is the lover of his people. I mean we have to Understand that we have to ask ourselves a series of questions like Why why are these people the Israelites?

Why are these people in? Canaan in the first place. What are they doing here? Why are they here? Well, and the obvious answer to that would be well God gave it to them. We know that we you know God gave them this land, okay but Why have they been given this land?

What why these people? Why did God give the land to these people? And if you know your Old Testament history, you know.

Well well.

Because God promised that he would give the land to he promised originally to Abraham that he would give his descendants this land and he he reaffirmed that promise to Isaac and to Jacob so. You know, he's he promised it so he's keeping his promise.

Okay, but but why you know, why why did he? Promise to give the land to these people. To answer that question. We need to go back to Deuteronomy chapter 7. You turn there with me, please. Deuteronomy chapter 7 and look at verses 6 through 8 and Deuteronomy just reminder.

Deuteronomy is the words of Moses on the east side of the Jordan River just prior to. The Israelites the people who are now in judges in the land. So these are the words that Moses speaks to the Israelites before they cross the Jordan River years earlier to begin the conquest to begin to take over the land and.

So as he speaks to God's people he says in verse 6. You are a holy people to the Lord your God. For the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for himself a special treasure above all the peoples of the earth.

The Lord did not set his love upon you. Verse 7 says. Nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people for you or but though you were the least of all peoples but. Because the Lord loves you.

Because the Lord loves you. In other words, why why are these people in this land? Because the Lord Loves them. The Lord loved them so much and in this way He chose them to be the people that would occupy this land.

He set his love on them. Not because of anything in them. Remember the song we just sang he loved me. He set his love on me when there was nothing lovely in me. And this is what this is what Moses is telling these people.

He says the Lord the Lord chose you and Lord brought you is bringing you into this land. He chose you to go into this land and to have this land not because of anything good in you. You know the Lord didn't look at you and say wow, this is a wonderful people.

These people are so much better than everybody else on the planet. I think I'll give the land to them. And he didn't say well these people are a. They're a bigger group of people than any other group of people.

So therefore I'll give them this line. No, it has nothing to do with them. It has everything to do with him with the Lord. The Lord set his love on them because he said his love on them and that is it.

He is. I say the consummate lover now now now notice. I want you to notice as you continue here in Deuteronomy 7. That it is that that gracious redeeming electing love. That is to serve as the motivation for faithful obedience.

In other words, the the people of Israel are to respond to this consummate lover this great Love which God has poured out on them. They are to respond to that love with faithful Obedience it is to motivate them to faithful obedience.

So for example, you see this in verse 9 so he says the Lord did not said verse 7 the Lord did not set his love on you nor choose you because you were such. And such but he loves you because he loves you now verse 9.

Therefore therefore.

Because of this love of the Lord. Know that the Lord your God he is God the faithful God. No, he says therefore because the Lord loves you know that God know him. Know him. Now you think later about the about how that exhortation that consequence of being loved has been Spurned by his people as they don't really get to know him.

They don't come to know him. They don't want to know him. But he says to know them and then in verse 11 He says therefore again. Therefore because of this great love that God the Lord God has had on you had for you.

Therefore you shall keep the commandment the statutes the judgments, which I command you today to observe them. Faithful obedience is motivated should be motivated by this love of God the consummate lover.

But going back to our text in Judges chapter 2. He the Lord the consummate lover is a spurned lover. He's a spurned lover. I want to I want you to see in this text three ways that you can spurn his love as they did.

These who profess to be God's people. You can spurn his love in the first place by ignoring the faithful examples that he has provided for you. Here's what I mean. The the previous generation we talked about this last Lord's Day the previous generation was faithful to the Lord and they were the faithful examples that this generation and the second and the subsequent generations had and should have looked to and should have emulated in their walk with their God their lover the one who loved them so well, but instead of doing that they ignored him these Examples that went before them notice in verse 10 how they knew the Lord and his works by experience.

It says in verse 10 says when all that generation had been gathered to their fathers. Another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord. So the previous generation that passed away they knew the Lord.

They knew him by experience and they knew his works by experience. But if you spurn the lover and this consummate lover the Lord God if you spurn him if you spurn his love. Then you one way you do that is by refusing to trust him hence You have no real relationship with him.

Now.

One of the ways that this subsequent generation Ignored the faithful example that went before them is when again back in chapter 1 they you know the the the tribe came to this particular area and they saw all of the chariots of iron by the Canaanites and they said we can't deal with the chariots of iron.

We can't do anything about them. So we won't even try to attack them. We won't even try to take that part of the territory. What was the problem? What was the problem? They refused to trust the Lord. They didn't really know him by experience.

If they had trusted the Lord They would have remembered that God has not only conquered chariots of iron in the past, but he tore down walls. Jericho walls. He's done so much more than mere chariots of iron.

They did not trust him and Because they did not trust him they did not experience his works. They had no relationship with him. One of the ways you spurn the love of God is by ignoring the faithful examples that he has provided for you.

Examples that knew the Lord and his works. Examples of Those who served the Lord faithfully back in verse 7 says the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua. And all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, but not now you see not now.

You forsake him. You forsake him by serving other gods gods of your own making as in verses 12 and 13. They forsook the Lord God of their fathers who brought them out. They followed other gods from among the gods of the people.

Verse 13. They forsook the Lord and they served the they served Baal and the ashtoreths these gods of human making. You spurn the love of God by ignoring those examples that have gone before you who served the Lord and served him only exclusively you and you and on the other hand forsake him by serving gods of your own making if you spurn the Lord's love and They spurn the Lord's love by ignoring those faithful examples who had obeyed the Lord.

This is brought out in verse 17 the end of the verse. It says they turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked in obeying the commandment of the Lord. They did not do so. They did not do so.

Here were their fathers before them the generation before them. The examples that provided Wonderful examples for them in obeying the Lord and walking in his way. Listening to his word Heeding what his word had to say discerning his will following his will.

But they.

Did not do so one of the sad ways that you spurn the love of the consummate lover Is by ignoring faithful examples who've gone before you? You think about that in the context in the modern context of The Christian home the Christian family and the Christian Church place where you know the Word of God is Faithfully proclaimed a family where the Word of God is and and the relationship with God is is paramount.

It's primary parents who do their do their best to model Christ like behavior before their kids they They do their best to obey the Exhortations of Scripture to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord make sure that their children are faithfully in in the Lord's house on the Lord's Day and and instructing their children in the things of the Lord and yet and yet when the children have the opportunity to Go off on their own and to fly with freedom.

Where do they fly? How do they fly? Do they follow the faithful examples that have gone before them or do they spurn the consummate lover the Lord of Their parents the God of their parents. This is one of the ways another ways another way that the Lord is spurned.

And you can spurn his love is by abusing his divine mercy toward you. Abusing his divine mercy toward you. Now in verses 16 and 18 and we'll develop this more in a few minutes, but notice how the Lord expresses his mercy.

It says verse 16 nevertheless. So like in spite of these things The Lord raised up judges who deliver them out of the hand of those who plunder them. This is the Lord's mercy and in verse 18 the Lord raised up judges the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of The judge the Lord was moved with compassion.

So the Lord Expresses mercy toward his people expresses mercy toward you but that love Expressed in mercy is spurned when his mercy is abused. You see this in verse 19 Says it came to pass when the judge was dead.

Look at what they did. Look at look at how this mercy is abused. It's abused by Reverting back to a sinful lifestyle when the judge was dead. They reverted. They reverted. They reverted. It's like Like in 2nd Peter in 2nd Peter chapter 2 Peter writes about this how this happens in the New Testament context.

2nd Peter chapter 2 verses 20 through 22 He says for if they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ They are again entangled in them and overcome the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.

For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than having known it To turn from the Holy Commandment delivered to them, but it has happened to them according to the true proverb a Dog returns to his own vomit and a sow having washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Peter is talking about those who make a profession of being a Christian and they Escape for a while the pollutions of the world as they know The Lord and they have some measure of knowledge of this of the Savior Jesus.

But they they revert back to it. They go back to it. Now what Peter is not talking about is not he's not talking about an occasional failure. Where you know, we're drawn away of our own lust and into our own desires and we are enticed and we fall into sin.

He's not talking about the occasional failure where we yield to temptation in a in a in a moment of weakness. That's not what he's talking about. He's talking more about a settled way of life. It's like the difference between.

It's like the difference between David and his son Solomon. You know David as you well know Yielded to temptation with Bathsheba and he sinned against God and against Uriah and against Bathsheba and against his own Wife, well, I guess he had more than one but nevertheless He sinned against all these people and he himself said I've sinned You and you only have I sinned against to the Lord and David.

David did. He yielded to that temptation. He fell into that sin. He did he chose it. He pursued it. But how did he handle it? How did he handle it when confronted and convicted about his sin? He repented and we have Psalm 51 as an Wonderful expression of that deep repentance and you have not another example there's not another example after that of David having yielded to that temptation of Lust to follow his sinful lust.

But what about his son? Solomon. Solomon well, he knew everything that David knew he grew up in David's household. He knew David's God and in the early years of his reign as the king Solomon, you know He showed great love for God.

He built a temple to the Lord and all the rest of stuff, but there came a point where? Solomon turned away from that exclusive love of God and he loved other women and his love for other women caused him to worship their gods and when the end you come to the end of his life and the testimony of Solomon is that he had hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of women and he had erected altars to Unknown gods to various gods.

How did these two men respond one responded in repentance the other responded in idolatry and what what Peter is talking about that is a New Testament example of what happened in Judges chapter 2 is that there was In in the abuse in the abuse of the Lord's mercy.

There was a reversion to sinful living. They went back into it as a settled way of life. Mercy is abused also as you look back in Judges 2 verse 19 by escalating the sinful lifestyle. It says they reverted and they behaved more corruptly than their fathers more corruptly than their fathers and in doing so they Followed other gods to serve them and to bow down to them.

Behave more corruptly you you get the sense that the book of Judges is is like a downward spiral you know, it's it starts off bad and And then there's this judge and he delivers them and then it gets bad again.

But it's worse than the bad that was before and there's another judge and God, you know, God delivers them. And then it gets bad again, but it's worse than it was before. It's as is this downward spiral and by the time you get to the end of the book of Judges you are You you feel almost like you need to take a bath.

It's just so the corruption is so Pervasive it is so dark. It is so deep. And what happens is they they not merely they don't merely revert to the sinful lifestyle. But they they escalate the sinful lifestyle you abuse the mercy of God not only by reverting to sin.

But by escalating the sin by escalating it they followed other gods. Notice in verse 17 how the Lord describes that behavior of following the other gods. He says they would not listen to their judges, but they played the harlot with other gods.

He played the harlot with other gods. Needless to say you understand the imagery. It's like they went after prostitutes. This is a this is an appropriate description for this behavior this Escalating behavior of following after other gods.

It's an appropriate description for a couple reasons one reason is that God couches his or Expresses his relationship with his people in the terms of a marriage relationship. He has and with Old Testament the Old Testament Saints Old Testament Israel.

He says he's espoused them unto himself he uses the the prophet Hosea and Hosea's marriage to an adulterous woman he uses that as an illustration of his relationship to Israel as His his bride Israel has been adulterous.

So he uses his key couches this relationship God does between him and his people in the context in the terms of a Marital relationship and he does it in the New Testament as well, doesn't he? Maybe Ephesians chapter 5.

What is what is Paul's exhortation to us men who are husbands husbands? Love your wives how. Even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it That he might present it to himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkled he pictures the church as a bride and then you go on down further in that in that passage in Ephesians and Paul after talking about the husband-wife relationship.

He says I'm speaking about Christ and the church Christ in the church so this relationship between God and his people is couched in the in the Form of in the relationship of a marital relationship. So when God's people who are supposed to be married espoused to him Faithful to him go following after other gods.