Being married to Christ means being spiritually joined to the risen Christ after the old self is dead to the law, so the believer is freed from the law and becomes one with Him.
Paul writes in Romans 7:4 that believers are become dead to the law by the body of Christ so they may be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead. Les Feldick explains that this is a spiritual union comparable to a husband and wife becoming one, established at salvation and made understandable by faith.
Romans 7:4 — This is the key verse that directly connects being dead to the law with being married to Christ.
Ephesians 5:24-25 — Paul uses the marriage relationship to picture Christ and the church, with Christ loving the church and giving Himself for her.
2 Corinthians 5:17 — It explains the result of being joined to Christ: the believer becomes a new creature.
Paul uses marriage language to describe the believer’s union with Christ. In Romans 7:4 he writes, “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.” In Ephesians 5, the same analogy is expanded. Verse 24 says that as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Verse 25 then tells husbands to love their wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it. Paul presents the relationship of Christ to the church as the pattern for a husband and wife becoming one. Paul also says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away and all things are become new. Scripture therefore pictures the believer not as merely improved, but as made new through a living union with Christ.
Les Feldick teaches that being "married to Christ" means the believer has entered a new spiritual relationship with the risen Christ after being made dead to the law. He explains that the Ten Commandments are still perfect, righteous, holy, and eternal, and their demands hang over every person. The lost person cannot escape them. Les uses the illustration of tax law that binds a husband and wife as long as both live: when one partner dies, the survivor is free. In the same way, the believer becomes dead to the law by the body of Christ (Romans 7:4) and is free to be married to another, the One who was raised from the dead. Les then shows that this union works like a marriage relationship: just as husband and wife become one, so the believer and Christ become one. He calls this a deep spiritual concept that can only be understood by faith. He emphasizes that this is the same relationship described in Ephesians 5, where Christ’s love for the church is set alongside a husband’s love for his wife. Because Christ loved the church and died for her, husbands are to have the same total, self-giving love for their wives. The practical result is not just a future hope. Les says that from the moment we become a child of God by faith in the Gospel, we are connected to Christ and are able to bring forth fruit unto God. He links this to 2 Corinthians 5:17: being one with Christ means we are a new man; you cannot just fix up the old. Being married to Christ, then, means the old sinful self is finished and the believer is joined to the risen Lord.
Les uses the example of income tax law: as long as both husband and wife live, the law binds them together, but when one partner dies, the other is free. He applies this to the lost person: the lost person is under the demands of the Mosaic law and the Ten Commandments, whether he wants to admit it or not. The law remains holy and righteous, and a death is needed for release. Romans 7:4 says believers have become dead to the law by the body of Christ, and therefore are free to be married to another.
Les says that as soon as we become a child of God, we are literally unioned with Christ, just like a husband and wife in the marriage relationship. In a marriage, husband and wife are two people but become one; the candle ceremony pictures this. In the same way, once we have entered this position in Christ, we become one with Him. This is a deep spiritual concept that can only be comprehended by faith.
Les points out that in Ephesians 5, Paul compares the church’s relationship to Christ with a wife’s relationship to her husband. The church is subject unto Christ, and husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. Les uses this to show that Christ’s relationship to believers is one of total, sacrificial love—so much that He died for the church. This is the practical side of being married to Christ.
The Law Demands a Death
Les shows that the Ten Commandments stand over every lost person, and that only death, not behavior, releases someone from the law’s demands.
Romans 7:4: Joined to Another
Les reads Romans 7:4 and says the concept is that as soon as we become a child of God we are literally unioned with Christ, just like husband and wife.
The One-Flesh Picture of Christ and the Believer
Les compares Christ’s relationship to believers to a marriage where two become one; the marriage ceremony’s two candles becoming one is used as an illustration.
One with Christ by Faith
Les explains that once we enjoy this position in Christ, we are one with Him, a spiritual union understood only by faith.
Bringing Forth Fruit unto God
Les applies Romans 7:4 to the present life: as soon as we believe, we are married to the risen Christ and are already connected to Him, bearing fruit to God.
A New Creation, Not a Fix-Up
Les uses the marriage analogy to show that being one with Christ makes us a new man; the old nature cannot simply be repaired.
Christ’s Sacrificial Love as the Model for Husbands
Les explains that husbands should love their wives the way Christ loves the church—with total love to the point of dying for her.
Ephesians: The Deeper Meaning of Being In Christ
Les points to Ephesians as a deeper level of revelation that describes what it means to be in Christ, the same union expressed as 'married to another.'
Romans 7:4: Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
This verse directly connects death to the law with being married to Christ.
Ephesians 5:24: Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
It shows that the church’s relationship to Christ is the pattern for a wife’s relationship to her husband.
Ephesians 5:25: Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
It reveals Christ’s sacrificial love for the church, which is the model for a husband’s love.
2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
It explains the new spiritual reality of being in union with Christ.
Being dead to the law means the old person is gone. Les uses the illustration of a law that binds a married couple: when one partner dies, the survivor is free. In the believer’s case, the body of Christ makes us dead to the law’s demands, so we are free to be married to the risen Christ.
Yes. Les says that as soon as we become a child of God we are already connected to Christ, and we are able to bring forth fruit unto God. It is not only a future heavenly relationship; it begins in this earthly life.
Les says a husband should love his wife the way Christ loves the church—totally, to the point of laying down his life for her. He comments that if husbands had that attitude, there would be no divorce problems.
Watch the Teaching: Dead to the Law, Married to Christ — What Romans 7 Really Means