If one may put the
question crudely, how exactly does this process work? Thomassen offers some
interesting reflections on Gos. Phil.’s
‘soteriology of symbolic parallelism’. He suggests that two joinings are here
closely interrelated: the joining of the human and the angel in the bridal
chamber, and that of this ritual act itself with its model, the redemption of
the redeemer. This linking of the bridal chamber with Jesus’ baptism in the
Jordan is certainly not without justification, for Gos. Phil. applies the same term, ⲙⲩⲥⲧⲏⲣⲓⲟⲛ, to them both (64.32 and 71.4). Jesus, because he
‘came down’ to earthly existence, himself requires the redemption of which he
is also the agent, and it is on these grounds that the designation of him as
‘(female) virgin’ (ⲧⲡⲁⲣⲑⲉⲛⲟⲥ) can be explained:
‘Jesus … as the model of the saved human, represents the female part in the
union, and … as the saving
manifestation of the fullness of the Father, and the personified unity of all
the angels, he is the male bridegroom in the bridal chamber.’ The pivotal
events of Jesus’ life are the basis and guarantee of the ritual which is
intended to actualize their effects in the lives of a group of believers many
decades later. (Gillian Beattie, Women and Marriage in
Paul and His Early Interpreters [Journal for the Study of the New Testament
Supplement Series 296; London: T&T Clark, 2005], 128)
Further Reading
"Ephesians 5:25-27,” in “Born
of Water and of the Spirit: The Biblical Evidence for Baptismal Regeneration,
pp. 48-60 (for a free PDF copy, drop me an email at ScripturalMormonismATgmailDOTcom)