Week 8: Chapter 7 — Marriage: The Covenant of Christian Hedonism

1.Piper's central claim in this chapter is that marriage is designed by God to be a living parable of the relationship between Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:25–33). How does this vision of marriage differ from the way marriage is typically presented in our culture — or even in much of the church?

2.Piper argues that the husband is called to love his wife as Christ loved the church — a love that is self-sacrificing, leadership-oriented, and ultimately designed to present her as holy and blameless. How does this kind of love require a deep, prior joy in God rather than just willpower or discipline?

3.Piper applies the principle of Christian Hedonism directly to marriage: we are meant to pursue our own deepest joy in marriage, but that joy is not primarily found in what our spouse provides for us — it is found in how loving our spouse well reflects and deepens our joy in Christ. How does this reframe what you expect marriage to give you?