Who's In Charge Here? A Series on Authority
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
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My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, thank You for being the “God above all gods” as the psalmist put it! Thank You for being worthy of my worship and praise, for being more concerned about my well-being than I am about my own. I pray that You will fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I may glorify You in every moment of my life today. Speak through me to others that Your Good News may be extended in all my relationships. These things I pray in the strong name of Jesus, Your Son, and my living Savior and Lord; and for the sake of His coming Kingdom! Amen.
Bible Verses
Ephesians 5:21-33
21And further, you will submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22You wives will submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord. 23For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be her Savior. 24As the church submits to Christ, so you wives must submit to your husbands in everything.
25And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church. He gave up his life for her 26to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God’s word. 27He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. 28In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man is actually loving himself when he loves his wife. 29No one hates his own body but lovingly cares for it, just as Christ cares for his body, which is the church. 30And we are his body.
31As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” 32This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. 33So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Reflecting on God's Word
Why do you suppose that the Apostle Paul included instructions about marriage in a letter to the church at Ephesis?
A Deeper Exploration of God's Word
What relationships does the apostle Paul make between husbands and Christ? (5:21-24)
How are husbands to love their wives? (5:25-29)
What is the connection between Christian marriage and Jesus’ relationship to the church? (5:31-33)
Understanding God's Purpose for Us
Why do you suppose that the apostle Paul compared the Christian marriage, to the relationship between Jesus and the church?
What does today’s Scripture tell us about our purpose for living?
Applying God's Word to Our Purpose
What is one practical application of today’s Scripture for you?
Thoughts: Husbands, Love Your Wives...
The Apostle Paul challenged wives to submit to their husbands as to the Lord, which seems great if you are a husband! That is until we examine Paul’s command for husbands. Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Jesus’ love for the church is absolute. There was nothing He was unwilling to do for the church, nothing He left undone for the church, which He came to do. Jesus LIVED for the church—He lived a perfect, sinless life. He used His time, energy and resources to glorify God and serve others all the time. Then Jesus DIED for the church—He sacrificed Himself on the cross at Calvary, so that we could be forgiven for our sins, and have the hope of eternal life when we die. What an amazing love and commitment Jesus has for us. Husbands are called to love their wives in the same way. Imagine the state of marriage in America, if every Christian husband lived out these verses! These words are one more affirmation that in Rick Warren’s words, “It’s not about us.” So often we get married so someone can meet our needs. Today’s Scripture tells us that as husbands it is our responsibility to meet our wife’s needs. This fulfills God’s desire for our marriage. Being the “head” of the house for a Christian husband means being the servant of all. When that happens a household is truly blessed!