“Why Husbands Should Love Their Wives As Themselves” Because Christ Loved the Church
Eph. 5:25-27
INTRODUCTION What is the Meaning of Ephesians 5.25-27
Ephesians chapter 5. We are continuing our study in the Ephesians this morning and we will begin the teaching on the husband.
I’d like to spend a moment to recapture what we’ve learned about the wife.
We said that a Spirit-filled wife is her husband’s friend, who respectfully comes underneath his leadership.
From Eph. 5 verse 18 Ephesians 5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
And one of the ways you will know you are filled with the Holy Spirit is if your life lines up with the next section on family relationships.
So what does a Spirit-filled wife look like? We said that she is her husband’s friend, who respectfully comes underneath his leadership.
She is her husband’s friend and we got that, you remember, from Genesis chapter 2. And she respectfully comes underneath his leadership. And this is Ephesians 5.
Ephesians 5:22-24 . Here we learn that the wife is to subject herself or to submit herself to her husband. She comes underneath his leadership.
22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
Then drop down to verse 33…
Ephesians 5:33 Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.
She is to respect her husband and so we said a Spirit-filled wife is her husband’s friend, who respectfully comes underneath his leadership.
And in previous messages we also went over various principles of the marriage relationship.
For example, in a message on developing companionship, we discussed how to be friends and how have fellowship. We talked about things like … well… talking, prayer, and spending time together.
Then we discussed completion in marriage and how that works. This is where the role of us becoming more like Christ comes in. Marriage is designed to make each of us more like Christ. Differences in marriage are designed to strengthen. And we learned about how to get through conflicts in a godly way.
Those messages were positioned from the Scripture’s teaching on the wife. But we really viewed them as being to both husband and wife.
So, we finished the wife with really 2 messages focusing on her role toward her husband, with submission and respect.
Husband
Now, on to the husband. What is a Spirit-filled husband? A Spirit-filled husband is his wife’s friend, who lovingly leads her.
So, we had 2 functions for the wife: respect and submission. And for the husband we’ll have 2 as well: love and leadership. And it’s hard to separate the two. You’ll see both of these together this morning in our passage. Our text will be Eph. 5:25-27 and we’ll have another message on the husband as well from verse 28-32.
TRANS: It almost goes without saying…. that every husband must work on loving his wife. There is no husband who has arrived in this.
Illustration John Wesley
An example of this kind of needed is the marriage of John Wesley and his wife Mary. [1]John Wesley was the founder of Methodism, passionate for evangelistic preaching, and used by God to cause a stirring in God’s people as well as many people coming to Christ in the evangelical revival of England. John Wesley and his life give us many great examples to follow, a godly man in many respects.
But his marriage was not one to follow. Mary, who was called Molly, was a widow with four children and John married her in 1751 after a 16 day courtship. But before eight years of marriage, she had left him, only to return, and leave him on several occasions. She felt like she was in competition for his time and devotion.
He was always on the road, traveling from place to place preaching and so Mary felt neglected. She began to be jealous of him and suspicious of the relationships he had with other ladies who were getting saved are growing in Christ and were part of this Methodist movement.
And John accomplished little to care for her in these ways. In 1758, Mary says that when John was leaving for ministry to Ireland his parting words to his wife were, “I hope I shall see your wicked face no more.”
And upon his return to England, John refused to alter his habit of often writing affectionate letters to other women and Mary accused him of adultery and called down on him…in her words … “All the curses from Genesis to Revelation.”
Mr. Wesley didn’t spend the time and energy needed to honor Christ in his relationship with his wife. He was, as the saying goes, married to the ministry…married to his work.
And men, this was purposeful neglect of his wife. He made a choice and it wasn’t to fulfil his duty to God by loving his wife.
TRANS: So, even though he was a godly man in many ways, he could preach, he read his Bible, lead many people to Christ…he needed to work on his relationship with his wife, to say the least. And every husband needs to.
Our text is Eph. 5:25-27…let’s read this now.
Ephesians 5:25-27 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are members of His body. 31 FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
Ephesians 5:23
Before we get into the explanation and applications this passage, I’d like to point out that this passage assumes Ephesians 5:23. Let’s read Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.
So we have this comparison … the husband is the head of the wife just like Christ is the head of the church. And the church, we see, is the body of Christ…. “Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.”
And so because of this truth, the wife is to submit herself to her husband.
Argument of Ephesians 5:23-32
But the problem is if the wife is to submit herself to her husband, what is the husband’s response to be? In particular cultures and backgrounds, you could have a difficult marriage on your hands if you don’t properly argue for the right response of the husband. If the wife is to submit, the husband might get the idea that he can be an authoritarian kind of a husband.
So Paul clearly explains the response of the husband. And so Paul in this passage is arguing for the response of the husband …it is love. That’s the response. Paul argues for this.
It’s not assumed. The major point in the passage is the argument for why husbands should love their wives.
I’d like to show you that briefly. Ephesians 5:25-32 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church … And then we are given various ways Christ loved the church.
And now, verse 28…28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are members of His body.
So thought flows this. We’ve got the example of Christ’s love for the church in verses 25-27. And now [*left hand up/down*] because of Christ’s love for the church, therefore [*right hand*] the husband ought to love his wife as his own body in verses 28-32. And you remember the church is the body of Christ as is pointed out back in verse 23.
Christ is the head of the church the husband is the head of his wife.
And so Paul’s argument now is this…here it is … Christ [*left hand up/down*] loved his own body, the church in verses 25 to 27… Therefore, [*right hand up/down*] husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. Christ loved his body the church…. Therefore, the husband should love his wife as his own body, since husband and wife are one….
So Paul’s point in the passage is to argue primarily that love is the proper response of a husband toward his wife…and then secondarily to give us principles so that we can love our wives as we should.
And of course because our culture is so inundated with its own worldly understanding of love, nobody has a problem with love being the proper response of the husband toward his wife. It is assumed in our culture. Our problem doesn’t tend to be whether or not I should love my wife, our problem tends to be that husbands fail to love their wives and they need help doing so.
So, I’d like to preach this morning on “Why Husbands Should Love Their Wives As Themselves” … And the answer to the question of why husbands should love their wives as themselves… The answer to that is because Christ loved the church. Because Christ loved his body the church, therefore a husband should love his own wife as his own body.
So first in verses 25-27, we have the example of Christ’s love for the church. And that’s as far as we’ll get this morning and we’ll apply those verses as well and next week we’ll discuss verses 28-32, where Paul will apply Christ’s example of love.
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The Example of Christ’s Love for the Church (Eph. 5:25-27)
This past Thursday night, we surveyed Paul’s epistles where he teaches us that in some way the gospel motivates our godly living. Paul, in almost every single one of his epistles, either motivates us to live godly or appeals to us to live godly based on the gospel. He also teaches the spiritual power of the gospel today in the believer’s life. And so we learned this past Thursday that the gospel, Christ’s death and resurrection, is not something that gets you in the door of eternal life and then after that, now…I need to concentrate on something else for the sake of real Christian living…like how to get over my sin habits…
No, the gospel is something that we need every day to get over our sin habits. And the verse before us is one of the verses that we studied Thursday night.
It’s verse 25 Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
And so the point is, husbands, just as Christ loved the church you is how you are to love your wife. How did Christ love the church? …. Well, the sad part is that many Christian men could not elaborate on, much less glory in, the love of Christ for his church.
And if a husband cannot discuss or glory in Christ’s love for his church, then that husband will fail to love his wife in a God-honoring way.
So because of the design of this passage by the Holy Spirit who Himself lives in Christian husbands and because of the example of Christ’s love here, a whole book could be written on how to be a good husband and all it would do would be to merely expound on the love of Christ for the church…and conclude with a statement… now love your wife like that!
So, we will attempt to glory in the love of Christ for the church this morning.
Explanation
So, how has Christ loved the church…. As the poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning goes … “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” And there are 5….5 verbs describe the love of Christ for His church which are meant to be examples for Christian husbands and their love for their wives.
Two in verse 25 …. Love and Give himself up for her; two in verse 26 … sanctify her, having cleansed her, and the final one…the one that is highlighted as we’ll see is verse 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory.
Love
The first one in verse 25… naturally is love. And all the other ones stem from this one. Love is commanded three times in the passage verse 25 … “Husbands love your wives.”
Verse 28, “so husbands ought also to love their own wives as his own body” And verse 33… “A husband is to love his own wife even as himself.”
What does it mean to love someone? Christian love is not an emotion, although pleasant emotions may be present. Christian love is not necessarily warm, although warmth may be present. It’s not intense and overwhelming as a dating or engaged couple may feel…that’s not Christian love that the Bible talks about.
Christian love is a choice. It is a matter of the will. It is unselfish and requires no response in return. And it seeks the highest good in the person loved. I’ll say that again …
Christian love is a choice, it is unselfish and requires no response in return. And it seeks the highest good in the person loved.
Christ loved… He chose to love the church. He was unselfish and he sought the highest good in the church.
And as you can see in the passage Christ’s love for the church is compared to a marriage relationship. This is nothing new.
The Old Testament is filled with similar language. For example in probably the most important Old Covenant passage on the New Covenant… Jeremiah 31:31-32 31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.
Also, the whole book of Hosea is geared this way.
Now, in the New Covenant, we are told that Christ loved the church and similar to that, the husband is to love his wife.
So Christ loved the church. What is the church? The church consists of people. The church is the group of regenerated people from the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 until the close of the church age at the beginning of the tribulation. This is the church.
And it’s interesting that love is in the past tense when it refers to Christ loved the church. Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, [today and until death….husbands] love your wives, just as Christ also loved [past tense] the church and gave Himself up for her,
It’s not that Christ loved the church then and doesn’t now.
It likely is focusing our attention on Christ’s love for his church in eternity past and because he loved the church you’ve got to do something … He…gave Himself up for her. Knowing of the will of the Father and knowing His own desire for the church he chose to set his love on the church.
Christ came to earth seeking the highest good for the church. That was his desire….to seek her highest good, to meet her deepest needs.
TRANS: And so, second, because of this love … He gave himself up for her.
Gave Himself Up For Her
“He loved her so he gave himself up for her.”
Christian love gives …
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, [how did he show it ? … ] that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:35 “The Father loves the Son and [how did he show it? … ] has given all things into His hand.
Romans 5:5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts [how do we know…?] through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and [what? … ] gave Himself up for me.
And earlier in our passage …
Ephesians 5:2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
Giving is an evidence of love. And this passage speaks of Christ coming to earth, already having loved the church in eternity past, and now he gives himself up for her…He dies on a cross for her…that’s His love…a total sacrifice of Himself on the cross. Men, do you understand that sacrifice this morning? Men, do you have a level…a deep level of understanding of the love of Christ for his church… to the point that it moved him to self-sacrifice? If your wife is giving you indications that you are having marriage difficulties, let me encourage you this morning to study the eternal love of Christ for his church that moved Him to die on a despicable cross.
Christ showed specific, “tunnel vision” interest in the church to the point of self-sacrifice. Christ took the initiative… He willfully made the ultimate sacrifice out of his desire for her to have the highest good, eternal salvation.
Now men, let’s apply that….
First, he took the initiative. He gave. He didn’t wait for the church to respect Him or to honor Him…He took the initiative and choose to demonstrate his love. Even though he was tortured in every way … emotionally, physically, and even spiritually … by some of those who, no doubt, would become a part of the church that He loved. Nevertheless, He took the initiative and chose to demonstrate his love …. This is Christ …
John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
John 10:15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
John 10:17 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.
John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
Men, follow Christ and take the initiative and demonstrate love to your wife. And if you don’t know what that would mean for her, ask her! So first, Christ took the initiative men, and so should you. That’s the point…choose to give!
And second, this is a sacrifice … He gave Himself up for her. Christ paid the ultimate price, literal self-sacrifice. In the first century when this was written, husbands were probably more likely to have to go to this extent for their wives…. Perhaps in the case of famine or thieves. And men, we may boast about being willing to die for our wives and we may even feel that chivalry… But are you unwilling to do the work necessary to learn how to restrain your temper and to give her patience? You say you would die for her, but would you do the dishes?
You say you’d die for her, but in reality, are you married to your job and she feels neglected and you know it, and you aren’t willing to do anything about it? … Men, sacrifice for your wives… give yourselves up for her … You say, “Well my marriage is not as bad as John Wesley’s marriage.”
It’s easy to compare yourself to a bad example and the passage is not asking you to do that this morning. The goal for your godly marriage is a demonstration of the love of Christ for His church, that’s your standard. Men, some of you need to make some sacrifices for your wife…. And that’ll take time and some energy poured into her.
TRANS: Take the initiative, make a sacrifice for her … and now …
Third, Christ was not forced to do this. He willingly gave up himself for us the church. It was not pressured from without, it was a driving force from within…out of great love for his church that moved him to do what he did. He saw a deep need and he sacrificed to meet that need.
John 10:18 “No one has taken [my life] away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
He made the choice… He made the sacrifice he knew what he had to do and he did it willingly out great love for his church. Men, what choice do you need to make to sacrifice for your wife? Maybe you’re thinking of right now and you know what it is … And if you don’t know, ask her.
Take the initiative, make a sacrifice for her, do so willingly because of your love, and now fourth…
Fourth: Christ gave himself up out of interest in her, he gave himself up for her it says. He gave himself up for her… Out of interest in her to gain her… And this is all on her behalf… This is his interest in her he gave himself up for her. Men, show that interest in her with time, energy, and conversation.
And so the submission of the wife is within this context… It is not a slaving submission as if the church was under slavery to Christ. No this is a love relationship …
Summary: Just like Christ gave, husband you should take the initiative in loving your wife not expecting anything in return…, You should do that planning on self sacrifice… a giving yourself … Self sacrifice not just the ultimate sacrifice, but the sacrifice of energy and time even if it means giving up of your own interests and your own desires for the sake of pleasing your wife…. It’s a sacrifice…give yourself up …. Give it up! And do so willingly, even if she says…. “it’s ok honey”…. And do so because of your interest in her….give yourself up for her!
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!!!Men think of Christ! He loved us, the church, with everlasting love, left his glorious throne above in the praises of all the angels and was born to look like you… And to be born to look like you…boy, what humility and grace! He did this all without sin but he willingly made a self sacrifice and took upon himself the eternal wrath of God so that he might bring us to God. He endured such physical and emotional and spiritual condemnation on our behalf…
No sacrifice could be too great for me to make on his behalf! And so men you would not be doing this for your wife…. You would be doing this for your Lord who died for you. If your wife says … “Oh , no honey, it’s ok…don’t feel like you have to do that … “ But your Lord says…. “Love her like I loved the church!”
“It is the Lord Christ whom you serve!”
View your love for your wife, your self-sacrificing love for your wife…. View that as a worship to God to be found in glory, love and praise to your Savior … Men you have a special …. Awesome opportunity as a husband to display the nature of Christ towards his church…. Christ and His church is on display….Christ and his relationship with the church is also at stake in your marriage, men. Take the initiative, make a willing sacrifice for her…
Glory in Christ …and I know you do … but glory in Christ and apply that to your marriage! You have the opportunity by his grace to mimic His love toward your wife. Do this … Put his glorious loving sacrifice for your sins on display every day toward your wife.
TRANS: So, love her, Husbands love your wives… second give yourself up for her …take the lead in willfully loving your wife self sacrificially out of true interest in her…
“Take the lead in willfully loving your wife to the point of self sacrifice and do so out of true interest in her.”
And third, now, sanctify her.
Sanctify Her
We should be able to run through the rest of these fairly quickly.
Ephesians 5:25-26 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
“So that he might sanctify her” … This is a purpose for his love for her and for his giving himself up for her.
Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her why? Why did he do that? … Verse 26 so that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.
And then the ultimate purpose for his self-sacrificial love is verse 27 … that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory. But first to sanctify …
“To sanctify” here refers to setting someone apart for service to God. A special setting apart. It can mean in some contexts growth in godliness, like we say, sanctification. But here, it’s not a process, it’s a setting someone apart for service to God.
So Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her on the cross for this first purpose that he might sanctify her… That he might especially set her apart for service to God. And so in his death, he devoted the church to himself exclusively and permanently, ….that is designed by God to be illustrated in marriage.
Where ever there is a marriage, it is the purpose of Christ to put on display his love for the church… And it is the design of God that the wife come underneath the leadership of her husband, like the church comes underneath the leadership of Christ.
APP: Men, sanctifying your wife … setting her apart in a special way, exclusively… permanently …. this is as loyalty? Christ especially set apart the church to be in an exclusive and permanent relationship with him. This would exclude divorce…. This excludes pornography and adultery and the wondering eye ….
Men, if you fail in these ways the sin can be described in this passage as a failure to reflect what Christ has done for us in the gospel….sanctifying…setting apart the church for himself in an exclusive way … you’re violating the very nature of the gospel…you’re striking at the very heart of the gospel of Christ when you sin that way. If you need help with that, please let me know…it can be a life dominating sin.
TRANS: Love, give himself up, he sanctified her, and now …
Having Cleansed Her
Fourth, He cleansed her by the washing of water with the word. This is also a purpose for giving himself up for her …
Ephesians 5:25-26 25 … Christ … loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 [why?] so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word … that’s why He gave Himself up for her.
Christ can sanctify the church, he can set the church apart for service to God since he has cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.
The confusion in that phrase is clarified when you realize that Paul has in mind first century wedding customs. In the first century, before the wedding, the bride first received an elegant cleansing bath before being dressed in her bridal gown.
And this also harkens back to Ezekiel 16:8-14… Keep a hand here in Ephesians 5 and you could turn back there to Ezekiel chapter 16.
Here we’ll see similar language to the phrase we have in Eph 5:26, “having cleansed her” and “washing with water” …. You remember that earlier we noted the marriage language that the Lord used concerning his relationship to his people Israel. And here we have the same language.
Ezekiel 16:8-14 8 “Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love; so I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became Mine,” declares the Lord GOD. 9 “Then I bathed you with water (there it is), washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. 10 “I also clothed you with embroidered cloth and put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 “I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck. 12 “I also put a ring in your nostril, earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 “Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. 14 “Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,” declares the Lord GOD.
Now flip back to Ephesians chapter 5 verse 26 Ephesians 5:26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her …by the washing of water ….and he cleansed her… with the word,
So this cleansing by the washing of water is, as 1 Co. 6:11 indicates, is a spiritual cleansing of sin. Christ has cleansed the group of those who have trusted in him, the church, Christ has cleansed the church of her sin, that’s the point.
He did that with the word. Cleansed her by the washing of water and he cleansed her with the word. This is the word of his gospel. Christ, Son of God, died for the church, he was raised on their behalf….and those who trust Him and turn their back on their sin are a part of this glorious church and have eternal life.
TRANS: So husbands are to love their wives just as Christ loved the church. How did Christ love the church? He gave himself up for her… He took the initiative and willingly made a specific sacrifice of himself out of his interest in her. And the purpose for him doing that is verse 26…. That he might sanctify her…. That he might set her apart for himself… He could do that because he had already cleansed her … He spiritually washed away her sins and he did that with the word, the word of His gospel and so He could then set her apart for special service …
Now the Ultimate Purpose for all of this … why is He doing all of this? Verse 27 …
Present to Himself the Church
Ephesians 5:27 that He might present to Himself …the church (!!!!) in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.
There is coming a day when Christ will present to himself the church perfect in all her glory having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing and she will be found in pure holiness and blamelessness.
At some point at the end of days when the Lord returns, there will be this glorious presentation of the church to Himself. On that day, there will not be found any fault in her… There’ll be no spot, that is no defilement from without… Nothing of the world or of Satan on her … She will be without spot…no stain from the world.
There’ll also be no wrinkle, that is, no defilement from within. There will be no wrinkle or any such thing…. Nothing of the flesh, no spiritual wrinkle in her, the church will be perfect and holy, without blame.
CONCLUSION What is the Meaning of Ephesians 5.25-27
What delight he has in her … think of that precious language … present her to Himself … the church(!!) in all her glory!….this is purposeful delight.
Yes, the church on earth has major issues…but in that day, with Christ working in her, on that day she will have no defilement…He is working to that end. And Christ delights in us.
Men, your wife is not perfect either. You may even have thought that she has major issues, like the church generally on earth…. But as you properly lead her and gently enable her by delighting in her, she will respond to your desire for her to grow to be the wife she already wants to be, but it’ll take you sacrificing for her, delighting in her, and gently leading her for her to be the wife you want and that she wants to be.
Men, let me challenge you to make a specific sacrifice for her. Do you need to be home with her more? Do you need to communicate with her more? If you don’t know, then ask her. You should get with your wives and ask her about this message and her thoughts on it.
And so men, like Christ took the initiative… And he is pursuing the church so that the church would be glorious on that day…so men, you too, take the initiative… be the leader …lead your wife spiritually strengthen her and encourage her and enable and empower her to be the wife she needs to be like you know Christ would toward His church.
If there are issues in your marriage and she’s giving indication of that either because she’s acting disrespectful toward you, or you are having arguments, take the time and energy to sit her down and to really ask her questions, to figure out what she’s feeling and to value her thoughts on the matter. And get some help from my wife and I if you need to, pray with her, talk with her, progress, move forward, have a plan!
Men take the leadership, don’t wait for your wife to change, you change by God’s grace first and then gently enable her to do so, as well! Christ is actively purifying the church and He has sacrificed himself to do so.
Sacrifice your time/energy to help her be the wife you want her to be and learn from her on how to be the husband you need to be.
Men, consider the example of Christ. What love he had…vast unmeasured boundless, free!
Oh, that we …
Ephesians 3:18-20 18 may be able to comprehend …what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 …. this great… love of Christ which surpasses knowledge,
Let’s sing 221…The Church’s One Foundation 221
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