Husbands, Love Your Wives
In Genesis 2:22-25, the Bible says, “Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: ‘This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” Thus, the first home was established. The precedent for the establishment of the future home was also put into place. Did you ever wonder why Moses wrote of fathers and mothers on this occasion when there were not any in existence at the time? He was establishing the biblical way in which a family was to be built. A man is to leave his father and mother and marry his wife just as Adam was married to Eve. While God established the home by making a husband and wife out of Adam and Eve, He also put forth some principles for godly husbands and wives to incorporate into their lives in other places in the Bible. The focus of this article will be God’s plan for the husband of the home.
In Ephesians 5:22-33, Paul is teaching about the relationship of Christ and the church. In order for people to better understand this relationship, Paul appeals to the relationship of husbands and wives. Several times, in reference to the husbands, Paul says that he is to love his wife. The word translated from the Greek New Testament carries with it the idea of sacrifice. Implicitly, the husband is to be willing to give his own life for the life of his wife. The love should run just that deep. Paul uses three comparisons or ways in which the husband is to love his wife.
First, Ephesians 5:25-27, Paul writes, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” There are many different ways in which Christ expressed and proved that He loved the church. The most notable would be the fact that He died for the church. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Christ lived so that those who will accept Him would have a pattern to follow and be able to live godly lives (Philippians 2:5). He made it possible for the church to have no sin held at their charge as seen in the key text. The church can be holy because of what Christ did for her.
Second, Paul commands that husbands love their wives in Ephesians 5:28-30 by saying, “So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.” People do not hate themselves but rather they take care of themselves. If a person were to willingly hurt themselves for no obvious reason, it would be an indication that he or she is sick and not in their right frame of mind. Yet, an occurrence of domestic violence happens about every 30 seconds in this country. Many times, it is a man hurting his wife. Such ought not to be the case. Paul instructs husbands to love their wives just as they love themselves. Some abuse this passage by pointing to the fact that Paul makes husbands the head of the wife. They will then reason that headship allows them to abuse their spouse. Nothing could be further from the truth. God wants husbands to love their wives and treat them as they would treat themselves.
Finally, Paul says, “Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” This, of course, is closely tied in with the concept of one loving his wife as his own body. The idea is that the husband is to do things to show that he loves his wife. In fact, from verse 31, one can learn that the husband is no longer to devote himself to his parents but rather devotes his time to his wife. The priority of his responsibility changes when he gets married. It moves from his parents to his spouse. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church, as his own body, and even as himself.
Another point that is brought out from the text of Ephesians 5 is the concept that the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church (verse 23). Perhaps no one point of the husbands role in the home has been more abused than the concept of what headship is. Headship is not the idea of superiority, lordship, or being the boss in all things. Though generally, women are physically weaker than men, headship is not forced by and through greater strength. Those who practice and teach it as such have not considered how Christ shows Himself to be head over the church. He does not force the church to follow Him nor does He flaunt His deity over the members of the church.
Headship is a position of authority over the wife that is given to the husband by Christ. It should be tempered, monitored and practiced only by the love that the husband has for the wife. The key to understanding biblical headship is the answer to the following question: How does Christ exercise His headship over the church? He gives rules and regulations for the church that protect the church. He was willing and did die for the church. The church willingly submits to Christ because they understand His position of authority. Husbands, headship comes with great responsibility and should be exercised only out of the love you have for your wife.
In Genesis 2:22-25, the Bible says, “Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: ‘This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” Thus, the first home was established. The precedent for the establishment of the future home was also put into place. Did you ever wonder why Moses wrote of fathers and mothers on this occasion when there were not any in existence at the time? He was establishing the biblical way in which a family was to be built. A man is to leave his father and mother and marry his wife just as Adam was married to Eve. While God established the home by making a husband and wife out of Adam and Eve, He also put forth some principles for godly husbands and wives to incorporate into their lives in other places in the Bible. The focus of this article will be God’s plan for the husband of the home.
In Ephesians 5:22-33, Paul is teaching about the relationship of Christ and the church. In order for people to better understand this relationship, Paul appeals to the relationship of husbands and wives. Several times, in reference to the husbands, Paul says that he is to love his wife. The word translated from the Greek New Testament carries with it the idea of sacrifice. Implicitly, the husband is to be willing to give his own life for the life of his wife. The love should run just that deep. Paul uses three comparisons or ways in which the husband is to love his wife.
First, Ephesians 5:25-27, Paul writes, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” There are many different ways in which Christ expressed and proved that He loved the church. The most notable would be the fact that He died for the church. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Christ lived so that those who will accept Him would have a pattern to follow and be able to live godly lives (Philippians 2:5). He made it possible for the church to have no sin held at their charge as seen in the key text. The church can be holy because of what Christ did for her.
Second, Paul commands that husbands love their wives in Ephesians 5:28-30 by saying, “So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.” People do not hate themselves but rather they take care of themselves. If a person were to willingly hurt themselves for no obvious reason, it would be an indication that he or she is sick and not in their right frame of mind. Yet, an occurrence of domestic violence happens about every 30 seconds in this country. Many times, it is a man hurting his wife. Such ought not to be the case. Paul instructs husbands to love their wives just as they love themselves. Some abuse this passage by pointing to the fact that Paul makes husbands the head of the wife. They will then reason that headship allows them to abuse their spouse. Nothing could be further from the truth. God wants husbands to love their wives and treat them as they would treat themselves.
Finally, Paul says, “Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” This, of course, is closely tied in with the concept of one loving his wife as his own body. The idea is that the husband is to do things to show that he loves his wife. In fact, from verse 31, one can learn that the husband is no longer to devote himself to his parents but rather devotes his time to his wife. The priority of his responsibility changes when he gets married. It moves from his parents to his spouse. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church, as his own body, and even as himself.
Another point that is brought out from the text of Ephesians 5 is the concept that the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church (verse 23). Perhaps no one point of the husbands role in the home has been more abused than the concept of what headship is. Headship is not the idea of superiority, lordship, or being the boss in all things. Though generally, women are physically weaker than men, headship is not forced by and through greater strength. Those who practice and teach it as such have not considered how Christ shows Himself to be head over the church. He does not force the church to follow Him nor does He flaunt His deity over the members of the church.
Headship is a position of authority over the wife that is given to the husband by Christ. It should be tempered, monitored and practiced only by the love that the husband has for the wife. The key to understanding biblical headship is the answer to the following question: How does Christ exercise His headship over the church? He gives rules and regulations for the church that protect the church. He was willing and did die for the church. The church willingly submits to Christ because they understand His position of authority. Husbands, headship comes with great responsibility and should be exercised only out of the love you have for your wife.
-J
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