Wives and Husbands

September 1, 2024
Pastor Jack

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Ephesians 5:20-33

giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to the God and Father, being subject to one another out of reverence for Christ —wives to their own husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife, as also Christ is the head of the church (he himself being the Savior of the body). But as the church is subject to Christ, thus also wives should be subject to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for her; in order that he might sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word; in order that he might present to himself the church glorious, not having a spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she may be holy and blameless. Thus also husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. The one who loves his own wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as also Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” (This mystery is great, but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.) Only you also, each one of you, must thus love his own wife as himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Marriage in Unity and Love

  • CEO: leader of an organization; highest ranking
  • Senior Partner: more power and influence
  • Dean: head of a school; responsible for counseling and disciplining students

Ephesians 5:20–21 (ESV):

giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

  • How are submission and thankfulness related?

Ephesians 5:22 (ESV):

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

  • Do you think this is providing a rank or a role?
    • Why?
    • Explain the difference.
  • Where is the focus in this?
  • What, if any, significance is in the phrase “submit to your own husbands”?

Ephesians 5:23–24 (ESV):

For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

  • Read Philippians 2:6–7 (ESV):

who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

  • How does this passage affect your thoughts on the role of the husband in a marriage?

Ephesians 5:25–28 (ESV):

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

  • Based on this passage and what Jack said in the message, what is the husbands’ responsibility in the marriage?

  • Jack said “keep food in the fridge”

    • Read Matthew 4:4 (ESV):

    But he answered, “It is written,

    “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
    but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
    • Explain what you think he meant by “food in the fridge.”

Ephesians 5:29–31 (ESV):

For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

  • See Genesis 2:23 (ESV):

    Then the man said,

      “This at last is bone of my bones
      and flesh of my flesh;
      she shall be called Woman,
      because she was taken out of Man.”

Ephesians 5:32–33 (ESV):

This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

  • What is the “mystery” Paul refers to, and how does it relate to the relationship between Christ and the church?

Thoughts for Reflection

  • How does understanding marriage as a reflection of Christ’s relationship with the church change the way we view marital roles and responsibilities?

  • Jack mentioned a survey that explored men and women’s needs:

    • Women: security
    • Men: respect
    • Assuming that those are high-ranking needs in a marriage, how does this passage impact those needs?

    Glorify Him through our commitment

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