LOOKING TO PRAISE AND WORSHIP JESUS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD. 18 No man has ever seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known].

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

AS YOUR OWN BODY

Ephesians 5:27-30 "...and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church, for we are members of his body."

Christ’s love for the church is demonstrated in the way he honored her and elevated her. We already referred to how he made her holy, cleansing her, and clothing her in his righteous raiment. But notice how high he lifted us up! From the very depths of sin and degradation to the kingdom of heaven! He took us from the realm of Satan and brought us into a loving relationship with God. He introduced us into his royal family so that we might call his Father our Father! Christ is proud of us! He wants to show us off! “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 3:10). I have a picture in my mind of Christ taking his bride, the church, around heaven on his arm and showing her off to the rulers and authorities and princes of heaven! Brothers, this is what our love for our wives should be like! We are to honor our wives. We are to hold them up and respect them! We should never put them down or insult them or abuse them in any way! We lift them up and praise them with holy pride!

Finally, the church is the body of Christ. How does Christ care for his body? He provides constant watchcare. He is always with his church. (Matthew 28:20b) He never leaves us alone. He never forsakes us. We are always with him because we are his body. He provides for us everything we need. He protects us from the Enemy. He nourishes us spiritually through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. All these things he does for us because we are his body. This is the way we are to love our wives! “In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself” (Ephesians 5:28). Please notice that Paul does not say, “Love your wives in the same way you love your own bodies.” He says that we are to love our wives as our own bodies! In other words, when we hear those words and take those vows, “and the two shall become one flesh,” we are actually one body! The woman was taken from the body of the man and marriage brings them back together again into one body! When we love our wives we are loving ourselves! When we hurt our wives we are hurting ourselves.

Men, I can’t let you go without impressing the importance of our responsibility upon you one more time. Loving our wives is not optional! God commands us to love. We will be held accountable. There are consequences if we fail to love our wives as we should. Here is the end of that passage in 1 Peter that we looked at earlier, “…and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” Our very relationships with God will be affected if we do not love our wives and give ourselves up for them. I wonder if the general weakness of the American church might be traced to the failure of Christian men to love their wives as they should.

(Thanks to the contributors to and the readers of Bluecollar for granting me this forum for such an extended time. You have been gracious in your comments and encouragement and patient in your endurance. You may now breathe a sigh of relief because this is the last post in this series!)

Dave Moorhead

6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sigh of relief?
Last post in the series?
Waaaah!

May 23, 2007 12:12 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dave,
I don't know about in your church, but in several churches with which I've been involved in the past few years, I see more women in pain due to marital issues. Perhaps it's just my hearing of them because I'm a woman involved in ministries where women tend to be (VBS, children and women's studies, etc) - but I've heard pastors lament a lack of godly leadership in the home as well.
Both spouses are called to be self-sacrificial - submitting to Christ. I don't believe that it's ever the fault of just one individual - or if so, very rarely.
I'm sure the men in the marriages that I see broken are in pain as well, and I'm just not hearing their sides.
Even the best of marriages need continual prayer.

May 23, 2007 12:34 PM

 
Blogger Baptist Girl said...

Dave,
Thank you for such a wonderful series. I truly, truly enjoyed it.
The Lord has given us such a wonderful union in marriage and we should honor Him by being the husband and wives God wants us to be to one another. Thanks again Dave!

Cristina

May 23, 2007 2:13 PM

 
Blogger jazzycat said...

Dave,
Good series. I have definitely got a new perspective on this passage. I think your point on two becoming one flesh captures what the marriage relationship should be.
wayne

May 23, 2007 4:23 PM

 
Blogger Shiloh Guy said...

Susan: I agree with you that, with very few exceptions, there are two sides to marital conflict. Ideally, the husband and the wife are both working at maintaining a God-honoring relationship.

Cristina: Thanks for your kind words. And you're right, a good marriage honors God and is one of the most powerful witnesses to our world of the power of the Holy Spirit!

Wayne: I appreciate your encouragement. I'm blessed that you have found something of value in these posts.

Dave

May 23, 2007 4:35 PM

 
Blogger mark pierson said...

"I wonder if the general weakness of the American church might be traced to the failure of Christian men to love their wives as they should."

Wow! That's quite a thought to seriously consider.

May 24, 2007 9:38 AM

 

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