HOUSE RULES (PART 2)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

Colossians 3:19 NLT

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s message from Colossians 3, the first in this series called House Rules, we saw where the Bible calls wives to submit to their husbands as would be fitting for anyone living in Christ Jesus, our Lord. We saw further by looking at a parallel passage from the fifth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians that this submission was to be towards the husband as the wife submits to the Lord which is a call to total submission as that is what the Lord expects towards Him.

Now, people who have more footing in the world than in Christ and the scriptures get up in arms over this passage, especially because it suggests an inequity. This rebellion against the word of God is nearly always grounded in the worldly fabrication of feminism, that women should have equal power that men have in all things to include marriage. This philosophy will always clash with the scriptures but the funny thing is that the Bible does build in equity. Yes, the husband is the head of the household as Christ is the Head of the church as we read in the passage from Ephesians (5:22) but you need to read everything in regard to how each partner in marriage is expected to conduct themselves. You need to know all the house rules.

Here’s what we find when we look at the husband and what they are called to do, first looking at our verse from Colossians and then expanding on it from Ephesians 5:

Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them (3:19 NLT).

For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up His life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He 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. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. (Vv. 25-29).

Here we find that a woman in a Christian marriage should feel like the most fortunate, blessed woman on the planet. This is because, unlike a worldly marriage, the husband has biblical house rules to follow in regard to the way he treats his wife while leading her and their children, if applicable.

The enemy stirs up angst about the wife’s call to totally submit to their husband by suggesting this places them in a place of vulnerability where the husband has license to mistreat them. But as we see in the scriptures, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

In fact, I would submit to you that there is more stringency in the requirements for the husband and their behavior. For look at how the husband is required to love their wife. The Bible doesn’t suggest but rather commands that the husband love his wife as “Christ loved the church”. Think about that responsibility for a minute.

How did Jesus love the church?

So perfectly that he was willing to set Himself aside to save it.

Now ask yourself if the husband isn’t required to submit himself just as much as the wife in a marital relationship. Yes, he is the head of the marriage but also an equal partner when it comes to surrender and sacrifice. The 21st verse of Ephesians 5 speaks to this submission equity:

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

The only way a Christian marriage will truly honor and glorify Christ Jesus is if both the husband and wife submit to one another in obedience to the very word of God. Period. And when they do, you will find the happiest of marriages, one where Jesus is not only the focal point but the One who is truly leading, just the way it’s supposed to be.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com