Church of Christ Sermons and Lessons for 2014 |
Speaker |
Sermon/Lesson Title |
Audio
Video
Text
MS
Word
|
Category |
Date Added |
Lesson |
Bobby Stafford |
Husbands And Wives (Ephesians 5:22-33) |
|
Ephesians |
August 17, 2014 |
Sunday AM Sermon |
Husbands and Wives
“The Husband and Wife Relationship”
Introduction:
The book of Ephesians, probably more than any other, tells us what the
church is and why it means so much to Christ. In particular, the text
for our lesson (Ephesians 5:22-33) reveals that the relationship between
Christ and His church [the church of Christ] is very similar to the
relationship that should exist between a husband and his wife; for both
originated with God.
Text:
Ephesians 5:22-33
Body:
I.
Submission by Wives in Marriage
(Verses 22-24) Verse 22 The wife is to willingly submit to
her own husband as she willingly submits to Christ. (I Peter 3:1, 5-6)
Attitude is critical! Verse 23 The husband holds a similar
relationship to his wife that Christ does to the church. He is the head.
This is God’s arrangement. Just as no person has the right to overrule
Christ’s authority over the church; also the wife has no right to reject
the authority of her husband, as long as it is not sinful. To do so, is
to rebel and sin in God’s sight. With headship comes responsibility to
care for, protect, and provide. Husbands and wives have different roles
in the house. When honored, a peaceful home will be the result. Verse
24 Here is a reemphasis of the truth regarding submission. The
church must be subject to Christ. It is to respect, obey, and be
faithful to His Word. Wives are to be subject to their husbands “in
everything.” This would only exclude what’s sinful. The wife’s
submission cannot be partial. It can’t be a pick-and-choose arrangement;
just as the church can’t pick-and-choose what it wants to obey.
II.
Love by Husbands in Marriage
(Verses 25-33) Verse 25 Husbands are to have the same devotion to
their wives that Christ had for the church. He was willing to die for
it! (Acts 20:28) He loved the church with “an intense love” that
much. It is agape love. This is an unselfish love that seeks what’s best
for the object of its love. One is willing to do nothing that hurts,
only what’s good. This is a sacrificial love. A husband then, during the
course of time, should demonstrate his love for his wife so that she
knows he would be willing to die for her!! This makes a peaceful
home. Verses 26-27 Just as the church is sanctified [set apart
for a holy purpose], so is marriage. Note the principle in Romans 7:4. A
Christian husband and wife can help each other bear fruit for God. They
can often do more together than they could separately. A note to
husbands: Because of your love for your wives, you should always act in
view of eternity, to have your wife’s spiritual welfare uppermost in
your minds. Verses 28-29 Note the word “ought.” This is the right
thing, the honorable one, to do. “So husbands ought to love their own
wives as their own bodies;” Men take care of their own bodies; attend to
its needs; do what they can to preserve them. Recall Luke 10:27. “Love .
. . your neighbor as yourself.” “Loves himself” Read Matthew 19:4-6.
“And He answered and said to them, Have you not read that He who made
them at the beginning made them male and female. And said, For this
reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his
wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So then, they are no longer
two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man
separate.” NKJV This passage stresses unity of marriage. Husband and
wife are inseparably linked together. What is done for one should be
done in respect for the other. It should be no mine and yours,
just ours. The husband should cherish his wife, show
affection, and respect her by acknowledging her importance in the
marriage. He should esteem her highly. Verses 30-33 “The exalted
view, both of marriage and of the church of Jesus Christ, shines forth
in this text. The sacredness of marriage is seen in God’s design of it,
from the very beginning, to be a figure of the union of Christ and His
church.” Coffman Paul ends this section by reemphasizing that husbands
must love their wives and wives are to respect their husbands.
Respect here is the same word translated fear in Verse 21.
Invitation:
These verses teach us much about the marriage relationship, but they say
so much about the relationship between Christ and His church.
Verse 23 “Savior of body” – Savior of the church There is only one
church. The church is simply comprised of all the saved people in the
world. Verse 26 Those in the church are those who have been sanctified
and cleansed by washing of water by the word. Acts 22:16 “. . . arise,
and be baptized and wash away your sins. . .” Verse 30 Christians are
members of the Lord’s body, of His spiritual flesh and bones. As a bride
and groom leave their parents to enter into the new marriage, those who
obey the gospel, leave behind their former spiritual ties
[denominational ones,] and enter the body of Christ. Then those who
remain faithful look forward to a great joyful day. (Revelation 19:7-9)
“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the
Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was
granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright. For the fine
linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, Write:
Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb! And
he said to me, These are the true sayings of God.” NKJV Won’t you
come today and begin that relationship with Christ. Maybe there are some
Christians here today whose marriages are not as we have described.
Bobby Stafford
August 17, 2014