Husbands please look closely at the bottom of our scripture passage below. We have been given a command in verse 33, it states that each husband should love his own wife. Let us start off with a question. Why is a "command" given? Let us go back to Exodus 20 when God gives the children of Israel the 10 commandments. These were given to them for three reasons, one to build a relationship between the Israelites and God, second to distinguish them from the rest of the world and point a sinful world back to the living God, and third to show the Israelites themselves that they would never be able to fulfill the law in their natural flesh and that His love for mankind would be demonstrated in the sacrificial death of His sinless Son, Jesus Christ.
That being said a command is given because a person would not perform this function in their natural state. In other words you do not have to command a dog to bark, a rabbit to hop, a fish to swim, or a lion to roar. These behaviors come naturally to these species. Yet, man was commanded to "Love" his wife. The reason why men are from mars and women are from Venus is because we speak two different languages. Men naturally speak respect, with out teaching a man, they would naturally respect those they admire and seek respect from all those around them. Women on the other hand naturally speak love, with out teaching a woman, they would naturally love those they admire and seek love from all those around them, that is why they are commanded in verse 33 to respect their husbands.
Now let's go back once again, a command is given but it can not be fulfilled in our natural flesh, as God has shown us before. A husband can only fulfill this command by being under submission to Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Now we can say there are many married couples that are not Christian and it seems that there are husbands that love their wives, that may be true but it's based on the standard of love from the world. The world asks what are they doing, so they can see and hear a sign. God, asks why are they doing it. Remember God doesn't judge actions as we seen in Jeremiah 17:10, "I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings." Two husbands performing the same action of opening the car door for his wife would be seen by man as righteous. God would see the man that did it out of the want for sex later on in that evening and count it unto him as selfish. While He will take a look at the other husbands action which was performed out of a motive of safety for his wife and it will be counted as selfless. Only a man under the submission to the Holy Spirit will have a pure motive because it is the Spirit that is inside of him operating. This is why Christ died for the Church, out of a Love Motive!!! Christ died for our sins almost 2000 years before we were born. We cannot judge our actions of whether we are loving our wives based on their actions or lack of respect for us. Christ died for man will we were yet still sinners!!! Now, with this love demonstrated to the world from a husband to a wife, the world will see the love that was demonstrated from Christ to the Church. Today, husbands allow the Holy Spirit to continue to conform you into Christ, so that you may Love your wife as you ought to, for this is a part of God's pleasing and perfect Will for your Life!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of enjoying Marriage on purpose!!!!!
Ephesians 5
Marriage—Christ and the Church
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 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. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body,[d] of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”[e] 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 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.
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