Ephesians 5:15-16
“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15
It will not be easy. It will take you to your limits and try your faith in the fire. It will take you through the valley and drag you to your knees. It will take everything from you and leave you with glory.
What glory, you ask? We will get there at some point.
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“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,”
Ephesians 5:25
The question we should ask ourselves when reading this verse is: What is love, and how does the Bible define love?
Does the Bible define love the same way this culture so proudly does? As an overwhelming feeling that you can’t control, leading you to say things like, “the heart wants what the heart wants,” or “love is love”? No. The Bible does not define love as this evil and wicked culture does.
Biblical love is action. It is an act on behalf of its object to do what is good. There is no better example of this than what Isaiah 53:3-5 says about Jesus:
“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:3-5
“that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 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.”
Ephesians 5:26-27
This is a high calling, men. You are in charge of caring for one of God’s daughters. You are called to cleanse her with the Word God gave you and present her in splendor, without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing.
Oh men, if I could get one point across, let it be this: You can’t do it. You cannot do what God calls you to do without the Holy Spirit. It is impossible without Him—you’re toast. But with the Holy Spirit, you can do what God calls you to do.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
Galatians 5:22-24
“In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.”
Ephesians 5:28-30
Women, trust the Lord your God, for He is faithful and true. He works all things together for good for those who love Him.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28
If you don’t trust God, you can’t truly trust your husband. For if you cannot trust a perfect and holy God, how can you trust a sinful and fallen man to lead you?
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Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 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. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.”
Ephesians 5:22-24
First, I must point out that you are called to submit to your own husband, not a boyfriend. I must stress this again because it is so important: women, trust God’s order of marriage, for He is faithful and trustworthy.
“I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.”
Psalm 89:1
While submission to your husband won’t always be easy and your flesh will want to rise up. It is a beautiful and life giving act to submit yourself to his godly authority.
If you do what God commands, you will not destroy him; instead, you will heap coals on his head.
“To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’”
Romans 12:20
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Ah yes, the glory I said we would return to. Yes, there is glory for us as Christians—glory for those who, by patience in well-doing, seek it.
“He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;”
Romans 2:6-7
What does it look like to seek glory? It looks like killing your flesh and picking up your cross. It looks like laying down your life for your friends.
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
John 15:13
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