By Matt Haste
What do we believe?
Husbands are called to love and lead their wives as Christ loved the Church. Wives are called to respect and submit to their husbands as the Church submits to Jesus.
Why do we believe this?
Ephesians 5:21-31 – submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. 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. Husbands love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 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. 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. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
Why does it matter?
Marriage works best when husbands and wives live out their God-given roles in the relationship. These roles and this relationship are designed by God to tell a story to the world. Ephesians 5 explains how this happens.
Marriage is meant to be a divine drama that illustrates the love of Jesus for his people. Husbands, you are to love your wife as Christ has loved his Church: forgetting yourself, preferring her needs and desires above your own, and seeking to lead her in holiness and love. Wives, you are called to love your husband as the Church submits to Jesus: respecting his authority, honoring his leadership, and seeking to be a faithful helper to him. This relationship is at its finest when each of you submit to one another (and to your God-given roles) out of reverence for Christ. You do this by putting your spouse’s needs and desires above your own.
When considered in this way, marriage takes on a much greater significance. The very name of God and the integrity of the Gospel hang in the balance as couples live out their days together. This is a great responsibility and also a tremendous blessing. Does your marriage reflect God’s love for His people? How would it look differently if you viewed your marriage in this way?