Single Adult, Seek God's Will

 Single adult, one of the most important things God would have you do when it comes to marriage is to pay attention to what He teaches you through and about marriage. This includes seeking God’s will when it comes to whether or not you will marry. Here are a number of things to remember.

 

1. Marriage And Our Happiness.

Though all the things we have shared in our sermons on marriage from Genesis 2:18-25 show how important marriage is in God’s plan and His mission for us, nevertheless marriage is not essential for true happiness. After all, we will not be married in our future eternal joy in God’s presence in the age to come (Luke 20:34-35). 

 

Likewise, we must guard against making marriage and/or a spouse or family a god (1 John 5:21). We must also guard against seeing our ultimate identity as defined by whether or not we are married (Rom. 6:1-23; 1 Cor. 6:11; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:10-17). 

 

It is essential to learn to be content in God (1 Cor. 7:17-38; Phil. 4:10-13), even though you might still desire marriage and seek marriage. Paul makes it clear that the most important thing is not being married or not, even though it might be best for one to pursue marriage (cf. 1 Cor. 7:2, 17-38). 

 

2. Marriage And Relationships.

Though God can take care of a lone Christian by him/herself through a special dispensation, in the event of imprisonment, solitary confinement, etc. (e.g. John on the island of Patmos [Rev. 1]), typically it should be remembered from the Bible’s teaching on marriage that community (we need others and they need us (1 Cor. 12) is essential for flourishing and for living out our walk with Christ (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:18; Gal. 6:1-2; 2 Tim. 4:9-14; Heb. 3:12-13; 10:24-25). 

 

3. Marriage And Your Church.

For any person who is not married (whether they want to be married or not), the family of God can provide missing familial community—even though this may not fully take away the longing or difficulty, esp. for the person who strongly desires to be married (Mk. 10:30; Lk. 8:19-21). So, seek to be part of a Bible Fellowship and/or an Iron Man/Woman team. 

 

4. Marriage And What You Do Now.

How does a single person know whether or not they should get married and what should they do while single? Follow these bits of wisdom: 

a. Remain faithful and pure while single, knowing that the Lord will help you do this and give you all you need for this (1 Cor. 10:13; 2 Peter 1:3-4f.). This, after all, is His will (Ex. 20:14; 1 Cor. 6:12-20; 1 Thes. 4:4). 

 

b. Seek God’s wisdom as to whether or not you should get married. (1 Cor. 7:17-38; Col. 1:9)

 

c. Pray and ask Him for a spouse, if you believe this is the best path for you. (Phil. 4:6, 19)

 

d. Take steps to be around and/or to have connection to those out of whom a godly spouse may emerge (Phil. 2:12-13). 

 

e. Trust God’s providence as your life situation unfolds. (Dt. 29:29; Rom. 8:28)

 

f. Remember that both married people and singles have important roles to play in the church,  displaying the truths of the gospel (1 Cor. 7:17-38; 2 Cor. 12:7-10; Eph. 5:32). 

 

g. If you pursue marriage and as you pursue marriage, remember that it is to be “only in the Lord” (1 Cor. 7:39 [see also 2 Cor. 6:14]). Seek accountability within the body of Christ that you will not compromise in this (Heb. 3:12-13; 10:24-25). What this means is that as you take steps to be around or be connected to those out of whom a spouse may emerge, this should be only followers of Christ.

 

As you seek to apply the above biblical principles and wisdom, rememeber that as a Christian you can be assured that God is orchestrating all things together for your good, including singleness, getting married, staying single, and/or waiting for a spouse (Rom. 8:28).  

 

Seeking God’s Will With You As Your Joyful Pastor,

 

Tom

 

Wife, Find Joy In Helping Your Husband Flourish

In our last article we wrote, wife, that one of the ways you place yourself underneath your husband, who is your spiritual head, is to delight in helping him flourish in his role as a Christlike servant-leader who loves you as Christ loves the church. God has created your husband to be strong, to lead courageously, and care for his family with brave, manly love (Gen. 2:15; 1 Cor. 16:13-14; 1 Pet. 3:7). This does not mean he will be perfect at this or will always be right. Yet, if a wife makes her husband feel as if he doesn’t measure up, is rarely right or sufficient, it is like always keeping a dog chained up, when he is meant to run, play, hunt, retrieve, and smell all he can! He can’t be who he is supposed to be! This is the opposite of helping the husband flourish. 

 

There is no passage that addresses this more clearly than Ephesians 5:33. In this final word to wives in Paul’s teaching on marriage, he summarizes one of the most important ways a wife should treat her husband: “Let the wife see that she respects her husband.” The word that the ESV translates “respect,” is phobeō, and is translated as “respect” in the majority of English versions. It is related to the noun in Ephesians 5:21 translated as “reverence” (phobos): “…submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” The idea is this, flowing out of our reverential high esteem and deep love for Jesus Christ, who is our Lord and Savior, we long to honor Him in our marriage. Wife, this should lead to you respecting, that is, having a high esteem for your husband and the place Jesus Christ has given him in your marriage and family. 

 

Here are some ways you can do this.

 

1. Remember That Ultimately Your Respect Is For Jesus Christ. 

Since we submit to each other so that we each flourish as God designed for us, and do this out of reverential high esteem for our Lord and Savior (Eph. 5:21), wife, you respect the place that Christ has given your husband, the purpose that Christ has in this (giving a picture of the gospel, v. 32), and the prospect of who your husband can become, if he is not currently the leader you would like for him to be. 

 

2. Remember That Your Respect For Jesus Christ And His Purpose In Your Marriage Should Lead To Prayer.

From The beginning of Scripture (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:18-25) to this passage in Ephesians, part of the mission God has given to man and woman is to help the world and all in it to flourish. Since this includes the picture of the gospel that is to be seen in and through marriage (Eph. 5:32), wife, this means there is no more important mission that your Lord and Savior has given you than to humble yourself in your marriage, love like Jesus loves, and help your husband become who God intended him to be. This does not mean trying to change him yourself. It is to pray much for him (Phil. 4:6) that God will help him to be the kind of leader God wants in your marriage. 

 

3. Remember That The Standard for Leadership In Marriage Comes From The Lord Jesus Christ And Not You.

Sometimes wives are disappointed with their husbands, not because the husbands do not measure up to Christ’s standards, but because they do not meet the wife’s expectations. Therefore, be a student of how Christ wants your husband to lead (Matt. 20:20-28; Eph. 5:25-27, 33; Col. 3:18-19; 1 Peter 3:7), pray for him to these ends, and finally, confess to God and repent of ways you have tried to change him to meet your expectations (1 John 1:9), and then confess this to your husband, asking for his forgiveness (James 5:16).

 

4. Remember That Your Marriage Is One Of God’s Best Tools To Sanctify You.

Often God uses trials, difficulties and disappointments to sanctify us, that is, to help us become more like Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18; 1 Peter 1:6-9). It may be that Christ is changing you and in that transformation you will see your husband influenced to change. 

 

Wife, Jesus Christ calls you to trust and obey Him, and to leave the results in His hands. May you be faithful to Him, especially in loving your husband in a way that respects him, and encourages him to flourish in his role as a husband. 

 

Reverencing Jesus Christ With You As Your Joyful Pastor,

 

Tom

 

Wife, Delight In Your Husband Flourishing

 In Paul’s teaching on marriage, as seen in Ephesians 5:33, we discover that wives are to “respect” their husband. The word translated “respect” is phobeō. It speaks of a reverence or respect that is the opposite of taking someone lightly. Part of the implication is that the wife should acknowledge her husband’s leadership role and value it as coming from God. The passage began by calling all kinds of Christians to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ and the word translated, “reverence” is the noun form of the above verb. It is phobos.

This exhortation from Paul comes at the end of his teaching on marriage and appears to be a last word to husbands (“Love his wife as himself”) and to wives (“respects her husband”). As the last word to each, it appears to be a key need that each spouse needs. A wife needs to be loved in a manner that she is secure in that love and knows her husband loves her. A husband needs to be treated in such a way that he is not belittled or made by his wife to feel insignificant. 

Wife, in light of what we have seen in previous articles about the marriage relationship, your ultimate call by God toward your husband is to help him flourish (Gen. 1:26-28). And helping others flourish, as God wills for us, should lead to our delight. What this means, is that you should delight in helping your husband flourish. 

Here are some ways you can do that. 

1. Since the husband is called lead in your marriage and family, pray for him to do this, even when it is hard. What is more, affirm him when he is doing well. When you think he is falling short, pray for him much, before trying to force him to change so that he leads better. 

2. Realize all husbands (other than Jesus Christ) will fail in some way as they lead in their marriage and family. Be patient with and forgiving toward him. (See Col. 3:13) Also, refrain from trying to force him to change through incessant reminders or through anger (1 Peter 3:1-2). To the best of your ability and God’s grace, follow their lead and give them space to lead, rather than becoming the leader yourself in his place.

3. If all of this is hard for you, find another mature Christian woman who can keep you accountable, pray for you, and help you work through how to apply the will of God in wise ways (Col. 1:9f.; Heb. 3:12-14).

4. Look for opportunities to affirm your husband in his decisions and leadership. He needs to know you appreciate him and notice when he is trying to carry out God’s will. 

5. Never forget that God has designed us so that marriage functions best when husbands are leading and wives are encouraging that leadership. As we have already said, this will not mean that you cannot give input to your husband, nor does it mean you and he will not make decisions together. Yet, it does demand you encourage him as often as possible in his leadership. 

May God give you grace to “play the Jesus role” to which He has called you, and may God shower you with His blessings as you are faithful to Him in marriage.  

Praying For You As Your Joyful Pastor,

Tom

Wife, Put Yourself In The Right Place

“Wife, Put Yourself In The Right Place”

In Ephesians 5:18 all those who have been saved and transformed into new people are commanded to “be filled (that is, led and controlled) with the Spirit.” Then we are told in 5:21 that those who are filled with the Spirit will place themselves underneath others, that is put them and their needs before self. The motivation for this will be robust reverential awe and adoration before the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Paul goes on to say that what this means for wives is that they will place themselves underneath their own husbands (Ephesians 5:22), and the reason is that the husband has been given a place of leadership in the marriage and home (5:23), and all this provides a picture of Jesus Christ and His relationship to the church (Ephesians 5:32). Because God has designed men, women, and marriage to function best when husbands and wives accept and live out the role He has given to each, I take this to mean that your marriage relationship, wife, will work the best when you follow the Spirit’s lead and God’s command to place yourself underneath your husband’s leadership, and when you encourage your husband to take up his God-given role. 

Of course, I have never been in your shoes and so I can’t say, “I know what it is like to place myself underneath a spouse as they take a place of leadership in our relationship.” But, I do know that this is not easy. So, let me provide a number of helps that Scripture provides. 

Help One: This Does Not Mean Your Husband Is More Important Than You.

When God created Adam and Eve, He made it clear that though they would have different roles, they are equal in value and significance (Genesis 2:18). The intent was never to disrespect women, including you, your gifts, and abilities, but to communicate in this relationship the gospel of Jesus Christ, including how He and the church relate. 

Help Two: This Does Not Mean Your Husband Is More Talented Or Capable Than You.

You, like all people, have strengths and weaknesses. So does your husband, and this means that there will be some things you do better than he, and some things he will do better than you. The wise husband prays for, loves, and relates to his wife in a way that encourages her to use her gifts and to contribute to decisions made as a couple—as much as possible. 

Pray for your husband to lead and love sacrificially, like Christ loves the church sacrificially. Pray that God will give wisdom to him for how to do this, and wisdom to you so you can, at one and the same time, use your gifts and talents, but also can encourage him in his leadership. This is a “dance” that will not be the same in all married couples. 

Help Three: Jesus Died For You To Live For Him And Others, Not Self.

In 2 Corinthians 5:15 Paul writes that Jesus died for you so that you would no longer live for self but for Jesus Christ (and what He wills for us, and so we will live for others). This means that God wants you to relate in a way to your husband such that he can fulfill his calling in marriage and you can also. If you have children, this also includes serving them by showing them the gospel in your marriage and by showing them how husbands and wives are to relate to each other as followers of Jesus. 

Wife, remember, and regularly pray about this: Your role as a wife is one of the ways you serve Jesus Christ and His glory!

Help Four: You Are Helping Your Husband, Children, And Others Around You Flourish.

We will talk about this more in our next post. Simply-put, you are praying for, loving, and relating to your husband not as a floor mat to be walked all over, but as a Christ-like loving wife, setting an example for others. 

Help Five: Remember Both You And Your Husband Are Called To Fulfill A Jesus Role.

Your husband is called to be a leader who leads you and the family as a servant who loves you and is willing to sacrifice himself for you all (Mat. 20:20-28; Ephesians 5:25-27). 

You are called to place yourself, an equal to your husband, underneath his leadership, in the same way Jesus the Son does to the Father (1 Cor. 11:3), and you are called to imitate Jesus by releasing your hold on equality with your husband, placing yourself under his leadership humbly, similar to the way Jesus humbled Himself to save us (Phil. 2:5-8). 

Help Six: Remember The Way To Future Exaltation Is First Through Humility.

As Jesus illustrated for us (Phil. 2:5-11) and as God commands us through Peter (1 Peter 5:6), we all are to live in humility as the way to reward and exaltation. All are to do this. You, as a wife, are called to live this out, in part, in your marriage. 

Wife, bottom-line, as Jesus taught in John 15:1-16, the way to fullness of joy is to abide in Him in such a way that we love one another sacrificially, for the glory of God. No doubt you, like every wife, will face difficult days as a wife who is trying to follow your husband’s leadership, but in the long run, this will be the way to greatest joy and service of the Lord to His glory in your marriage.

So, by His grace, put yourself in the right place!

Joyously Sacrificing With You,

Tom

Love Her Like Christ

 In our last post we demonstrated that the priority of the husband toward his wife is to help her flourish. We ended that article with the last and most important way a husband helps his wife flourish, and that is, to love her, “as Christ loved the church” (Ephesians 5:25). I wanted to give this topic its own post because it is so important. 

As we unpack the main passage that calls husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church, we discover there are three directives essential to remember. 

 

A Husband Is To Love His Wife Like Christ By Sacrificing For Her.

In verse 25 we read: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her....” Jesus Christ humbled Himself by taking on flesh and being born in the likeness of man so that He could live, die, and be raised in the place of His bride. Though he could have said, “The penalty for the sins of sinners is not mine to pay, I don’t deserve this, and I deserve not to do this!” Yet, He was willing to suffer so that His bride, whom He loved (wanting her to flourish in the greatest of ways) could be saved. 

 

It is, however, easy for husbands to ignore this. After all, why should we want to love our wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her? This goes against so much of what we naturally want and what our culture tells us. Where we find help is by seeing that are a number of deep, strong motivations given in Ephesians. 

 

1. God Commands It.

Since Paul is “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God” (1:1), and Paul commands husbands to love in this way, it means our Lord is commanding husbands to do this. Men should do it if we have a reverence for Christ (5:21).  

 

2. It Glorifies God. 

Since God saves for His glory (1:6, 12, 14) and marriage give a picture of the gospel behind that salvation (5:32), husbands must realize just how important their love of wife is. It accomplishes the greatest and most lasting of purposes. 

 

3. It Fits With New Life.

When God effectively calls us to salvation and transforms us (4:1), this enables the Christian to live like the new man they are, that is, like Jesus Christ (4:22-24). When we live in this manner, it also demonstrates the worth of God, as was seen in the previous motivation. 

 

4. It Is Part Of The Spirit Leading Husbands.

After Paul highlights how husbands have been changed in Jesus Christ—including the fact they are the temple of God (chapters 1-3), he exhorts them to walk worthy of God (4:1), and to allow the Spirit of God to fill them, as God’s glory filled the Old Testament temple (5:18). This means they allow the Holy Spirit to lead and to be in control of their lives. The call to love wives is a direct outcome of all this (5:25-27). 

 

5. It Addresses The Heart Of A Man.

God has designed men to flourish when they are strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9; 1 Corinthians 16:13). So, if men keep their focus on what all their sacrificial love for wife accomplishes, even beyond her own flourishing, it motivates the man to be the one who goes without something if someone must, works the extra hours before the wife does, helps her with work around the house, and wants to fulfill all his responsibilities.”

 

It is one thing to focus on these motives and to offer a few examples of sacrificial love, but what are the main ways a husband sacrificially loves?  This is revealed in verses 26-27. 

 

A Husband Is To Give Priority To His Wife Knowing God. 

In verse 26 we read that a husband is to love sacrificially his wife, as Christ loved the church for this purpose: “that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word....” (26) Jesus gave himself for His bride that she would be cleansed and justified (1 Cor. 6:11), as well as set apart to live for and to serve God, in other words, that she would be saved (Acts 16:31). Husbands should pray for their wife to be saved, if he is not sure about that, should commend the gospel to her through his love for her, and should look and pray for open doors to share the gospel with her (Col. 4:3).

 

The second way that Paul says a husband sacrificially loves has to do with his wife’s growth in Christ.

 

A Husband Is To Give Priority To His Wife Growing In Christ. 

In verse 27 Paul uncovers the second key purpose for a husband sacrificially loving and it is this: “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.”

 

Here Paul uses the picture of a wedding when a bride stands before her husband in all her beauty as the future goal of the ultimate bridegroom, Jesus Christ for His bride. Unlike most husbands who have nothing to do with their wife’s beauty, Jesus Christ must make His wife, the church, beautiful (cf. Psalm 149:4) and this to redound to His glory. This is another way of saying that Jesus Christ lived, died, and was resurrected in the place of His bride that she might someday be sanctified in the ultimate sense when she is in His presence.

 

The model this sets for the husband is that he should be praying for, caring for, and sharing God’s Word with his wife for the sake of her sanctification (her becoming more like Jesus Christ: 2 Cor. 3:18). 

 

Husbands, this passage sets a high bar for you as the head of your wife. However, as Paul says elsewhere in the letter to the Ephesians, you can be strong in the Lord Jesus Christ and the strength that comes from His might (6:10), remembering that you are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works (which includes loving your wife as Christ loved the Church) which God has prepared beforehand that you can walk in them (2:10). 

 

Joyously Loving Like Christ With You,

Tom

Help Her Flourish

There are very few biblical teachings that are vilified any more than that husbands are called to lead their wives and families. For many it wreaks of harshness and seems to be so old-fashioned. This take on it also seems to make even husbands themselves feel like there is something wrong with providing leadership in their marriage. And so, they draw back from it. 

 

Husband, if this describes some of the struggle you have in being the “head” of your wife, I want to put you at ease. This will happen through what should be the very first purpose in how you lead your wife. You should lead her in such a way that you help her flourish. In other words, lead her in such a way that she grows luxuriantly, finds success in how God wants her to live and to serve Him, all so that she prospers to His glory. If this is your priority with her and you lead her toward that goal, there will be nothing harsh in your headship. 

 

So what I want to do in the rest of the post is to make the case biblically for this being your priority toward your wife. 

 

First, we know this to be true because when God first created man and woman, He revealed that He created them in His image, with authority in the world to be His vice regents, to fill the world with God-worshipers, and to help the world and all in it flourish for God’s glory and their joy (Gen. 1:26-28; Psalm 8). This includes how husbands and wives treat each other. What is more, we need to see that this command to help each other and others flourish, a command from the very beginning of time and creation, stands above all other commands and commissions, including God’s wise revelation that husbands are the head of their wives. We can never think of the husband’s responsibility toward his wife apart from this Creation Mandate. 

 

Next, we discover that since we are created in the image of God, to resemble, represent, and to reflect Him and His glory (Gen. 1:26-28; Psalm 8) and since God ordered creation as seen in Genesis 1:1-31 so that it was very good and so it provided an abundance of resources and gifts to enable humans, other living creatures, and the world itself to flourish, it follows that one of the ways we glorify God is by helping others flourish. This is heightened when we remember that God is the King of kings and we are only his vice-regents, and so if God leads and governs in such a way that we will flourish (and He does! See Rom. 8:28), then we must lead in that same way. 

 

What is more, since God is the one who is the source of life (Gen. 2:7), “the fountain of living waters” (Jer. 2:13), and the “begetter” (1 John 5:1), He who has always lived and existed, is by His very nature a giver of life and vibrancy. Since this is true and since God leads in this way, and we are created in His image, husbands, we also must lead in a way that increases the life and vibrancy of our wife. 

 

Additionally, we also discover that since God’s image (twisted but not lost due to sin) is being renewed in us and this means we are becoming more like Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18) and since Jesus came that we may have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10), it also follows, husband, that your goal toward your wife is not only to make sure she has true life, but also that her life is abundant and thriving. 

 

This leads to many applications, but here are a few to stimulate your thinking.

 

1. As Jesus came not to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28)—and this is to provide a model for Christian leadership (Matt. 20:20-28)—we should approach our leadership of our wife as a servant. You must be the first one in your family to sacrifice, if needed. You should remember that you are to have the same way of thinking toward your wife that Jesus Christ did in His humble, sacrificial love for us (Philippians 2:5-8)

 

2. We discover in Scripture that true lasting happiness arises when we are living underneath the rule of our King (Matt. 5:3-10), that is, we hear and guard His Word so as to obey Him (Luke 11:28). This means we are leading our wife in a way that prays for, talks with her about, and encourages her in her relationship with her Lord and Savior. Since this includes using her spiritual gifts to serve the Lord and others to His glory (1 Peter 4:10-11), you do all you can for her to flourish in successfully using her gifts (1 Cor. 12). 

 

3. We listen to what she says about her needs, desires, and what makes her happy, and we ask for her input in how you as a couple and you as a family operate (Prov. 18:13). We realize listening is a form of love and is necessary in her flourishing. 

 

4. As Paul teaches in Ephesians 5:25-27, a key way for husbands to serve as head to his wife is to love her as Christ loved the church. There is no more important and powerful way of helping her flourish. This is so important that we will look at it in our next post. 

 

Joyously Leading Like Christ As Your Joyful Pastor,

 

Tom

The Silence Of Adam

I

It is just four words in the English Standard Version translation of a phrase in Genesis 3:6 and only one word in the original Hebrew: “...who was with her....” It seems innocuous enough at first glance. And yet, it is a powerful and revealing statement. I will explain.

In the larger context of Genesis and the rest of Scripture, it is clear that Adam was given a role in which he is to lead, protect, and help his wife to flourish. Consider:

• He was placed in a garden, in part, in order to “keep” it, which implies protecting it and those in it (Gen. 2:15).

 

• The woman was an equally prominent helper for Adam (Gen. 2:18), which not only means they were equal in value and significance, but also had different roles.

 

• Regarding these different roles, the fact that God created humans as male and female and then gave to them the general label of “man” (cf. Gen. 1:27; 5:1-2), strongly implies that the man had a leadership role to the woman and representative role for both before God. 

 

• In Ephesians 5:32 Paul affirms that from the very beginning of time God designed marriage in such a way that it provides a picture of the gospel, i.e. Jesus Christ and the Church. As a result, the husband is the “head” of the wife (Eph. 5:23: “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.”). The word translated, “head” (kephalē) in that passage has been thoroughly studied in all its uses in the New Testament, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, and in the non-biblical literature of that time period, and it has been found that it speaks of authority and a sense of leadership. 

 

So, from the very beginning, the husband was to lead and protect his wife in a way in which she flourishes. This is the very opposite of standing by while she is tempted to disobey God and His wise ways, remaining silent, and not even trying to turn her away from a destructive and death-producing decision! 

 

It should also be noticed that rather than leading and fighting to protect her, he relinquished his leadership and followed her into sin. 

 

Husbands, God not only designed you to have a strong heart to make a difference in the world around you, as part of that, He gave you the responsibility to lead in your marriage. This is how marriages and families work best. 

 

Does this mean that husbands have more rights than wives? No!  It is more about responsibility. One pastor teaching on this subject explained that if a married couple is having problems and Jesus showed up at their house to help them, and the wife answers the door, Jesus would say, “___ (wife), Hi, it is good to see you. I want to talk to you a little later. But first, I want to visit with ___ (husband).” In other words, the husband has an even greater responsibility to set the Christ-like, God-glorifying, Spirit-led direction of the marriage. But of course, the wife is also a significant part of this as well!

 

In our next article we will see how the husband is to lead. For now, husbands need to hear, “Don’t be silent and passive like Adam!” This is something that tempts all men. Instead, we should follow the teaching of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, applying it to our marriage: “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.”

 

Joyously Following God’s Wisdom With You As Your Joyful Pastor,

 

Tom