“Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.” (Colossians 3:18-19 NASB1995)
We, as Christian women who are married to our husbands, are
to be in subjection (submission, subordinate) to our husbands, as is fitting in
the Lord. But not just that it is fitting in the Lord that we be in subjection
to our husbands, but in a manner which is fitting in the Lord, according to God’s
will and purpose for our lives, according to God’s holiness and righteousness, and
according to God’s moral principles for how we are all to live, and in obedience
to our Lord’s commands, that we live holy lives, pleasing to God.
And our husbands are supposed to love us as Christ loved the
church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, etc. They
should love us as their own bodies. For he who loves his wife loves himself. Therefore
a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two
shall become one flesh. Let each one of you (husbands) love your wife as
yourself. And husbands are supposed to love their wives and not be harsh (embittered
against) them. But they are to nourish and cherish them.
So, the husband is not to be in dominance over his wife as a
slave driver who treats her like she is a slave. He is not to be mean and cruel
to her just because she is in a position of submission to him. He should not
treat her as though she is less because she is a woman, but he is to cherish
her and to love her as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. For
if the husband and wife are to be one flesh, they should have equal concern for
one another, and they should work together as though they are one flesh.
And they should submit to one another out of reverence for
Christ, with the husband making the final decision, unless his decision is
something that is sinful, immoral, and contrary to the will and purpose of God
for their lives. Then the woman must stand with God and not with her husband,
for not with sin. For they are to be faithful to one another in living morally
pure and upright lives to the honor and praise of God. So sexual immorality of
any kind should not be part of either of their lives. So never submit to sin!
So, if the husband holds fast to his wife, in that he
cherishes her and values her as though she is one flesh with him, and if he
truly loves her with agape love, he will treat her with honor and value, and he
will do with her and for her what is for her good, and that which will produce
what is good and is godly, and not what is evil and sinful and immoral. Thus,
he will not willfully, deliberately, and habitually commit adultery against
her, not caring that this will hurt her, but thinking only of himself and of
his own sinful pleasures.
And the same applies in reverse. For we as wives are to love
our husbands, and we are to cherish them and want to do what pleases them, as
is pleasing to the Lord. And we are to show them respect (value, regard,
concern), showing interest in them and in what is going on in their lives,
supporting them in what is good and encouraging them in what is holy and
morally pure and upright, but never engaging in any form of deliberate
unfaithfulness (adultery) and not in any sexual immorality and defilement.
“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” (Ephesians 5:3) For, marriage is to “be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” (Hebrews 13:4)
[Genesis 2:24; Matthew 5:28; Matthew 15:19-20; Matthew 19:4-9;
Mark 7:20-23; Mark 10:6-9; Romans 13:9; 1 Corinthians 5:1-2,9-13; 1 Corinthians
6:9-20; Galatians 5:13-24; Ephesians 5:1-33; Colossians 3:18-19; 1
Thessalonians 4:3-8; Hebrews 13:4; James 4:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7; 2 Peter 2:13-19]
In Harmony
An Original Work / September 2, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Based off Ro. 12:9-21; 1 Pet. 3:8-17
Love each other
truly.
Cling to what is
good.
Hate all that is
evil.
Never lack in zeal.
Serve the Lord with
fervor.
Joyful in hope be;
Patient in
affliction;
Praying faithfully.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.
Share with all God’s
people
Who are found in
need.
Do not be conceited.
Sympathetic be.
Love, and show
compassion
In humility.
Keep your tongue
from evil.
Peaceful you must
be.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.
God sees who are
righteous;
Listens to their
prayers.
But He’s against
evil –
Is His to avenge.
Do not fear what
they fear.
Suffer patiently.
In your hearts, make
Christ Lord.
Serve Him
faithfully.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.
Marriage Held in Honor
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