Marriage For The Glory of God Ephesians 5:22 – 33 February 10, 2013

Ephesians 5:22 – 33 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. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Two Foundational Principles Principle #1 - A marriage is a Christian marriage because of the desire and zealous willingness of the husband and wife to emulate and imitate the nature of the relationship that exists between Jesus Christ and His bride, the church. Principle #2 - Headship and submission if it is properly understood is modeled by Jesus. He is the model for both.

What you and I are to do for each other in a Christian marriage has already been done for us in the gospel. Definition of submission: Submission on the part of a Christian wife is defined as a voluntary yielding to the love of her husband.

Philippians 2:5-11 – “The Dance of the Trinity” “In this passage we see taught both the essential equality of the First and Second Persons of the Godhead, and yet the voluntary submission of the Son to the Father to secure our salvation…Jesus willing acceptance of this role was wholly voluntary, a gift to the Father.” Submission in marriage is a gift you offer, not a duty coerced from you. 1 Corinthians 11:3- 3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.

“The Son submits to the Father’s headship with free, voluntary, and joyful eagerness, not out of coercion or inferiority. The Father’s headship is acknowledged in reciprocal delight, respect and love. There is no inequality of ability or dignity. We are differently gendered to reflect this life in the Trinity. Male and female are invited to mirror and reflect the “dance” of the Trinity, loving, self-sacrificing authority and loving, courageous submission. The Son takes a subordinate role, and in that movement he shows not his weakness but his greatness.” The Meaning of Marriage p. 176 by Tim and Kathy Keller

Total devotion, imagination, and enthusiasm for biblical submission will never happen when it is demanded by you, only when it is freely given and done voluntarily by your wife. What does submission mean in any sphere? Order. It’s a term of order It is the readiness to renounce one’s own will for the sake of others and to give preference to others. Submission is one’s response not to a superior person, but is a response to a person holding a superior position.

Ephesians 5:21 – “submitting to one another” – The principle of mutual submission to a group of people who are one in Christ. This is what makes us distinctly Christian. It is what distinguishes all Christians. It is mutual submission to a group of people who are equals in Christ. Galatians 3:28 - “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

A full equality of dignity, value and worth exists between husbands and wives. Complete submission is called for on the part of a Christian wife. Complete love is called for on the part of the Christians husband. It is a choreographed dance that serves the part of each of the participants. It is a gift that each gives to the other.

Equality of worth is not identity of role. A Christian wife in full equality with her husband will freely yield her own independent right so that she might be responsive to his love. It is the responsibility of a Christian wife in humble recognition of God’s order and design to respond willingly to the love of her husband. It is a gift she actually gives to her husband. This is what biblical submission means. In a Christian marriage you have two people determined to outserve each other on behalf of the other.