Title: Marital Relations in the State
Content Shalom! Please see the sermon video in Japanese sermons.
Also, looking at Acts 2:44 and below, after the church in Jerusalem was filled with the Holy Spirit, it was like a family gathering. It was said that no one claimed to own anything, selling property and possessions to each other, and dividing it according to each person's needs. Even between husband and wife, this kind of relationship is impossible unless you have a special loved one. The Jerusalem church was full of grace and so many saints became like one family. I hope that our Southern Kyoto Church can become a church that is like a family where one family gathers. Actually, you and I are children of God who live with one Heavenly Father. So, we believe that we are one family in the Lord.
If we look at the text of Ephesians today, we are talking about the relationship between a married couple that makes up a family and that of Jesus and the church. This fact is so mysterious that it is even called a “mystery” (Ephesians 5:32). But first, if you want to explain the relationship between the church and Jesus, you must understand the relationship between husband and wife. Then, only women will read Ephesians 5:22-24 together. 5:22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord 5:23 For the husband is the head of his wife, as Christ is the head of the church, and he himself is the Savior of the body. also shall be subject to her husband in all things” (Amen). Also, let's read Ephesians 5:25 only by men. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it” (Amen).
Of course, it should be noted that the fact that the husband becomes the head of the wife does not mean that the woman is inferior to the man. Moreover, the submission of a wife to her husband does not mean unilateral and blind submission. Both men and women are equal beings created in the image of God. Therefore, no ruling logic can be established in any case. Paul is merely admonishing submission to the authority of the husband in the orderly aspect of creation, but voluntary submission as the church obeys Christ. It also exhorts husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church (v. 25). Christ's love for the church is an unconditional, sacrificial love that gave even his own life. Husbands should love their wives as they should. In fact, if the husband is the head of the wife, the wife must be the body of the husband himself. Therefore, husbands should know that to love their wives is to love themselves, and to love their wives as they love their own bodies.
In today's text, husbands love their wives, but imitate the Lord as the Lord loved the church and gave himself up for the church. Also, the wife is to submit to her husband, but as the church does to the Lord. Here we can see that the couple who believes in Jesus should have Jesus as the center of their home. If a husband loves his wife enough to risk his life, then naturally there is nothing he cannot do for his wife. Any effort can be made. There is such a beautiful story. A former general in the military had his wife, who was suddenly paralyzed in a car accident one day, seated in a wheelchair, and always went with him. They used to be so busy with each other that it was very difficult for them to find time for themselves. But they said they are happier now than ever before. In this way, love is revealed through hard work and service.
It is said that Jesus also came into this world to serve. That's why Matthew 20:28 says, "For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many." The fact is that a wife cannot submit to her husband with joy without a loving heart. Because you love your husband, you can serve your husband as you would the Lord. Faith is the love of God. Knowing God, trusting God, and serving God. It is obedience to the word of God. In this way, a wife can understand her husband first, trust him to the end, and serve him with joy. So you will be submissive as you would to the Lord.
Finally, we can see that God wants the family to be holy just as he is holy in the Christian marital relationship. Let's read Ephesians 5:26-27 together. “5:26 which he had made holy by washing with water and cleansing with the word, 5:27 that he might set up the church as a glorious church before him, that he might be holy and without blemish, without spot or wrinkle or such” (Amen). If we are believers in Jesus, we believe that we should live a holy life in the image of God. Married couples must also make the Lord the master of their home and struggle to maintain holiness. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit and our husbands and wives live in Christ, God makes us holy and without blemish.
I will conclude