Title: Wife and Husband
content bsp; Yesterday is May 21st. But do you know what day yesterday was? May is family month. The 21st is the couple's day because it is the day when two become one. What is a couple? A department store asked customers what a married couple was. To introduce one of the many answers, a married couple is ‘like miso that is essential but is always by your side so you don’t realize its importance’. What do you guys think?
Today's text also deals with what a couple is and what a wife and husband should be like. As a saint, there will be few who do not know today's text. This is a phrase I hear often at weddings. This is a saying I heard as a regular menu item in May every year. When there is a dispute between husband and wife, it is used to emphasize only the part that applies to the other party. Because of the word obedience, it was considered a word that gave a little objection to women living in today's women's liberation movement era, and a criticism of the women's liberation movement to men.
How should we respond to these movements? First of all, welcome. Women have been oppressed and exploited in society at all times. They have been treated like slaves at home. This is true. Korea has nothing to say. But, gentlemen, this sad reality is contrary to the words of the Bible. The history of fallen human beings. Conversely, the Word of God declares the dignity of women. Like men, women were created in the image of God. Therefore, we are declaring that women's character and values are equal to men's.
Isn't it contradictory to say that men and women are equal and that they should submit to their husbands? Where did this authority come from for my husband? How should this authority be used? We have questions. Paul gives an answer to this question in the text. I want to summarize for the sake of understanding. We need to understand the meaning of equality, leadership, that is, authority, submission, and love. This issue of authority is not just a marital issue. The issue of father's authority also applies. The issue of the authority of the superior in the company also applies. The issue of authority also applies to the church. We are equal before God. But they have other powers. How should we understand this authority biblically?
1. A wife should submit to her husband (vv. 22-24).
Paul exhorts wives to submit to their husbands. First of all, the Greek word for “obey” here is hippotasomai. It is related to the word tasis, meaning order. To obey means to acknowledge the order that exists and to stand under it. Where did this order come from? Is it an order created by men by force? no. It is the order established by God. So Paul exhorts wives to submit to their husbands as to the Lord. You can understand better if you think about the values of personal existence and roles separately. Before God, a wife is equal to her husband, but God has given her husband the authority to be the head. Therefore, there is a Lord who has given authority to the husband. When a wife acknowledges her husband's authority, she acknowledges the Lord who gave her that authority. If you ignore your husband's authority, you are disregarding the Lord who gave you that authority.
But here we are wrong to overemphasize the husband's authority alone. The husband's authority is not unlimited. It is not an authority that you do on your own. It is a God-given authority with limits. It is an authority that, when misused by husbands, wives can be rejected in the name of God. Unconditional submission to the wrong request of a husband that is contrary to God's Word is rather disobeying God.
So Paul gives two reasons for a wife to submit in verse 23.
1 ) It is the principle of creation. The husband is the head of the wife. Women were also created in the image of God. In character, women are not inferior to men. equal. However, God has ordained the order of creation in which the husband is the head of the wife in the role. Therefore, a wife can find her full meaning and form only when she acknowledges this creative order.
2) Paul redefines the husband's headship as the redemptive principle of Jesus Christ. “Christ is as the head of the church, who himself is the Savior of the body.” What is the headship of Christ's church? The Lord's headship is service rather than domination. It is caring rather than governing. It is a responsibility rather than a right. Paul confirms this truth by saying, “He Himself is the Savior of the body.” Rather than being the Lord of the Church, the Lord emphasizes that He is the Savior who cares for, helps, and saves the Church. This is the character of the authority given to the husband. Authority as a servant.
I have lived abroad for 14 years. I saw black culture and also experienced white culture. The white society sits in the living room, and when a woman comes in, the men have to jump up. Even if a young woman enters, the elderly grandfather must also stand up. It goes without saying that the husband opens the door for his wife even when riding in the car. When you open the door and enter, the woman comes first. Even when drinking coffee, if a woman gives it to you, you must get up and take it. Everyone, have you seen the movie Titanic? Did you see in that movie where, when the ship sank, children and women got into the lifeboats first, and the men got on later? Can't you remember? But when they get married, they give up their surname and use their husband's surname. Is this just a different culture from ours? I think it is the result of their understanding of today's text and making it into their own culture.
Gentlemen, if the husband's authority is the same as Christ's authority over the church, then the wife's submission should be the same as the church's to the Lord. Verse 24. “Therefore, as the church is to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” The submission of wives should be voluntary for the care and love of their husbands. It should be fun. Gratitude is obedience. Paul's exhortation is not to make women inferior. It is a shame to ignore the dignity of women. Rather, it is an exhortation that elevates the position of women. Please believe it.
2. Husbands love their wives. (verses 25-33)
1) A husband must love his wife as Christ loved the church (verses 25-27).
Paul here uses five verbs to describe how Christ loves the church. Christ loves the church and will give Himself, purify, sanctify, and eventually establish before Him a glorious Church like Himself. This is a very large and complete truth. It is the appearance of the Lord's redemption that begins in eternity, progresses in the present, and completes in eternity.
Gentlemen, this is Paul's understanding of the Lord's being the head of the church. Christ does not oppress or force the church. He sacrificed himself on the cross for the church. We serve to establish the church in its perfect and glorious form. Husbands cannot oppress their wives. I can't bully you. It is to help and serve a wife so that she may mature into the glorious image created by God. This is how husbands love their wives as the Lord loved the church.
2) A husband must love his wife as he loves himself (verses 28-29).
The love of Christ is very ideal. It should be our hope and goal. It is very different from our reality. So Paul sets out a realistic standard. Verse 28. “Let husbands love their wives as their own bodies.” We all know how to love ourselves. Husbands should at least love their wives as they love themselves.
First, husbands must nurture and protect their wives. You must protect and care for your wife physically, mentally, and spiritually. As a husband, it means taking responsibility for the family. And the husband must have a sexual obligation to his wife. Paul quotes Genesis 2:24 in verse 31. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” In this way, the couple are the closest people in the world. It is one body. No one should intervene between husband and wife. Not even my parents, not even my brothers and sisters. Putting each other first is the biblical principle of marriage.
Dear saints, did you understand the authority through today's Word? Did you know how this headliness should be used? In our homes, wives must obediently help their husbands do this tough and difficult headship. A husband must love his wife so that she can appear as God wants her to be. You, God wants this kind of family. I pray that all of you will become such a healthy family and receive many blessings from God.