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If
you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just
as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide
in His love. (NASB) John 15:10
And
being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming
obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (NASB)
Philippians 2:8 |
Some
men see this as permission to be king in the home and to make their
wives slaves. Some men believe that they can beat their wives and
discipline them. But that is wrong too!
Husbands
Love. The
Apostle is quick to tell husbands that they must love their wives
just as Jesus loves the church and even died for it. Do you see the
connection between Genesis 3:16 and this passage? In Genesis 3:16
God warned Eve that she would want to control her husband and here
she is encouraged to submit to her husband. In Genesis 3:16, God
warned Adam that he would be unloving and here in Ephesians the Holy
Spirit encourages husbands to love their wives - just the opposite. This
message is repeated again in Ephesians 5:28, 33 and Colossians 3:19.
Husbands are to love their wives. Yes, they have the final responsbility
in the home, but they are not to be autocrats or dictators.
Some
husbands have abused their wives saying the wife is to submit. Wives have been
disciplined, beaten, whipped, tortured, and abused in many different ways. I
knew a husband who spent any extra money he earned on himself and ignored the
needs of his wife as well as his children. Husbands who act like this do not
understand God's warning in Genesis 3:16. They have also ignored another warning
from God.
Husbands
- Serious Warning. One
of the most serious passages in the New Testament about husbands
and wives is found in 1 Peter 3:7.
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You
husbands likewise, live with your wives in an understanding
way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and grant
her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that
your prayers may not be hindered. (NASB)
1 Peter 3:7 |
In
this passage, God warns husbands to understand and honor their wives.
This is harder for husbands. Husbands tend to be more interested
in accomplishing tasks. They are not always as inerested in people
and intimate conversation. Some men tend to see women as weaker and
do not respect their wives. But God says a godly husband will live
with his wife in an understanding way. He will honor her as a fellow
heir of grace. The idea of fellow heir implies that she is an equal.
God loves her just as much as He does the husband. She is going to
the same heaven. The Holy Spirit is living inside her too! She has
been given spiritual gifts and God values her. God values her so
much that He gives husbands the following warning.
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.
. . so that your prayers may not be hindered. (NASB)
1 Peter 3:7 |
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