Hello family and friends, another week has passed and after some harsh weather and an intermediate posting, I would like to present you with part 2 of Marriage and a Relationship with Christ. I want to forewarn you that this may not be the end. God has laid some additional information on my heart in which He thought I should share with you.
As we begin with the Book of Ephesians, we should consider how this week went with our spouses and significant others. Please let me be clear about this, although I discuss how to enhance your relationships with those you love, please know that obedience to God is first and marriage is designed by Him. This will provide you the key to a joyful and God fearing marriage.
On Sunday our church services were cancelled due to the weather, while listening to the pre-recorded sermon on Nicodemus and Jesus discussing being born again, we prayed about God's grace and how he forgave us both regarding our past and blessed us with two awesome children, amazing parents, and a great marriage. This got me to thinking about our class on "2 Becoming One", a Christian marriage program on developing Christ centered marriages. Therefore, if it is okay with you, I would like to utilize information and some portions of the class to begin the discussion.
Prior to reading the scriptures below, consider what Don and Sally Meridith discussed in Chapter Two; "What are the Six Reasons Marriages Fail?" Consider the list and we will discuss after you read the scriptures.
1. Differing Backgrounds, Homes, and Environments - This is as it sounds. "It's likely you have married....someone very different from yourself. These differences. ..can lead your spouse and you down the road to hurt and rejection."
2. The Deceptive 50/50 Relationship - "Cycle of Unmet Expectations: unmet expectations, disappointment, anger of silence, distance instead of harmony, increased pressure to perform or reject, and you do your part"
3. Selfishness - "You may think you're right; indeed, perhaps you are. But the Lord Jesus calls us to serve one another, [to put] the well-being of our mate first."
4. Inability to Cope with Life's Trials - Self explanatory, but dwells on your ability to support one another in the midst of such trials.
5. Fantasy View of Love - "Most couples define love in terms of how they feel. There can be no weaker foundation for a relationship."
6. Lack of a Vital Relationship with Jesus Christ - "Only Jesus Christ can unlock the deepest dimensions of human intimacy that occur at the at the spiritual level. If Jesus Christ does not dwell in your life, you're living at a reduced level of intimacy in your marriage."
Part 2: Marriage and a Relationshipwith Christ
Book: Ephesians
Author: Paul
Time: Around 60 A.D. Somesources say that it was written around the same time as Paul’s letter to the Colossians, since it’s similar in style and purpose.
To whom was it written: Ephesians is primarily written to Gentile (non-Jewish) followers of Christ—most likely the church in Ephesus. (Unlike some of Paul’s other letters, it doesn’t begin with individual greetings. For this reason, there is debate about whether it was specifically intended for the church in Ephesus, or if it was meant to be circulated more widely.)
Why was it written: Paul wrote this letter to encourage Gentile believers, and to make it clear that Jews and Gentiles have been brought together as part of one body in Christ. Paul is also concerned that his audience be made aware of the moral laws they may have been lax in following (or that they were unaware of).
Ephesians 5: Wives and Husbands
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 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. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 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. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Matthew Henry Commentary Ephesians 5: Vs. 22- 33. The duty of wives is, submission to their husbands in the Lord, which includes honoring and obeying them, from a principle of love to them. The duty of husbands is to love their wives. The love of Christ to the church is an example, which is sincere, pure, and constant, notwithstanding her failures. Christ gave himself for the church, that he might sanctify it in this world, and glorify it in the next, that he might bestow on all his members a principle of holiness, and deliver them from the guilt, the pollution, and the dominion of sin, by those influences of the Holy Spirit, of which baptismal water was the outward sign. The church and believers will not be without spot or wrinkle till they come to glory. But those only who are sanctified now, shall be glorified hereafter. The words of Adam, mentioned by the apostle, are spoken literally of marriage; but they have also a hidden sense in them, relating to the union between Christ and his church. It was a kind of type, as having resemblance. There will be failures and defects on both sides, in the present state of human nature, yet this does not alter the relation. All the duties of marriage are included in unity and love. And while we adore and rejoice in the condescending love of Christ, let husbands and wives learn hence their duties to each other. Thus the worst evils would be prevented, and many painful effects would be avoided.
For years this passage has created upheaval between the bonds of matrimony and the differences between men and women. We all can agree that the reason why this was and has been a source of angst, dealt with individuals reading or using only portions of the scriptures to meet their needs. This is why in the beginning of this message I provided you with six reasons why marriages fail. Please re-read them and discuss them with your spouse or significant other. Where are you both on this?
This month my wife and I celebrated 7 years of glorious marriage and 10 years of a oneness experience. God has allowed us to use the tragedies of our past relationships, pour them in to Him, and He made matrimony the art it was created to be. Man loving (woman) his wife, as Christ loves the church.
There is more to come, I hope to begin the revival of marriage family. Maybe we can begin a combined dialogue on the blog.
If you have time and more questions, consider the following:
- http://www.gotquestions.org/marriage-Bible.html
- http://www.2becoming1global.com/staff/don-sally-meredith/
- http://www.5lovelanguages.com/
- http://www.5lovelanguages.com/resource/the-five-languages-of-apology
No comments:
Post a Comment