Marriage & Relationships. Ephesians 5:20-5:33 The Three Cs of Marriage The three Cs that aid in a successful Marriage Ephesians 5:20-33 There are many different ways according to the scripture to have a successful marriage, here are the Cs in Marriage
1.Commitment, to give, to care for, to entrust, trust,etc.
2.Conversation, to speek to another, to communicate,talk.
3. Christ, The Anointed, The Anointed One. Lets take commitment first, in Ephesians 5: 25, The Bible tells us that the Husbands must Love their wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it..., We all know the basics of a commitment to a wife, but did you know that there is no where in scripture that tells a wife to love their husbands?
Well take the men first. A husband must CARE for his wife as Christ cared for the church, not only in the short term but in the long term as Christ instructed. When Jesus cared for the church ,He set a plan into existence that He knew, would last for eternity. He GAVE Himself for her so that she would live. He ENTRUSTED others to look out after Her as He did His Mother Mary at the Cross. And He put His TRUST in the Disciples to carry on the nurturing of the church to build Her up to maturity. A husband must be Committed to his wife with no longing for another, giving himself fully to her and trusting in her to support his efforts to provide a suitable living, not only for her but their children, which is good and acceptable to God.
There was a humorous story, that I heard a Pastor tell a while back, about a husband and wife that were talking one day of how much one loved the other, after the wife finished her side the husband said, "Honey, I love you so much, I would die for you." and the wife look at him with a serious look on her face and said, " John, Ive heard you say that for twenty years now, and you've never done it" It seems that women today have a different outlook on what a marriage is supposed to be. So it is often , good to look at what God says a marriage is supposed to be. If a man allows his wife to rule over the house, then they are dealing with witchcraft, and God will not be a part of that union. So men, we haft to be very careful to rule the house as God instructed, for the Scriptures say, if a man cannot rule his own house, then how can he rule the House of God ?
Now remember a husband is not ruler or lord over the wife but she is subject unto him as Sara called Abraham Lord out of respect for him. We are not to enslave the wife or abuse her, for the scripture says that, there is no man that has hated his own flesh...., or would we harm our own flesh, and since husband and wife have become one body, we protect and nurture her as we would ourself. Ministers today and in the time of Paul, cared for their congregations as they would care for their own children, lovingly and with patience. If a man abuses his wife, he also condemns himself , being in transgression of Gods word.
Now lets take the same word and delegate it ,to the women or wife. A little while ago, I said that a wife, in scripture, was not told to Love her husband. Ephesians 5:21 states to the wives, "Wives SUBMIT yourselves unto your own husbands , as unto the Lord. lets look at the word submit first, as the Hebrew and Greek translation states it, To surrender, to yield,to obey and to subordinate. As unlike the world, a Christian wife must be yielding and submissive unto her husband, and not as head of the house or him. This is as with the woman and God, having a humbleness and a Godly fear or we would call it a respectful attitude toward the stronger of the two.
The Bible states that the wife is the weaker of the two, in strength and probably because of the transgression of Eve at the garden of will. Being an easier target for Satan and his deceptive powers. A wife must not only be a lover but also a friend to her husband. In my relationship to my wife ,we are best friends. Its good most times before marriage that a man and woman become friends first. Wives, TRUST in your husbands, knowing that as he has committed himself to you ,he has also committed himself to God to fulfill scripture in his relationship to you.
Care for your husbands ,as one who cares for Christ in all things. GIVE yourself to your husbands, knowing that he is the one who has promised not only to you but to God himself, before wittinesses, to Love, Honor and Cherish you. So as you can see the "C" or commitment for the husband also applies equal for the wife. So wives, you must, Trust, Care and Give yourself to your OWN husband as God has instructed. If you look at that verse again, it tells a wife to submit to your OWN husband, stating that you are no longer under submission to anyone save him, whom you have married. End of Part 1
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