Christians can make this work because of the grace of God, and when it works, it is beautiful, wonderful, and makes us want to praise God for His genius. If self-centeredness gets in the way, conflict will arise. There must be must patience, flexibility, and a willingness to learn how to best fit the roles as marriage goes on. The husband will learn about the needs and desires of his wife, and she will learn about his. Both will then see better how they need to conform with God’s standards and how that makes both better off as well as the marriage itself more enjoyable.

We should notice also that the reason Christ has been elevated by the Father to the position of head over the body, the church, is because He first submitted Himself to the Father in giving up His life for the church. A godly husband thus understands what it means to put the interests of his wife ahead of his own, and he will lead her and let her rest in his strength in Christ because he loves her and knows that this is best for her. She will submit to his leadership because she respects Christ, and she will gladly respect and submit to a husband in whom she can confidently rest, trust, and rely.

The wives are to be subject to their husbands in everything. God is not saying that women are to be subject to all men in everything. He is speaking only of the marriage relationship, and in that relationship, the wife must be sure that she respects her husband’s leadership in all areas, not rebelling in some. The church is not allowed to obey in some areas and then harbor areas of sin and rebellion against Christ. In the same way, the wife must let her husband lead in all areas of life, finances, family, church participation, children’s activities, etc. Yet the husband because he loves his wife will be sure to listen to her and work together with her to do what is best for the family. Just as we delight in God and He gives us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4), the wife should delight in her husband (and he in her), and she can trust that he will do the best for her and the family such that she finds what she truly wants. His leadership is not selfish but always for the welfare of his wife ahead of his own. Her submission to his decisions allows him to lead without resentment or bitterness toward his wife. He is able to work with her as she shares her heart with him rather than having to rule by pulling rank, so to speak. It is imperative that both spouses get on the same page as decisions are made. If God is leading both husband and wife, which He is if they are walking with Him, then both can expect to be led in the same way.

25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
26so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
27that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

Paul gives specific directions to the husband to love his wife to the extent that Christ loves His church, even being willing to give up His own life for the church. Thus, there is to be no bound to the husband’s love just as Christ’s love has no bound toward the church, being even beyond our comprehension as to its greatness and extent. The husband should be willing to do anything, even if it meant giving up his life, for the wellbeing of his wife. She should be able to have absolute confidence that her husband will only do her good and that his heart toward her is good. She must know that his love is sure such that nothing can make him stop loving her. He is not to get back at her if she does something to hurt him by holding back his love and affection, but he is to go to her in love and seek reconciliation. It is kindness that leads to repentance, even in marriage. Grudges or records of wrong cannot be kept and used as ammunition in an argument. Things shouldn’t even have to escalate to an argument, but affection, gentleness, and a listening ear should always characterize communication and the relationship.

Christ’s purpose was to save the church, to sanctify the church, which He is presently doing in the lives of believers, and then ultimately to glorify the church. Sanctification is to result in a church free from sin and refined into the likeness of Christ’s example and holiness, free from any spot, wrinkle, or blemish. Christ is working in the hearts and lives of Christians to iron out sin patterns and remove all that is evil and of the flesh. This is a process, but we can trust Him, someway and somehow, in His infinite wisdom, to get the job done so that we can be glorified. The church has been cleansed in His blood once and for all, but practically we still need the Word of God to examine our hearts and teach us how to live as Christ in this life by grace through faith. This is what Christ is doing in His church, and it is what the husband is to be doing for his wife. He is to through word, deed, example, and every means available to him, help his wife to grow in Christ and be conformed with the Word of God. He will not be able to do this unless he is walking after the Spirit with his whole heart. God is not harsh with His children, and he is not to be harsh or impatient with his wife. God bore with Jonah, and a godly husband is merciful toward his wife as she is with him when he needs to change. But it is God’s design that he puts ultimate responsibility for the sanctification of the wife upon the husband. This is consistent given that he put the ultimate blame of the fall of man into sin upon the first man, Adam. God holds the husband accountable for how he leads the home, and his life and witness has great ramifications for the wife and the children. This is not to minimize the wife’s role, for it is equally important and valuable. It is only to say that God holds the man ultimately responsible for the family, for such is the accountability for the leader. His calling within the marriage is to do what he can so that both he and his wife and his children honor God in all things, being conformed with the Word of God.

28So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;
29for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,
30because we are members of His body.
31FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.

This verse is not teaching that we are to love ourselves such that we are consumed with ourselves and our own esteem. The consistent teaching of the Bible and this passage is to esteem others more highly than ourselves. Paul is not saying to the husband to be just as consumed with his wife as he is with himself, for he is not to be consumed with himself. What Paul is saying is that the husband and wife are one flesh, so that when he loves his wife, he is actually loving himself as well. When the wife loves her husband, she is truly doing the best thing for herself as well because his body is hers and hers his. The husband and wife are one flesh. We are not to be consumed with ourselves; neither are we to hate ourselves, for self-hatred is another form of being focused on self rather than others. The message from Scripture is that we are to delight in the welfare of our spouse, and in so doing, we are taking care of ourselves as well. Christ nourishes and cares for the church, and the normal, common thing for humans to do is to take care of their own bodies, feeding them, grooming them, exercising them, and so on. We look after our own bodies because they need looking after, not because we gloat in ourselves. If we do, we have a pride problem. The issue is that the plain and obvious reality is that people care about their own bodies, and they nourish and care for them. We are Christ’s body, and He nourishes us with His Word and cares for us in His grace and providence. The wife is the husband’s body, so when he cares for his wife, it is as if he is caring for himself. This is good because just as Christ cares for the church, His body, the husband should care for his wife, his body. The idea that when one hurts, the other hurts, and when one rejoices, the other rejoices is really important here. As one grows in the Lord, the other will be challenged to do so. It just makes no sense for a wife or husband to treat the other poorly, for such is damaging to themselves. They are one, and the best thing to do for themselves is to love the other. Thus, Paul quotes Genesis 2:24 to emphasize that the husband and wife are one flesh, one body, and one entity in God’s sight. Spiritually, there is a melding when a man takes a wife, and they must live as one, giving preference to one another in love.

32This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
33Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

When Scripture speaks of mysteries, it is speaking of things conceived in the mind of God that are not yet fully revealed to us. They exist or will exist, for God has planned them. Marriage, according to God’s divine insight and plan, is a picture of Christ’s union with the church. There will be a marriage feast of the Lamb at the close of the age (Revelation 19:9), and we, Christ’s bride, will be there to meet our Groom, Christ Himself. The details of this overwhelm our feeble minds, and we are not supposed to fully understand what this entails. We are, however, to believe it. It is a great mystery, that of Christ and the church, and we only have a slight insight into it. We know that it exists, and we know that our earthly marriages are to follow the example of Christ and His love for His bride, the church. The church is to respect and submit to Christ, and the wife is to submit to her husband. Christ loves the church with the greatest love ever known, and the husband is to imitate that love toward his wife. Yet how much more is hidden it that great mystery, we will have to wait until later to understand. God has given us enough for the present time to steward as we are to lead as husbands, submit as wives, prefer the other above ourselves, and love each other.

Paul sums up his commands in this passage by saying that husbands are to love their wives, being mindful that they are their own bodies given that they are one. Husbands can be neglectful of the needs of their wives, living as independent bachelors even though married and sleeping in the same bed under the same roof. The wife needs to be involved in the life of the husband and understand what he is doing, thinking, and experiencing. Otherwise, she feels distant. As the church, we want to have God’s mind and be sure of His heart, and thus we go to His Word to remember what He has told us. So, too, the wife needs to be able to regularly commune with her husband, and he must give her these times and opportunities. She is his body just as we are Christ’s body. One flesh is meant to be lived as one life, not two. Secondly, Paul summarizes his command to the wives to respect their husbands. Husbands are not as needy for affection as their wives are. However, they do need to know that their wives admire them, respect them, and appreciate what they do for them and for the family. They want to know that the wife is pleased with how they are leading and that she is thankful that they are. They want to know that they are treating their wives right, and they want to be encouraged and affirmed by their wives unto excellence in the Lord. They need to know that she is walking with them into wherever the Lord leads them. This submission is the ultimate respect just as involving the wife in the entirety of the husband’s life (time, energy, attention, direction, etc.) is the ultimate show of love for the wife.

The foundation of a great marriage is Christ and living as the one which he has made husband and wife to be. Dr.Diana Brevan @ Jesus Is Lord Fellowship WWI Where Jesus Is Lord!





For Full Contact Details See our Daily Posting in the Fellowship Halls

Senior Pastor, Dr. Diana Brevan, headquartersjifwwi@yahoo.com

Deacon Matthew D Helmich matt76021@yahoo.com


Rosemary Gutierrez rosemary1197@gmail.com


Thank you and may the Lord richly bless you

**********************************

We are here to help and encourage you

May God Bless you as you live daily in intimate relationship with Him. If you would like prayer for any need in your life, please send us your prayer requests to jilfwwiprayerroom-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or Senior Pastor, Dr. Diana Brevan , Headquartersjilfwwi@yahoo.com or call the Main Headquarters of Jesus is Lord Fellowship WWI Headquarters at 352-637-3046 daily between early morn to 6:PM,

Prayer requests may also be sent to Deacon Matthew in Missouri at matt76021@yahoo.com.

We; Our Staff and prayer Warriors; around the Globe will be available to pray for you each day, to pray with you and place it in continued prayer. Our Staff will place all prayers before our Lords Alter in our Main Fellowship Halls Front room chapel and also in our individual staff offices and or Prayer Warriors prayer closets around the globe; keeping them in continued prayer no matter if the Lord has healed you already.

As you learn about Jesus Christ through prayer, Bible reading and fellowship with other Christians, and our staff as you learn through our Bible Studies reward Program

May God richly bless you as you continue to follow Him,
My name is Senior Pastor Dr.Diana Brevan where Jesus is Lord!
Deacon Matthew Helmich



************************************

For full current Contact Details see our posting in the Fellowship Halls

Senior Pastor, Dr. Diana Brevan, headquartersjilfwwi@yahoo.com


Thank you and may the Lord richly bless you

You are invited to visit our various sites:-

Jesus Is Lord Fellowship WWI
USA Headquarters
PO Box2752
Inverness Florida 34451
352-637-3046
headquartersjilfwwi@yahoo.com

Deacon Matthew Helmich.
205 Farror St. Apt.705
Moberly, Missouri 65270-2335

Matt76021@yahoo.com

Rosemary Gutierrez rosemaryv1197@gmail.com


WWW.Jesusislordfellowshipwwi.bravehost.com No Membership required. Everyone is welcome every moment of your day and night to visit us to click on the Icon Fellowship Hall and Receive Your Word of the day as you scroll for your day and your weekly message and Word of God. Please as you visit regular click on the guestbook and sign the guest book so we will know that you came to visit us and how you enjoyed your stay. God bless you and remember Jesus Is Lord!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jesusislordfellowship/ Membership is required to join the yahoo groups to enter our on line Fellowship Building to receive your daily and weekly Word.

JesusIsLordFellowshipBibleStudies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Membership is required to join the yahoo groups to enter our on line Fellowship Building.

Please contact Dr Diana Brevan about Bible Studies headquartersjilfwwi@yahoo.com

Now stand in agreement and Lets Praise Him Church Lets Praise Him! No Matter who you are what background you hold You are welcome to Worship with us and receive as well the Word in all of our Websites everyone that has breath is welcome to receive our weekly Bible Studies Everyone that has breath is welcome to Raise their hands and Touch The Hem of the Lords Garment In Prayer as we two or more gathered standing in agreement together!

To Join to our World Wide Prayer Warriors Websites: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/upperroomofprayer


To Join to our World Wide Prayer Warriors Websites: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/upperroomofprayer

Prayer Room World Wide Warriors on Facebook Site
https://www.facebook.com/groups/519140074816300/

Dr Diana Brevan Founder/President/Senior Pastora