Requirements for Stable Marriage

In Eastern cultures the order is marriage, sex, and love. In the Western cultures it use to be, love, marriage and sex. However, in today's modern western culture, this formula seems to be transforming into sex, and maybe marriage, and love has been changed to lust. It is certainly becoming more difficult to find anyone in the U.S. that adheres to the traditional standards anymore. Marriage is the closest bond possible between two human beings. It was intended to transcend every other form of human union on earth, every other covenant that could possibly be made between two people. Friendship, parent child, master-pupil, marriage would surpass all of these bonds. Socially, legally, physically, emotionally, there is just no other means of getting closer to another human being, and never has been than in marriage. A marriage is not a joining of two worlds but an abandoning of two worlds in order that one new one might be formed.

Types of Love

What is love? Does it have different meanings in other languages? In the English language there is only one word for Love. Thus, not many are aware that there are different meanings to the word in the three languages used in the Bible, even though they have been translated into English as "love". In the Greek language, which comprises the New Testament, there are three different Greek words that have been translated into the English as the word "love". By understanding them, one can better grasp the meaning of the kind of love that is required for a fulfilling marriage. The first word is "EROS". It forms the root of the English word erotic. However, in Greek, Eros is an important kind of love. It refers to a romantic sexual love. It is inspired by the physical attraction that humans have for their bodies. We were designed this way by God at creation. Of itself, Eros is not wrong. However, it is a kind of love that should never act alone. Unfortunately, it is the only type of love that many people ever experience. However, romantic, sensual love is only part of the God-given concept of total love.

A second type of love comes from the Greek word "PHILIA". The name of the city of Philadelphia means the city of "Brotherly love". Philia implies friendship, companionship, the physical as well as emotional sharing of time and interests. It shows a desire to co-operate. Eros is a face to face relationship while philia is a shoulder to shoulder relationship. When applied to marriage it depicts a husband and wife working together. A friend is someone whose company you prefer, someone that you want to be with. Every good marriage has philia type of love, such as husbands and wives that want to be with each other. There is yet another Greek word that explains the deep and spiritual meaning of love. The word is "AGAPE". Eros produces romance, makes your mate your lover. Philia makes your mate your friend. But Agape goes much deeper. Agape is a love of total commitment. It means "selflessness". Agape is total giving love without expecting any thing in return. This is the type of love that God expressed when he gave his only begotten Son as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind. He had no self-interest in that act. In the human sphere, agape love is thoughtfulness, concern, and sensitivity to the needs of others. But agape is not a natural type of love. We were not born with it. Eros is essentially implanted in humans at the time of their creation. Philia comes naturally; we all want friends. But agape is different. The highest form of love we can attain is a gift that only God can give us. The very giving and loving nature of God can be put within human beings by a supernatural miracle. Paul wrote in Romans 5:5 "... the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (NKJV)". Jesus said in John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends (NKJV)." If and when you come to this point in marriage, you will give your life for your mate. Then, and only then, will you have experienced the penetrating meaning of agape love.

Another relevant aspect to agape love in marriage was expressed by Paul when he said in Ephesians 5:28 "So husbands ought to love (agape) their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church (NKJV)." It is the intensity, intimacy, and bonding of agape love. Too many marriages are based only on the Eros type of love. That type of love usually will not hold up under pressure. Unfortunately, too many marriages don't even have Philia love, because many husbands and wives are not even good friends. One should not even consider marriage unless it is built on a relationship of growing love. It is not right to marry for convenience, desire security, money or any other single reason. And never live together outside the sacred bonds of marriage.

Almighty God who created us made us male and female, and designed sex to be practiced only in the confines of marriage. Any other practice of sex is sin. Premarital sex is called fornication. Extra marital sex is adultery. But sex practiced within marriage and love is clean, holy and pure. The most obvious reason for sex is the reproduction of mankind. God has designed the marvelous human reproductive system to function in the confines of love and marriage. Sex has been designed by God to be the guiding force in preserving and perpetuating love between a husband and wife. The honeymoon is not meant to be a time for experienced sexual professionals to practice. The honey moon should be that fearful, timid beautiful, shy, exciting period of time when two people who have begun to love one another, begin their new life together, and it should be their first joyful expression of sexual intimacy. Sexual experience should be learned together after the marriage ceremony. There is no valid reason that one should go out and learn it all in advance with a whole army of other people? Why create the possibility of sexual comparisons and vivid memories of past experiences? One of life's greatest accomplishments is getting true love, marriage and sex in the right order with the right person at the right time.

The role of the Man and Woman in Marriage

Christ gives us true freedom, as is seen in John 8:36 "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed (NKJV)." The message of the Bible liberated women all over the world from bondage and near slavery. Most of the religions in the world do not have any concrete teaching about the equality of woman. From the beginning of history men with their superior physical strength subjected women to near slavery type conditions, and provided very little respect toward them. Even today, in many parts of the world, their conditions are not better. For instance, in a weekly publication titled "India Herald," dated July 1995, under the "Community Affairs" section there was a report of a conference on dowry and bride burning, which stated the following: "Imagine if someone sneaks to your back as you are reading this and unloads a bucket of gasoline on you. You may jump and think why anyone should do that to me? Then you see someone at the door of the room holding a lighted match. The next moment the match is thrown at you and you burst into flames." Can you save yourself by taking off your burning clothes? There is no time. You may dismiss this as a paranoid delusion, but this sort of thing is exactly what happens to thousands of newly married girls in India whose fathers failed to pay their dowry installment.

The report goes on to note that the first International Conference on "Dowry and Bride Burning in India " will be held on September 30th, October 1-2, 1995. Husbands and in-laws frequently impoverish the wife's family by insisting on gifts, usually cash, cars and electronic appliances and mistreat her if they are not satisfied. Government figures show that at least 73,000 women were killed by their in-laws in the first 9 months of 1995 for providing inadequate dowries. But women's groups say the number is much higher as dowry is often the cause of many other deaths that are not published. Many deaths are usually passed off as kitchen accidents, (Reuter. Voice of Asia. Monday Jan 29.96). These reports indicate that millions of women in this world, especially in Asia and Africa, are essentially living in chains of servitude. Women have been given a place of dignity and respect instead of reproach and shame wherever the Bible message has been received. In many parts of Asia and Africa baby girls are killed as soon as they are born. Many previously oppressive and enslaving cultures have been revolutionized through the Christian influence. However, in the West the women's demands for equal rights have gone to the opposite extreme. Before these extremes are considered, it would be instructive to first examine the role of men and women under the Government of God. God is never the author of confusion or disorder (1st Corinthians 14:23). He has never established a situation or condition that promotes disorder. On the contrary, He always has established peace and a government or order of authority necessary to maintain it. Even within the Divine Godhead there is an order of authority. Scripture speaks of the Father "sending the Son"(John 16:24), and the Father giving the promise of the Holy Spirit to the Son, who in turn sent the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33). It also speaks of the Son obeying the Father (John 17:4). The presence of an order of authority does not infer the superiority of the Father or the inferiority of the Son or the Spirit with regards to their person for They are all equally God. Position and not person is the view when we speak of government. Within the Divine Godhead there is a perfect order of government which allows the three distinct co-equal and Divine persons of the Godhead to function in absolute perfect harmony. This perfect harmony is the result of the presence of loving authority and willing submission. If the above order is followed marriage cannot fail. It is God's perfect plan for order and blessing in a marriage. Unfortunately, men and women in their own wisdom have altered this plan and much disorder and accompanying sorrow has resulted (Proverbs 9:10).

Family, Government, Church, and Employment (Business)

God has ordained four basic structures of authority. First is the family, and man's rebellion against God's authority of it. According to Genesis 3, Satan approached Eve in the form of a beautiful serpent. The record is clear that it was Satan that tempted Adam and Eve (2nd Corinthians 11:3; 1st Timothy 2:14). God clearly gave these instructions to Adam and Eve concerning their conduct in the Garden of Eden, and the following of His commands: Genesis 2:16 "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; ¹⁷but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die (NKJV)." In the conversation between Eve and the serpent, Eve said to the Serpent in Genesis 3:3 " but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die"(NIV)." In resisting God's command, Eve made it more severe than it actually was for she told Satan that she could not even touch the fruit. Eventually, she fell in Satan's trap and ate the fruit. Satan attacked the order within the family unit by addressing his question directly to the women. Eve violated God's order of government and took the lead. She went beyond the chain of command, and exercised her authority over man 1 Timothy 2:12 "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent (NIV)." Unfortunately, after failing to take the lead Adam then chose to follow the woman's example rather than the will of God. This sort of thing is found throughout the Bible, and in each case where a woman usurps the authority of man, it is an indication of his weakness. For instance, when Sarah took the lead in trying to provide Abraham with children, it was Abraham that became the follower, and the result of this relinquishing of his authority was Ishmael (Genesis 16:1-16). Rebecca exceeded her authority by instigating Jacob's deception of Isaac (Genesis 27:6). Miriam apparently led Aaron to question God's chain of command through Moses, and was singled out for His judgement (Numbers 12). Jezebel was clearly in control of the weak king Ahab, and they were the recipients of severe judgment (1st King 19:1-3; 20:5-23). Deborah was a judge in Israel, only during one of the weakest periods of the judges in the promise land. It should be of no surprise to us that Satan has brought the worship of a woman in to man's false religions, and continues to do so in religion today (1st Kings 11:33; Acts 19:27). In the beginning woman was unwilling to submit to the loving authority of the man, and after the fall this conflict has continued in the husband-wife relationship. She will desire to rule her husband but he will rule her (Genesis 3:16). Marriage problems in the unsaved world should never surprise us. The Women's liberation movement, although it initially had some good points, has done much damage to our culture. Scripture is very clear about the place God has designed for men and women in society, in the family, and in the Church.

The role of men and women is described in the first 3 chapters of Genesis where it gives the account of the creation of men and women. Genesis 1:27 reads, "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.²⁸Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. (NKJV)" God created both man and female in His image. Not just man. But they have never possessed His supernatural attributes such as holiness, omniscience omnipotence immutability or omnipresence.

Sin and the Curse

Genesis 3:1-7 states, " Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"²The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,

5"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."⁶When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.⁷Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (NKJV)". The serpent by passed the leadership of the man, and went after the woman. Eve sinned not only in disobeying God's specific command, but also in acting independently of her husband by failing to consult him about the serpent's temptation. Adam sinned not only by disobeying God's command but also by succumbing to Eve's usurpation of his leadership. Thus, failing to exercise his God given authority. Both the man and woman twisted God's plan for their relationship, reversing their roles, and marriage has suffered since that time.

Effects of the Curse

Sin and its curse brought disorder in the relationship of man and woman. That is where the battle of sexes began, where the woman's liberation movement and male chauvinism were born. Women have a sinful desire to usurp man's authority, and men have a sinful desire to put women under their feet. Only truly born again Christians can resolve the created order and harmony of proper submission in relationship that has otherwise been corrupted by sin. From the beginning of history, the most dominant distortion of male-female relationships has occurred on the man's side. In most cultures of the ancient world, women were treated as little more than servants, and that practice is still reflected in many parts of the world today. Extreme male ruthlessness reflects the curse that perverted the roles and responsibilities God intended for husbands and wives. On the other hand, in a modern society it is feminine aggression that is taking its place as the deviant manifestation of the curse. They are following many of the same practices of men in the past who craved, loved power, money, control, arrogance, over confidence, etc.

Sexual sins abounded after the fall of man. Polygamy, evil sexual thoughts and words, adultery, homosexuality, fornication, rape, incest, prostitution, each of which directly attacked the unity and sanctity of marriage and the family. When the home is destroyed society is also doomed. One of Satan's greatest weapons to weaken the family was communism. Before the fall, human existence focused on mutual love, and leading a happily life. However, the rebellion against the divine order has promoted "self". Many young girls today do not want any children, because they do not want to go through hardships in life by raising them. Their motto is simply to enjoy life.

The role of Man and Woman in Marriage

Everyone enters into marriage with some preconceived notion of roles. They may come up with these ideas through conscious analysis or by intuition. By observing ones parents it is possible to formulate ideas of the role of the man and the woman in a marriage. Another way that this can be done is to seek the wisdom that God has given us about this institution in the Bible. The New Testament does not provide a list of specific responsibilities for the husband or wife. However, it does provide some basic principles essential to marriage. The most direct commandment relating to the role of marriage partners, and their responsibility to one another, is found in Ephesians 5:22 -23. "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.²³For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body (NKJV)." Therefore, just as the Church is subject to Christ so let the wives be to their husbands in everything. Husbands should love their wives just as Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it that He might sanctify, and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. This was done so that He could present it to Himself as a glorious Church not having any blemish so that it would be sanctified and holy. Thus, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. For no one ever hated their own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it just as the Lord does the Church.

We are members of His body, Ephesians 5:31-32, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.³²This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.³³Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband(NKJV)." Paul did not write this for first century Christians alone, but for Christians of all ages. This is probably one of the most unpopular verses in the Bible. It has been the target of enormous criticism in our day. The apostle Paul has been called, by many contemporary theologians, a male chauvinist, and an anti- feminist. Irrespective of these views, Paul was writing about what it means to imitate God and to walk in love in marriage.

When Paul said that the woman was to be in subjection to her husband, he founded his argument in creation. He does not appeal to the status of women in the first century. Nor does he seek to perpetuate a concept of inferiority of women found in the distorted cultures of ancient Greece or Rome. Instead, he is dealing with the role of women as it was established in creation, maintained in the old covenant, and re-affirmed in the new covenant. Some might say that Paul was echoing the culture at that time. However, that is wrong, because the Bible is the inspired word of God, and it is not limited by culture, time or geography. In creation, woman was never intended to be a slave to a tyrant. Instead, it is like the subordination of a queen to a king. In God's creation, Adam and Eve were given dominion over the earth, and together they ruled the earth. Genesis 1:28 says, "Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth (NKJV)." Eve was created to be a queen not a slave. She assisted her husband in ruling the earth.

St. Augustine lived during the fifth century, but he provided insights that fit perfectly in to today's heated discussions of women's rights. He wrote " If God meant woman to rule over man, He would have taken her out of Adam's head, had He designed her to be his slave, He would have taken her out of his feet. But God took woman out of man's side, for He made her to be a helpmate and an equal to him." The wife who came from man's side is to stand at his side, to share every responsibility and enjoy every privilege. Genesis 2:23 reads, " And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man (KJV)." Man and woman are one in essence, and they are equal in dignity, value and glory. However, in the family, the father has authority over his wife. Two different tasks are given to people of equal value and dignity. In the economy of marriage only the job descriptions are different.

The ultimate analogy of this concept is the classic view of the Holy Trinity. The Trinity is one in essence but three in one person. The three members of the Trinity are equal in glory, value, power, holiness, etc. The Son is no less divine than the Father. All are fully God being co-eternal and co-essential. However in redemption there are levels of subordination. The Father sends the son to redeem the world. The Holy Spirit is sent by both the Father and the Son, yet is equal to Father and Son. Thus, in principle, the notion of subordination does not carry with it the notion of inferiority. Christ willingly submitted to the Father. It is precisely that willingness that is required to submit ourselves to authority. When the New Testament says that wives are to be in subjection to their husbands, there is no hint of female inferiority in that command. What is required is a division of labor in the economy of marriage. The role of leadership is assigned to the man, and not to the woman. The Women's liberation movement is hostile to this position, and has taken steps to correct what they perceive to be a problem. Their solution is to usurp the authority of the husband. Although, the more moderate advocates want only equality, but not revenge. Try to imagine a marriage with an equal distribution of authority. What happens when the husband and wife differ on a policy decision? What happens in an equal partnership? Either the marriage is paralyzed or it becomes a perpetual power struggle to gain the upper hand. Such a marriage partnership will become a marital anarchy. What happens when people agree 50-50 in marriage? Either the marriage is paralyzed by a standoff or it becomes a perpetual power struggle to gain 51%, or a controlling share, of the authority stock. In reality, a marriage of equal distribution of authority is a marriage without leadership. Fifty-fifty authority in the final analysis means no authority.

How is the submission of the wife to her husband to be carried out? According to Paul it is to be done " as to the Lord". Paul makes an analogy between marriage and the relationship of Christ to His Church. The wife is to submit to her husband as the church submits to Christ. The husband carries the authority of Christ. Submission "as to the Lord" also includes the idea that, in submitting to the authority of the husband, the wife is submitting at the same time to the authority of Christ. It is Christ who commands women to be submissive to their sinful, fallible husbands. In this sense Christ is the silent partner of the marriage. It is hard for a wife to submit when she disagrees with her husband, but when she knows her submission is an act of obedience to Christ and honors Christ, it is much less difficult.

What happens when man does not want to assume the responsibility of leadership and refuses to act as the head of the wife and family, and defers all the decisions to his wife. In such situations women tend to step into the void and assume the authority, even when they have no desire to lead. This is not a good solution to the problem. The woman is free to use all of her skills, wisdom and power of persuasion to help the man carry out his responsibility, but she must not assume the authority that is not her's. Paul elaborated on this, in his analogy of Christ and the Church. Ephesians 5:23 reads, "For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body (NKJV)." In this verse the analogy of Lordship is re-enforced. The Church does not share authority with Christ. Christ does not rule by referendum. The Church has no veto power. The Church is not a democratic institution. Just as Christ reigns in sovereign authority over the Church, so the husband has sovereign authority over the wife. However, there are exceptions. There are times when the wife not only may disobey, but must disobey her husband. The husband is not the only authority in the wife's life. She is also responsible to the authority of God, and the authority of the state or existing government. What happens if authorities conflict? Obviously the higher authority must prevail. A wife must disobey her husband when her husband commands her to do something that God forbids her from doing. This same principle applies when obedience to the state conflicts with the obedience to God. For example if a husband orders his wife to cheat, steal or to commit adultery, it is the moral obligation of his wife to disobey him.

The role of women

Some liberal Christian leaders teach that the Bible to be a "creature of its time," and not a complete guide to complex modern problems. They say that both the Old and New Testaments accepted slavery and inferiority of women. These statements indicate their utter lack of knowledge in the Bible. Some evangelical feminists assert that Paul was simply dealing with a cultural issue and never intended his instruction to go beyond that time period.

Just as God never changes, neither does his Word. The liberals attack the following verses:

I Timothy 2: 9-15.

" In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing. But, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works. Let a women learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence."

The church at Ephesus had many problems. This Church was plagued with false doctrines and false teachers. Some women were leading impure lives, and it carried over in to the worship service. Ephesians 5:6, 11-15.2 Timothy 3:6.Under the pretense of coming to worship God, some women were flaunting their wealth and beauty, allowing their sexual allure to divert the focus from worship service. Other women, desirous of being of official teachers were usurping the role of men in the Church. Since worship is the most important aspect of the Church, Paul urges Timothy to deal with the problem at Ephesus. Paul instructs Timothy to have the women "adorn themselves with proper clothing. This principle is applicable in all ages.

The worldliness and barbarism of Greco-Roman cultures are well documented by historians. Several ancient writers have described how women dressed in the Roman culture of Paul's day, which no doubt influenced the Church at Ephesus.

Most women never paid any real attention to their family. Pliny the Elder reported that Lollia Paulina, the one-time wife of the Roman Emperor Caligula, had a dress worth more than one million dollars by today's standards¹.

Wealthy people in ancient times could dress in a style that was impossible for a poor person to match - in contrast to today, where consumer goods are affordable in western capitalist societies. The growth of capitalism enabled ordinary people to own luxury items and all other amenities for an affordable price. In the west, air conditioned, carpeted homes with quality furniture are owned by middle class people. They can afford to buy computers, televisions, cameras, videos, cars and all luxury goods. Even the so called poor people in America have a television, a VCR, and a computer.

But a costly dress worn by a wealthy woman of Paul's day could cost up to 7000 denarii. One denarii was a day's wages for a laborer. When a woman entered a worship service wearing such a dress, she caused a sensation that would disrupt the entire service. Rich women also displayed their wealth through elaborate hairdos with expensive jewelry woven into them. That's what Paul meant by braided hair and gold or pearls (I Timothy 2:9). The Bible does not forbid women from wearing gold or high quality clothing. Both the bride of Solomon and the virtuous woman described in Song of Solomon 1:10 and Proverbs 31:22 wore beautiful clothes and jewelry. However, the Bible does forbid wearing those things for wrong motives. A Christian woman ought to attract attention by her godly character, not her physical beauty.

Woman's position in the Old Testament

The prevalent Jewish tradition about women did not come from the Old Testament, which makes it clear that women are spiritually equal to men. They had the same responsibilities as men: to obey God's Law (in Exodus, the Ten Commandments are given to both men and women), and to teach God's Law. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 and Proverbs 6:20 indicate both are responsible to teach the law to their children which means both must first know it. They had the same protection as men. Penalties given for crimes against women are the same as those for crimes against men (Exodus 21:28-32). God equally values the life of a man and the life of a woman. They had the same access to God as men. God dealt directly with women in the Old Testament. Although women shared spiritual equality with men in the Old Testament, they did not have the same role as men.

The contribution of women

God designed life to revolve around relationships and within those relationships are different roles. In modern American society, more emphasis is placed on individuality than on relationships and focus on their rights rather than on how they can best serve others. In modern society, parents don't have authority over children, and couples do not make lifelong commitments. Marriage is viewed as a temporary contract for convenience. If one party is uncomfortable, the marriage is dissolved. Many young couples don't want children because they want to enjoy their life indulging in worldly pleasures.

When men and women refuse to accept their God-ordained roles in the church, family, and community, they undermine the fundamental design of God for these institutions and all the relationships involved.

The Scriptures tells us in Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her (NKJV)," How are husbands to love their wives? How much love is required of the man? Paul says like Christ loves his Church. The kind of love Christ has for the Church is self-sacrificial love. He gave everything He had, including His life, for his bride. Suppose the wife refuses to be submissive. Must the husband still love his wife? If one partner refuses to obey their responsibilities and violates their role, that does not relieve the other person from their responsibility. God does not say that wives should be submissive to your husbands when they are loving or that husbands should love their wives when they are submissive. Two wrongs will never add up to a right. Retaliation brings no honor or glory to Christ.

Christ's goal is to present His bride in all her glory. Christ has intrinsic glory, which is the glory of God. The Church does not possess intrinsic glory. Any glory the church has is derived exclusively from Christ. By analogy, the husband is called to give himself to the purpose of establishing the wife in the fullness of dignity. When he uses his authority to destroy his wife's dignity, he becomes the direct antithesis of Christ. He mirrors not Christ but the Anti-Christ. In Ephesians 5:25 noted previously, it was clear that the husband is called to be the priest of his home. The man is responsible for the spiritual wellbeing of his wife. Her sanctification is his responsibility. A man should know more about the wisdom of God than his wife, and certainly more than his children. He should be the primary teacher and main example for his wife. This is a great responsibility for which every husband will be held accountable. This role is mandatory.

References Cited

1. MacArthur Jr., John. Different By Design. Victor Books, 1994. p. 131