MARRIAGE: A GIFT FROM GOD - Part III

(Family Life - 2010-11-21)

 Last week, I unveiled to you the worth of marriage, as a gift from God. This week, by the special grace of God, we will be examining the Covenant Obligations of Husbands and Wives for a Blessed Marriage.

 Money does not make a home, obedience is what does. In pursuit of money, many people have disregarded this important factor, and teamed up with satan to ruin their homes. Many homes have been ruined because the man is working outside the country where his wife and children reside. This is simply an open invitation to satan. The Word of God says in

Matthew 19:6: Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

 As the principal figure in the family unit, God reckons with the man's position as head of the home, and holds him responsible for any mishap that occurs in it (Ephesians 5:23-33). For example, when things went wrong in the Garden of Eden, God did not question the woman, rather, Adam was the one held responsible. The LOVE Responsibility is the master key. Love your wife as your own body. Love is the instrument a man uses to make his wife a glorious woman, without spot or wrinkle. As husbands, you are not expected to make bold that your wife has ever done anything wrong. Why? Because even if she has, you should clarify it in your heart that she must have done that in a bid to do the right thing.

 Therefore, the making of any wife is in the hands of her husband. Man, if you want a very submissive wife, be a super-loving husband. LOVE is the summary of God's covenant obligation for the man. Giving is the practical expression of love as seen in John 3:16. Some men shy away from their responsibilities and don't give their wives home-keeping allowance, under the guise that their wives are working. This is not right! It is not of God. Everything that concerns her welfare concerns you. Why? Because God expects you to nourish and cherish her body as you would yourself.

 The scripture says:

But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel (I Timothy 5:8).

The responsibility of providing for the home is the man's; so it must be accepted joyfully and executed excitedly. As a husband, your wife should have access to everything you own. As a matter of truth, all that you have is your wife's. By acknowledging this truth, comes the blessing of God upon a man's finances and life.

 What God did at creation clearly reflects the position of the woman in the home. He took a rib from the side of the man to make the woman (Gen. 2:21). Total SUBMISSION is the covenant obligation required of a woman to have a blessed marriage. God expects that just as the church is subject to Christ in everything, even so, women should be in subjection to their husbands in everything. When a woman allows her husband to fulfill his covenant role of headship, she has automatically given him the room to play his messianic role over her.

 Sometimes ago, when my health was under attack, my husband went apart to inquire of the Lord what to do. He said as he searched the scriptures, he discovered from Ephesians 5:23 that he is the saviour of my body, the same way Christ is of the church. He then concluded that I did not require my faith to be healed at that point in time, since he could exercise his God-given authority over me as the head of the home, which he did.

 He came home and learnt that I had been taken to the hospital, and came straight to discharge me. Amidst protest from the doctor, he took me home. To the surprise of the doctor when he came home later in the day to visit me, he was told that I had gone to the saloon to make my hair. That was the end of the bout with sickness.

 Wives, if you are not reciprocating your love with submission to your husband, you will weary him with your attitude and hinder him from loving you. Oftentimes, the problem with women is that they do not trust their husbands to make the right decisions. They keep struggling to make their points, so there is constant strife in the home.

Ephesians 5:33 says: Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

That is to say, if the man will LOVE perfectly, and the woman SUBMITS perfectly, then you two will have a perfect home.

 Once a woman lays hold on that keyword in Ephesians 5:33, which is REVERENCE, she has succeeded in unlocking her husband's heart. You reverence your husband when his word counts in your ears and heart, and his instructions matter to you. Note that the submission I am talking about is not slavery, but submission in love. Submission has to be done in love, not out of fear or threats. When it is rooted in love, it is perfect and brings God's presence down in the home (Titus 2:4-5).

 It is, therefore, important that both husbands and wives fulfill their covenant obligations to one another, to enjoy God's gift of marriage to the fullest. It is with the mind of Christ that the above mentioned covenant obligations can be carried out. That is to say, an unbeliever or those who have not consciously confessed Christ as their Lord cannot exhibit such obligations, no matter how much they try because the flesh will always react. Therefore, if you fall in this category of people, and you would like to take a step of faith, say this prayer: