This past weekend, we continued in our series, “Home Renovation:  Renewing God’s Hope for Your Marriage & Family,” exploring what God’s Word has to say to wives in Ephesians 5:22-24, 33.  If you didn’t read last week’s post focused upon husbands, take a moment to check it out.

The big question this week was what is the one thing a woman must do to be a wonderful wife according to Ephesians 5…  Respect your husband well! 

No long listing of instructions… no complicated hoops to jump through… just one command.

So what mindset is required in order to follow this command?

A key phrase in Ephesians 5:22 is “as to the Lord.”  Ultimately a wife is not just following her husband.  As a Christ follower, a wife is obeying God’s command to follow her husband’s lead.  This is not about control or value.  As a matter of fact, any husband who might attempt to contort this passage to say such reveals how the Enemy has skewed his thinking.

There is a higher calling for a wife than following her husband’s lead…  when the two are in conflict, God’s Word always wins!

A Wife’s Prayer

Spirit of Jesus, I invite you to sit on the throne of my life and to take control of everything.  I confess to You that I have been trying to control my life on my own and I have not allowed you to be my King.  I am sorry and I confess it as sin.  Now Spirit of God, please take control of my life.  Live your life through me… love my husband supernaturally through me… Please empower me by Your Spirit to respect my husband and to follow His lead in a way that glorifies You!  Thank you for answering this prayer.  Amen!

The Sunday following Easter can often times be a “let-down Sunday” in church world.  Following record-high worship attendance there is often a significant drop in those who are present.  Regardless of the number of people, I sensed God speaking powerfully through every aspect of our worship services yesterday.  We began a new series “”Home Renovation:  Renewing Hope for Your Marriage and Family.”

We explored a foundational message from Genesis 1-2 entitled The Meaning of Marriage.  One of the key points we discovered together is that God designed marriage to alleviate aloneness and bring oneness.  We find that God allowed Adam to feel alone (Genesis 2:18) and then made a helpmate for him in Eve.

Genesis 2:24-25 provides us with some practical action steps to cultivate oneness in our marriages.

1. I MUST LEAVE MY FAMILY OF ORIGIN (v 24a) – I must take the necessary steps to fully unpack my baggage from my family of origin through writing letters, forgiveness, counseling – seeking healing so that I can fully given myself to my spouse.
2. I MUST PACTICE SPIRITUAL ONENESS (V 24B) I must pursue spiritual oneness with my spouse through praying, reading God’s word together, attending church and a bible study group together, and talking about spiritual things together.
3. I MUST PRACTICE EMOTIONAL ONENESS (V 24B) I must pursue emotional oneness w spouse through reg time together, dates, regular conversation, full disclosure, listening, cherishing encouraging, supporting, and seeking to be the best friend of my spouse.
4. I MUST PRACTICE TRANSPARENCY (v 25) I must create an atmosphere in our marriage where we can both lay bare everything and not be ashamed.

What else have you discovered in your marriage that might enhance oneness between husband and wife?