SCRIPTURE: EPHESIANS 5
MEMORY VERSE:
“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:19-20)
“Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.” (Ephesians 5:22-23)
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” (Ephesians 5:23)
PAUL’S TEACHINGS TO US:
- Be imitators of God as dearly loved children . (v. 1)
- Live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (v. 2)
- Sexual immorality, impurity or greed are improper for God’s holy people. (v. 3)
- There should be no obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking. (v. 4)
- Let no one deceive you with empty words and to not be partners with them. (vs. 6-7)
- Live as children of light. (the fruit of light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) (v. 8)
- Find out what pleases the Lord. (v. 10)
- Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. (v. 11)
- Be very careful to live wisely. (v. 15)
- Make use of every opportunity because the days are evil. (v. 16)
- Understand what the Lord’s will is. (v. 17)
- Do not get drunk on wine which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. (v. 18)
- Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.
(v. 19) - Always give thanks to God the Father for everything. (v. 20)
- Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (v. 21)
WIVES AND HUSBANDS (vs. 22-33)
Wives must submit to her husband as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, and Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. As the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Husbands must loved their wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. Husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery – concerning Christ and the church. Each one must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
THOUGHTS:
In order for us to live a holy life, we are reminded to:
- Remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us.
- To walk in the light and produce spiritual fruit.
- To grasp the opportunity in using your time wisely.
- To learn to walk in the Spirit by being joyful, thankful and submissive to one another.
Paul used marriage as a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church. In a marriage relationship, both husband and wife are called to submit. For the wife, this means willingly following her husband’s leadership in Christ. For the husband, it means putting aside his own interest in order to care for his wife. Submission is rarely a problem in homes where both partners have a strong relationship with Christ and where each is concerned for the happiness of the other. For Paul, marriage is a holy union, a living symbol, a precious relationship that needs tender, self-sacrificing care.