Christian Relationships Series

Illustration

A young bride was at her wedding rehearsal and was visibly shaken and nervous; overwhelmed by the details that she had to remember. And the pastor realized this and pulled her aside after the practice and said, "This is all you have to do. When you come in for the wedding, all you have to think about is getting down the aisle. When you are half way down you can see the altar, the place of prayer. Focus on the altar once you can see it. And as you get to the front, you can see the groom. Now all you have to do is focus on your groom and the rest of the service you will be fine. This seemed to have helped. She went home and the next day she came back for the wedding. And as she was walking in some of the people who came to the wedding were a bit disturbed because they heard her saying over and over again "Aisle, altar, him...aisle, altar, him...I'll alter him!"

Marriage is sometimes like that!

READ Col.3: 18 -- 4:1

Paul has been talking about who we are in Christ and how we should behave on who we are in Christ. The family and the workplace are where God reveals His nature to the world. We cannot divorce our faith from our behavior in these foundation stones upon which the edifice is built. How we behave in these places has a direct impact on how people perceive Christ.

It begins with wives. He says, "Wives submit to your husbands as it is fitting in the Lord." It means to bring yourselves under, in the context it means bringing yourselves under the authority of someone else.

In this passage the wives are asked to bring themselves under the authority of their husbands. This is her role. "As is fitting in the Lord" means "because this is how a woman who is in Christ behaves." Some have taken that and said, you submit to your husband when it right or when you feel he has this spiritual leadership -- No. Peter also says this in I Peter, wives are to do this because she might win the heart of her unbelieving husband to the Lord by her chaste behavior. That means your husband will be drawn to Christ because of your testimony. It has nothing to do with your husband being right or spiritual or really being a good leader, it means that this is what you are supposed to do in this relationship.

I Cor 15:27 says the same word "bring yourselves under subjection" and is used 4 times concerning Jesus. "He has put everything under His feet." The word "Under" is to place yourself under authority.

I Cor. 15:28 -- Jesus has all authority as it says in Matthew 28:18-20. He has authority over all universe therefore you go and make disciples! This passage says that the one who gave that authority is God, but Jesus Himself is under the authority of God.

So we see that God the Father and God the Son, God the Father is in authority over Christ and Christ is in authority over us.

In Hebrew 2:5 - It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking.

So ladies, when you place yourself under the authority of Christ, you are imitating Christ, who placed Himself under the authority of God, the Father. I am saying in obedience to the command given here, you are imitating Christ, following in His footsteps.

Col. 3:19

The word "love" here is the same word that you find in most places in the NT. "God so loved the world..." Agape love is absolute, whole-hearted devotion. John says in the Gospel of John, "People did not receive Jesus because they loved darkness than the light." One can be whole-heartedly devoted to darkness in such a way that it will keep them from accepting what God asks them to do. It will keep them from believing what God wants them to do because you want to do what you feel like doing. And you do not want to bring yourself under anyone's authority. So you reject Christ.

Husbands love your wives. Be absolutely, whole-heartedly devoted to your wives. Embrace your wife to the exception of other options.

So love your wife as Christ loved the church. How did Christ love the church?

READ John 13:1 -6

The love that we are called to love with, gentlemen, in order to help your wife to be everything that she has to be is, you have to sacrifice something that you were desiring -- your ambitions and desire. Maybe you have to humble yourselves. This is the kind of love that God has called us to. This is not a self-serving love.