Ephesians 5:25
The scripture for today is Ephesians 5:25
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.
The instruction in our text today is not just a “good suggestion,” it is a command from God. The relationship between husband and wife is a holy union; it represents the relationship between Christ and the church. The husband has the responsibility before God to care for his wife in the same way that Christ cares for the church. This union, which is in God, reflects better than any other, the union of God and man, Christ and the church.
“The response of the husband to the wife’s submission is not to give a command but to love. That immediately makes a partnership out of what otherwise would be a dictatorship. A true husband never utters rude commands. His love will find expression in a variety of ways. It will be given in words of understanding and affection.
The supreme test of love is whether it is prepared to forgo happiness in order that the other might have it. In this respect the husband is to imitate Christ, giving up personal pleasures and comforts to obtain his wife’s happiness, standing by her side in the hour of sickness. Christ gave Himself for the church because she was in desperate need; He did it to save her. Likewise the husband will give himself for the salvation of his wife, ministering to her spiritual needs, and she to his, in a spirit of mutual love.” The SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 6, pp. 1036–1037
When the lives of both husband and wife are surrendered to God, mutual love and respect are not offered through the flesh but through the Spirit of God. Through surrendered hearts and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, the life of Christ is manifested in both husband and wife. It is through humility and the life of the Spirit that the fulfillment of God’s requirements is lived out. God gives that which is best for us, and by following His Word, we learn to live life at its best.
God bless you as you continue in His service.
Tim