Marriage By Faith
Download MP3We are talking about marriage and about honoring God with our marriage. The goal isn't to have a good marriage, it's to have a godly marriage, a marriage that honors God. To do that, we need to see what God's Word reveals about God's will for marriage and how to experience God's grace in marriage.
Let's start with some basics about life and living for God and apply that to marriage.
Galatians 2:20 World English Bible
20 I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.
As believer, one who has accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, we understand that we now belong to Christ. We now live for what pleases Him and his will and we do this by faith!
What does that mean, It means we look to the Word of God, from which faith comes (Romans 10:17), to know the Will of God and to have faith to believe for his grace to live it out. It's Christ living in us.
The marriage we now have is a marriage that Christ is the center and lived by faith in Christ. We do this by grace and that grace is accessed through faith.
Romans 5 World English Bible
1 Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; 2 through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
So what does this all mean for the married person who is a believer. We look to God's Word to see his will for marriage and ourselves as a spouse whether that's a husband or wife. We find out His will, yeild to it acknowledging it as truth, and then believing God for his grace to empower us to live it out.
Now let's look at some specific Scriptures regarding marriage.
Ephesians 5
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.[a] 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Let me just comment on the main points.
Husbands, you are to love your wives in the same manner that Christ loved the Church, meaning all believers. The goal of Jesus was to sanctify the church, having cleansed her with the cleansing of the Word bringing her to a place of splendor and holiness. The husband is the love his wife just as he loves himself. He's to nourish her, cherish her. Leave his parents and cling to his wife and become one with her.
Wives, it's the Lord's will and because it is His will, you are to submit to your husband loving you, cherishing you, nurturing you, helping you become who Jesus has created you to be, and you are to show honor and respect to your husband.
Both spouses have respsonsibilities God has given them in the marriage. Both need to understand this role Christ has for them and ask him for the grace and wisdom to live it out on a daily basis, remembering you are not just doing for your spouse but as unto the Lord, pleasing Him with how you act within the marriage.
A prayer a husband could make may sound like this, "Father, give me the grace and teach me to love, cherish and nuture my wife as you would have me do it."
A prayer a wife could make may sound life this, "Father, give me the grace and teach me to submit to my husband as he strives to be who you have called him to be, to love and respect him as you would have me do."
The point is this. Each believer should look to God's Word to see what God says about marriage and then submit to His truth, believing for grace to live it out.
We will talk more in our next episode.
Blessings in Christ,
Tim Dumas
Hope for Healing, Faith for Living
Let's start with some basics about life and living for God and apply that to marriage.
Galatians 2:20 World English Bible
20 I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.
As believer, one who has accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, we understand that we now belong to Christ. We now live for what pleases Him and his will and we do this by faith!
What does that mean, It means we look to the Word of God, from which faith comes (Romans 10:17), to know the Will of God and to have faith to believe for his grace to live it out. It's Christ living in us.
The marriage we now have is a marriage that Christ is the center and lived by faith in Christ. We do this by grace and that grace is accessed through faith.
Romans 5 World English Bible
1 Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; 2 through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
So what does this all mean for the married person who is a believer. We look to God's Word to see his will for marriage and ourselves as a spouse whether that's a husband or wife. We find out His will, yeild to it acknowledging it as truth, and then believing God for his grace to empower us to live it out.
Now let's look at some specific Scriptures regarding marriage.
Ephesians 5
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.[a] 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Let me just comment on the main points.
Husbands, you are to love your wives in the same manner that Christ loved the Church, meaning all believers. The goal of Jesus was to sanctify the church, having cleansed her with the cleansing of the Word bringing her to a place of splendor and holiness. The husband is the love his wife just as he loves himself. He's to nourish her, cherish her. Leave his parents and cling to his wife and become one with her.
Wives, it's the Lord's will and because it is His will, you are to submit to your husband loving you, cherishing you, nurturing you, helping you become who Jesus has created you to be, and you are to show honor and respect to your husband.
Both spouses have respsonsibilities God has given them in the marriage. Both need to understand this role Christ has for them and ask him for the grace and wisdom to live it out on a daily basis, remembering you are not just doing for your spouse but as unto the Lord, pleasing Him with how you act within the marriage.
A prayer a husband could make may sound like this, "Father, give me the grace and teach me to love, cherish and nuture my wife as you would have me do it."
A prayer a wife could make may sound life this, "Father, give me the grace and teach me to submit to my husband as he strives to be who you have called him to be, to love and respect him as you would have me do."
The point is this. Each believer should look to God's Word to see what God says about marriage and then submit to His truth, believing for grace to live it out.
We will talk more in our next episode.
Blessings in Christ,
Tim Dumas
Hope for Healing, Faith for Living
