How Husbands Should Love Their Wives
Husbands, love your 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. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “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—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. Ephesians 5:25-33 (New International Version, NIV)
This passage gives instruction on how Christian husbands should love their wives. Let’s look at each thing Paul mentions about this.
As Christ Loved The Church
The husband is commanded to love his wife. How? Just as Christ loved His bride the church. Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. We love our wives by giving up our lives; surrendering what we want for what they need and want. In response, they will give to us in return.
To Make Her Holy To Present Her to Himself
Christ came and gave Himself up for us to make us holy, set apart from sin and anything that defiles us. He cleanses us by the washing of the water of the Word. Husbands, we should read the Word together with our wives to help her remain cleansed and pure. As Christ presents us to Himself by the Word, husbands, present your wives to yourself by the washing and cleansing of the Word. Couples that are in the Bible daily together keep their marriages pure and holy. The Word will wash things out of our marriages that should not be there. We are to fill our marriages with God’s Word.
Love Our Wives As Our Own Bodies
Husbands, we are to love our wives just like we love our own bodies. We men like to care for our bodies. We feed it and take care of it. Christ loved us in the same way He loved His own body and sacrificed His body for the church. Husbands, we are one flesh with our wives and we must love them as much as we love ourselves. We are to take care of them just like Christ takes care of us, His bride. We belong to Christ, and as one flesh, our wives belong to us and we belong to them.
Leave Father And Mother And Become United As One Flesh
We leave our parents and become united with our wives. This is the leaving and cleaving principle. In so doing you begin the process of becoming one flesh together. As we cut the apron strings, our marriages can become more united. Husbands who compare their wives to their mothers or never quite seem to turn away from their parents in order to live their own lives with their wives are sabotaging their marriages. We love and respect our parents, but we cleave to our wives. Our wives take priority over any other family member.
Love Our Wives As we Love Ourselves
In marriage, we must love our wives as ourselves. This is putting the golden rule into operation- loving our neighbors, or in this case our wives, as we love ourselves. Yet, it is deeper than that because it is a one-flesh covenant. As we love our wives deeply and unselfishly, they will respond with love and respect for us.
By following these tips from Paul, we can truly love our wives and establish sound, strong, stable, and lasting marriages.
