Westside

WEEKLY DEVOTION

“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself as the glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:22-27 (read 22-33)

Because our corrupted human nature is turned in upon itself and is selfish and rebellious against the LORD God and His Word, it is unnatural for wives to submit to the headship of their husbands or for husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. Instead, we love ourselves and put our own desires and needs first and are unwilling to submit to the headship of another whom God placed over us.

The apostle speaks not only of the husband-wife relationship here, but of that of Christ and His church. Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it - He willingly took the guilt and punishment for our sins and the sins of the whole world and gave Himself up to death on the cross to redeem us and wash away our sins in baptism and present us to Himself a “glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any such things.”

The church, made up of all who are called out of this world and trust in Christ alone for forgiveness and eternal salvation, submits to Christ in all things. In other words, a fruit of true and genuine faith in Christ is to submit to Christ’s Word, the Bible, in all that it teaches. Christ’s church submits to Christ, the head, in everything.

Thus, we learn not only that wives are to submit to their husbands and husbands to love and cherish their wives; we learn that Christ in love gave Himself for the church that He might present each believer forgiven, washed and cleansed of all sin and evil, and we learn that Christ’s church humbly submits to Christ in all things.

It is sad that husbands and wives fail to live according to God’s institution and plan for marriage. It is also a sad state of affairs when churches are unwilling to submit to Christ, who shed His blood to redeem lost sinners, and are unwilling to believe and teach all that Jesus teaches in His Word! Though we fail, Christ Jesus did not. He gave Himself for us upon the cross that we might be forgiven and presented to Him pure and holy. In our baptisms, He washes away our sins and joins us to Himself as His bride.

Forgive us, O Lord, for our sins and failures in regard to our marriages, and present us to Yourself holy and without spot and blemish for the sake of Your shed blood. And grant, too, that we humbly believe and obey Your Word and submit to You in all things. Amen.

[Devotion by Randy Moll. Scripture taken from the Modern King James Version of the Holy Bible Copyright © 1962 - 1998 by Jay P. Green, Sr., used by permission of the copyright holder.]

Community, Pages 4 on 09/14/2011