Jesus the Light 16: Christian Home [part 3]
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. Let the wife respect her husband –Eph.5:22,33
The wife, as well as the husband, has specific ways to honor the Lord as a godly woman. Eph.5:22-24: “Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the Head of the church. And so wives must submit themselves completely to their husbands just as the church submits itself to Christ.”
1 Pet.3:1-6: “You wives should submit to your husbands. Then, if some husbands do not obey God’s teaching, they will be persuaded to believe without anyone’s saying a word to them. They will be persuaded by the way their wives live. Your husbands will see the pure lives you live with respect for God.
“It is not fancy hair, gold jewelry, or fine clothes that should make you beautiful. No, your beauty should come from within you: the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit that will never be destroyed and is very precious to God.
“In the same way the holy women who lived long ago and followed God made themselves beautiful, submitting to their own husbands. Sarah obeyed Abraham, her husband, and called him her master. And you women are true children of Sarah if you always do what is right and are not afraid.”
Tit.2:3-5 adds: “Teach older women to be holy in their behavior, teaching what is good. Then they can teach the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be wise and pure, to be good workers at home, to be kind, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then no one will be able to speak evil of the teaching God gave us.”
It is here, in her home, to her husband and children, that is her primary area of service unto God. 1 Tim.5:14 directs: “Therefore, I want the younger women to marry, bear children, keep the house, and give the adversary no occasion for reproach.”
1 Tim.5:5-10 summarizes the qualities of a godly woman’s life well spent: “She is faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble, devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds, and continuing night and day to pray and ask God for help.”
The Lord has neither called nor equipped her to teach men, have authority over them, or to lead in the church. 1 Tim.2:11,12 says: “A woman must learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, she must be silent.”
Gentle, quiet submission with diligent labor and kindly teaching of children and other women are her admired and godly qualities. It is a great work that shall never lose its reward from Christ.
As husband and wife, the man and woman are one. There cannot, however, be two leaders, two heads. Chaos would result. Yet they must not act independently from one another, each in their own isolated realms, or living apart in separate houses or villages.
Two become one in heart. As planned and commanded in the Bible, the home is harmonious. Each partner glorifies God in their appointed areas. They share all. Nothing is secret between them.
There is openness. Their private existence has ended as the two have become one with nothing hidden. Decisions are discussed between them. Together, as one, they teach and train their children in the ways of the Lord in His Word. Prov.1:8: “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.”
This godly training involves two main things: Discipline and Instruction. Prov.29:15: “The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself, brings shame to his mother.”
The rod is a cane used for beating disobedient children on the buttocks. Prov.23:13,14: “Don’t hesitate to discipline a child. A good spanking won’t kill him. You shall beat him with a rod and deliver his soul from hell.” The children are to hear the reproof and instructions of their parents and learn from their discipline. Any child who does not is a fool.
Prov.6:20-23: “My son, keep your father’s commands, and don’t forget your mother’s teaching. Keep their words in mind forever. They will guide you when you walk. They will guard you when you sleep. They will speak to you when you are awake.
“These commands are like a lamp; this teaching is like a light. And reproofs for discipline are the way of life.”
Believing parents are the ones who are to teach the truths of God’s Word to their own families. It is no one else’s responsibility. This is what God commands:
Deut.6:5-7: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. Always remember these commands I give you today. Teach them to your children, and talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
It is not good for the fathers and mothers to leave their children alone. A father cannot train his children when they sit at home, walk by the way, or when they lie down and awaken if he is not present in the home. A mother cannot instruct her children if they are left to themselves. These are shameful ways.
Obeyed, the teaching of the Word of God brings great blessing to the entire family. This is what the believer’s home is to be like in 1 Pet.3:8-11:
“Finally, all of you should be in harmony, understanding each other, loving each other as family, being kind and humble. Do not do wrong to repay a wrong, and do not insult to repay an insult.
“But repay with a blessing, because you yourselves were called to do this so that you might receive a blessing. The Scripture says, ‘A person must do these things to enjoy life and have many happy days. He must not say evil things, and he must not tell lies. He must stop doing evil and do good. He must look for peace and work for it.’”
But not everyone obeys God. Not everything in the home is done according to the Word of the living God. Instead of truth, there may be lying and deception.
Cruelty, hatred, and abuse may chase love from the home. Purity might be spoiled by fornication and lust. Money in the home might be wasted on the evils of palm wine and beer while the wife and children suffer for lack of food. Hear well these words of God: “Do not be drunk with wine, which will ruin you” -Eph.5:18.
Quarreling and fighting, laziness and neglect, and other evils like these may be found in the home. It is not good. The Lord of heaven and earth is not happy with things like these found among His people. This is what He says in Eph.4:30-32:
“Do not make the Holy Spirit sad, do not be bitter or angry or mad. Never shout angrily or say things to hurt others. Never do anything evil. Be kind and loving to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.”
Dear Listener, the Christian home is a parable of spiritual realities as a testimony to the world of the love of God. The husband pictures Christ, the wife shows the church, and the children the individual believers making up the household of God.
Mt.5:16: “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Copyright Steve Phillips 2020