Whenever I preach on Ephesians 5:22, "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord," I approach the task with both reluctance and excitement. My reluctance comes because I know that calling on wives to submit to their husbands isn't a popular topic. Lots of wives truly hate this verse. Submission goes against the grain of our fallen human natures. No one in the flesh wants to submit. As one woman said, "If you were married to the jerk I'm married to, you wouldn't submit either." She's probably right. Who in the flesh would want to?
Granted, it is not easy to submit. Were it not for our faith in Christ and the power of His Holy Spirit dwelling within us, it would be next to impossible. But with the power of the Spirit, all things are possible. We can live out the verses of Ephesians 5 within our homes by the power of the Spirit, and we can reclaim Eden. So knowing the way many women feel about this verse, there is some reluctance to approach the subject and teach it.
But there is excitement too. There is excitement because I know that if the husband and the wife truly both follow these principles, there will never be a problem within their marriage - at least not in their relationship to one another. If the wife truly submits to her husband's leadership, and if the husband truly loves his wife with the sacrificial love of Christ required by Ephesians 5:25, their home will reclaim the essence of Eden. Theirs will become again the marriage that God intended. GUARANTEED!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Rolling Back The Curse
At the fall of Adam, God cursed this world. Part of that curse was directed at the family. The wife would try to usurp her husbands authority as head of the home, while the husband would rule his wife with heavy handed tyranny. That was the message we looked at in Genesis 3:16. Since leaving the Garden of Eden, people have had a longing to return - to go back to that time of perfect peace and tranquility, to go back to when life was as it should be within the home - to go back before the fall. But how do we get there? Ah, that is the question.
The answer given by Scripture is found in Ephesians 5. To the wife, Paul wrote in Ephesians 5;22, "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." She is no longer to subvert her husband's authority, but to submit to it. She will respond willingly to her husband. If she does, that part of the curse will be rolled back.
To the husband, Paul wrote this in Ephesians 5;25, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her." If the husband is obedient, no longer will he rule like a despot in his home. He will again provide loving sacrificial servant leadership. And that part of the curse will be roiled back.
We can't go back to live in the Garden of Eden again, but in our homes at least we can live as if we did. We can live within our marriages once again as God intended. We can live in peace and harmony within our homes, following the leadership patterns God has built into us at creation.
The answer given by Scripture is found in Ephesians 5. To the wife, Paul wrote in Ephesians 5;22, "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." She is no longer to subvert her husband's authority, but to submit to it. She will respond willingly to her husband. If she does, that part of the curse will be rolled back.
To the husband, Paul wrote this in Ephesians 5;25, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her." If the husband is obedient, no longer will he rule like a despot in his home. He will again provide loving sacrificial servant leadership. And that part of the curse will be roiled back.
We can't go back to live in the Garden of Eden again, but in our homes at least we can live as if we did. We can live within our marriages once again as God intended. We can live in peace and harmony within our homes, following the leadership patterns God has built into us at creation.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Submission is Not a Sign of Second Class
The fall and the curse made the home a battleground. But, Jesus Christ reverses the curse in our homes if we are willing to follow His commands. And the command to the wife was this: Ephesians 5:22, "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." But isn't that too much to ask? Doesn't that command to submit make her a second class citizen in her own home? Not at all. Not in God's plan. Today, we will look at the equality within creation of the man and the woman. Next time, we will look at the command to all of us to be submissive to one another, and following that, at the command to the husband to love his wife as Christ loved the church.
We have made the point before that the family was deliberately modeled after the Trinity in that there is voluntary submission between equals. 1st Corinthians 11:3 stated, "I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." Because Jesus submits to the Father doesn't mean He is less in essence or worth. He is still fully God. Likewise, a wife voluntarily submitting to her husband's leadership doesn't make her in any way inferior.
Even creation itself teaches us that. If we read through the Genesis account of creation, we see that creation is progressive. Each new stage of creation is better than the one before. At first, as it says in Genesis 1:2, the world was "without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep." God started with nothing, with emptiness. Then God began to create the raw materials and began to arrange them progressively into things of beauty. Like an artist progressively adding the layers of paint to a canvas, God progressively added to his creation. Quoting John Eldridege from his book, Wild at Heart:
So yes, God created us equal. but God also created us different, with different roles and for different purposes. Therefore, we are intended to function differently within the home. In Genesis 62:11-12 it says, "One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard; that You, O God, are strong, and that You, O lord, are loving. N.I.V." God is strong and God is loving.
God has two sides to His character, two aspects. He is strong. He can create with a word. He controls the wind and the waves. God is a fierce warrior, defending and protecting Israel. This is what it says in Isaiah 63:1-4 about Christ at his Second Coming:
But God is also loving. He is gentle and tender, like a mother hen caring for her chicks. Looking over Jerusalem, Jesus said this in Matthew 23:37, "O, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." Yes, God is tender, loving, and merciful, as Jesus was to the Samaritan woman at the well or to the woman caught in adultery. The woman was created to reflect that tender and nurturing side of God.
To rightly show forth God's image, it takes both the man and the woman - the man to be strong and the woman to be tender. Now certainly every good man will have a tender side, and every good woman will have strength. But a man can't only be tender and be all that a man should be. Nor can a woman be only strong. These differences are built into us at creation. The husband is designed specifically by God to be strong so he can protect his family, even if it cost his life, and to work to support his family, providing food, clothes, and shelter for them. And the man is to be strong as the spiritual leader within the home. The woman was designed by God to embody the beauty, the mystery, and the tenderness of God. The woman was designed to show the nurturing side of God by bearing and suckling her babies, and to lovingly respond to her husband. And as such, she gives the man someone to protect, defend, and to lead. she becomes the one for the man to give his life in service to.
It is within this relationship that God asks the wife to submit - the two equals each fulfilling their role within the home and each serving the other.
We have made the point before that the family was deliberately modeled after the Trinity in that there is voluntary submission between equals. 1st Corinthians 11:3 stated, "I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." Because Jesus submits to the Father doesn't mean He is less in essence or worth. He is still fully God. Likewise, a wife voluntarily submitting to her husband's leadership doesn't make her in any way inferior.
Even creation itself teaches us that. If we read through the Genesis account of creation, we see that creation is progressive. Each new stage of creation is better than the one before. At first, as it says in Genesis 1:2, the world was "without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep." God started with nothing, with emptiness. Then God began to create the raw materials and began to arrange them progressively into things of beauty. Like an artist progressively adding the layers of paint to a canvas, God progressively added to his creation. Quoting John Eldridege from his book, Wild at Heart:
"Light and dark, land and sea, earth and sky. With a word, the whole floral kingdom adorns the earth. Sun, moon and stars fill the sky. Surely and certainly His work expresses greater detail and definition. Next came fish and fowl, porpoises and red tail hawks. The wild animals are next, all of those amazing creatures. A trout is a wonderful creature, but a horse is truly magnificent. Can you hear the crescendo starting to swell, like a great symphony building and surging higher and higher? Then comes Adam, the triumph of God's handiwork. It is not to any member of the animal kingdom that God says, 'You are my very image, the icon of my likeness.' And yet, there is one more finishing touch. There is Eve."Yes, there is Eve, the pinnacle of God's creation. As one woman pointed out, "Of course, God created Adam first. Every artist makes a rough draft before starting on the masterpiece." Eve was truly God's masterpiece. Any young man courting the girl of his dreams would agree.
So yes, God created us equal. but God also created us different, with different roles and for different purposes. Therefore, we are intended to function differently within the home. In Genesis 62:11-12 it says, "One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard; that You, O God, are strong, and that You, O lord, are loving. N.I.V." God is strong and God is loving.
God has two sides to His character, two aspects. He is strong. He can create with a word. He controls the wind and the waves. God is a fierce warrior, defending and protecting Israel. This is what it says in Isaiah 63:1-4 about Christ at his Second Coming:
"Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, this one who is glorious in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength? - 'I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save' - Why is your apparel red, and your garments like one who treads the wine press? - 'I have trodden the wine press alone, and from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in my anger, and trampled them in my fury; their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained My robes.'"Yes, God is a mighty warrior! God is strong! And the man was created to reflect that.
But God is also loving. He is gentle and tender, like a mother hen caring for her chicks. Looking over Jerusalem, Jesus said this in Matthew 23:37, "O, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." Yes, God is tender, loving, and merciful, as Jesus was to the Samaritan woman at the well or to the woman caught in adultery. The woman was created to reflect that tender and nurturing side of God.
To rightly show forth God's image, it takes both the man and the woman - the man to be strong and the woman to be tender. Now certainly every good man will have a tender side, and every good woman will have strength. But a man can't only be tender and be all that a man should be. Nor can a woman be only strong. These differences are built into us at creation. The husband is designed specifically by God to be strong so he can protect his family, even if it cost his life, and to work to support his family, providing food, clothes, and shelter for them. And the man is to be strong as the spiritual leader within the home. The woman was designed by God to embody the beauty, the mystery, and the tenderness of God. The woman was designed to show the nurturing side of God by bearing and suckling her babies, and to lovingly respond to her husband. And as such, she gives the man someone to protect, defend, and to lead. she becomes the one for the man to give his life in service to.
It is within this relationship that God asks the wife to submit - the two equals each fulfilling their role within the home and each serving the other.
Monday, March 9, 2009
The Havoc on the Home
As we've been discussing, Satan burned with jealousy toward man. As an observer to the creation of this world, Satan had seen God's plan to create man in His Own image, and that image would be reflected by a man and a woman joined in marriage. Satan had watched as God lovingly crafted Adam from the dust of the ground, then Eve from a piece of his side. He had watched as God brought this first couple together and joined them as one flesh. He saw that God intended for this union to be good - for it to be beneficial for the man and the woman. And Satan determined to destroy that union.
His chance came soon. God had told Adam, in Genesis 2:16-17, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." This was Satan's opportunity. Adam had been warned. He knew the consequences. We assume this warning was known by Eve too. But it was to Eve, Satan came in the form of a serpent. Genesis 3:1-5 says,
But why did the serpent come to Eve and not Adam? From Genesis 2:18, we learned that she was to be Adam's helpmeet. Adam was to take the leaderhip in his home. Not that this has anything to do with their equality within the marriage, but for order's sake, there must be organization. Within the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, there is equality. Yet the Son submits willingly to the Father. This is illustrated in 1st Corinthians 11:3, "But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." Even in equality, an ordering is required. That ordering was in place before the fall.
So when the serpent went to Eve to tempt her, she took the leadership from Adam and ate. Adam, who was with her, took the position of following her lead with disastrous consequences. This is a complete reversal in the roles. Eve stepped out from under the umbrella of her husband's protection, and usurped his leadership in the process. Adam gave up his leadership to become the follower, the responder. The curse merely made this reversal in roles normal.
We can especially see this in the curse on Eve. It is set in almost a courtroom scene as God passes judgment. In Genesis 3:16, "To the woman [God] said: 'I will multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.'" God cursed Eve based upon her main created roles - that of being a mother and a wife. Birth was not meant to be such a difficult and grueling ordeal, but because of the curse, giving birth became filled with pain; and marriage was never intended to be a battleground, but now marriage can be so difficult.
But what exactly does the second part of the curse mean when it says, "Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you?" Is the woman's desire a sexual desire for her husband, as some claim? That would not be a curse. Nor is it her desire to have a husband. And for the part about her husband ruling over her, no normal human being enjoys being in the submissive role. That's why history is filled with women's liberation movements.
To find out what the curse on Eve means, we need to look specifically at the word, desire. This is not a word for sexual or psychological desire. Instead, it comes from a root that means to compel or seek control. That gives this curse an entirely different meaning. The same word is used in Genesis 4 when God talks to Cain. Both Cain and Abel had brought sacrifices to God. Abel's was accepted, while Cain's was rejected by God. And Cain got angry. God says to Cain in Genesis 4:7, "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you shall rule over it." Sin wanted to control Cain - that was its desire. Sin wanted to master him, and he wasn't to let it. Likewise, from that time on, because of this curse, the wife's desire would be to rule over her husband, and he would instead crush her rebellion with an iron fist and rule over her with tyrannical force. Neither of these were part of God's original plan, but the battle of the sexes was now on.
Before the curse, Adam and Eve lived together as co-regents over this world, equal in every regard. The principles of leadership and submission, although present from creation, were so natural they were not even visible. The relationship was beautiful, natural, and God ordained. Since the curse, the husband tends to rule like a despot, while the wife tends to want to undermine that rule. And homes have become a battleground.
The curse hit us at the heart of our human relationships. But it is still not good that the man should be alone. Man still desperately needs that helpmeet. He longs for that companionship that God instilled in him. He vainly marries in hope of happiness. But the curse makes that relationship almost impossible to build on our own.
The answer is Jesus Christ. Jesus erases the curse by His grace. When we know Him, love Him, and allow His Spirit to fill us; we will again obey God's mandate for our marriages. That mandate is found in Ephesians 5. To the wife God said, Ephesians 5:22, "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." No longer will she usurp her husbands authority, but she will again be his helpmeet, voluntarily submitting to her husband's leadership. And the curse is rolled back. To the husband, God said, Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her." No longer would he rule like a tyrant or be a dictator within his home. But again he will be the servant leader to his wife, sacrificing himself continually for his wife's well being. And the curse is rolled back.
When we obey these commands and follow God's ordained plan, we are back by God's grace to the Garden of Eden. The curse can be erased, at least within our homes, if only we will be obedient.
His chance came soon. God had told Adam, in Genesis 2:16-17, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." This was Satan's opportunity. Adam had been warned. He knew the consequences. We assume this warning was known by Eve too. But it was to Eve, Satan came in the form of a serpent. Genesis 3:1-5 says,
"Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, 'Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?' ' And the woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' ' Then the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die. for God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes shall be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' "Satan directly questioned God's goodness. He made it seem like God was stingy and didn't want them to be like Him. Satan was saying, "God just doesn't want you to know the things He knows." Eve believed him and ate. She was deceived and believed the lie. Ah, and as they say, "The rest is history." She gave some to Adam, and he ate. Adam fell, and the whole earth came under the curse. Even the home was cursed.
But why did the serpent come to Eve and not Adam? From Genesis 2:18, we learned that she was to be Adam's helpmeet. Adam was to take the leaderhip in his home. Not that this has anything to do with their equality within the marriage, but for order's sake, there must be organization. Within the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, there is equality. Yet the Son submits willingly to the Father. This is illustrated in 1st Corinthians 11:3, "But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." Even in equality, an ordering is required. That ordering was in place before the fall.
So when the serpent went to Eve to tempt her, she took the leadership from Adam and ate. Adam, who was with her, took the position of following her lead with disastrous consequences. This is a complete reversal in the roles. Eve stepped out from under the umbrella of her husband's protection, and usurped his leadership in the process. Adam gave up his leadership to become the follower, the responder. The curse merely made this reversal in roles normal.
We can especially see this in the curse on Eve. It is set in almost a courtroom scene as God passes judgment. In Genesis 3:16, "To the woman [God] said: 'I will multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.'" God cursed Eve based upon her main created roles - that of being a mother and a wife. Birth was not meant to be such a difficult and grueling ordeal, but because of the curse, giving birth became filled with pain; and marriage was never intended to be a battleground, but now marriage can be so difficult.
But what exactly does the second part of the curse mean when it says, "Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you?" Is the woman's desire a sexual desire for her husband, as some claim? That would not be a curse. Nor is it her desire to have a husband. And for the part about her husband ruling over her, no normal human being enjoys being in the submissive role. That's why history is filled with women's liberation movements.
To find out what the curse on Eve means, we need to look specifically at the word, desire. This is not a word for sexual or psychological desire. Instead, it comes from a root that means to compel or seek control. That gives this curse an entirely different meaning. The same word is used in Genesis 4 when God talks to Cain. Both Cain and Abel had brought sacrifices to God. Abel's was accepted, while Cain's was rejected by God. And Cain got angry. God says to Cain in Genesis 4:7, "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you shall rule over it." Sin wanted to control Cain - that was its desire. Sin wanted to master him, and he wasn't to let it. Likewise, from that time on, because of this curse, the wife's desire would be to rule over her husband, and he would instead crush her rebellion with an iron fist and rule over her with tyrannical force. Neither of these were part of God's original plan, but the battle of the sexes was now on.
Before the curse, Adam and Eve lived together as co-regents over this world, equal in every regard. The principles of leadership and submission, although present from creation, were so natural they were not even visible. The relationship was beautiful, natural, and God ordained. Since the curse, the husband tends to rule like a despot, while the wife tends to want to undermine that rule. And homes have become a battleground.
The curse hit us at the heart of our human relationships. But it is still not good that the man should be alone. Man still desperately needs that helpmeet. He longs for that companionship that God instilled in him. He vainly marries in hope of happiness. But the curse makes that relationship almost impossible to build on our own.
The answer is Jesus Christ. Jesus erases the curse by His grace. When we know Him, love Him, and allow His Spirit to fill us; we will again obey God's mandate for our marriages. That mandate is found in Ephesians 5. To the wife God said, Ephesians 5:22, "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." No longer will she usurp her husbands authority, but she will again be his helpmeet, voluntarily submitting to her husband's leadership. And the curse is rolled back. To the husband, God said, Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her." No longer would he rule like a tyrant or be a dictator within his home. But again he will be the servant leader to his wife, sacrificing himself continually for his wife's well being. And the curse is rolled back.
When we obey these commands and follow God's ordained plan, we are back by God's grace to the Garden of Eden. The curse can be erased, at least within our homes, if only we will be obedient.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Satan's Jealousy - the Cause of His Attack
Last time, we looked at one of the reasons Satan attacks the family so much. It is because the family is the basic building block of society. If the family can be destroyed, all of society will crumble with it. Today, we will look at another reason for Satan's attack. It is his intense jealousy. Satan, before his fall, held an elevated position in creation as the top angel in heaven guarding God's glory. At the fall, because of his rebellion, Satan lost that spot and forfeited his relationship with God. When he saw the creation of man as the pinnacle of God's creation holding a special spot in God's heart, he was jealous. He wanted to destroy, not only our intimate relationship with God, but our marriages, our most intimate human relationship.
Since Satan was there when God created mankind, Satan knew what God said about that part of creation. The first thing Satan probably heard was this: Genesis 11:26-28,
Satan saw God's desire was to create man in His own image, both the the man and the woman, each complementing the other to form the complete image of God. They were to bear the very image of God in their persons. All Satan ever did was reflect the glory of God, and so he burned with jealousy.
Plus, he had heard that man was to have dominion. That was exactly what Satan had wanted, remember? That was the reason for his fall. In Isaiah 14:13, we read of Satan, pre-fall as Lucifer, saying, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God." The stars of God are the other angels. Satan wanted to be the ruler - king of creation. Now he has heard that man is to be given dominion over this earth, a position Satan coveted greatly. His jealousy burned hot.
What else did Satan see and hear? He heard God planning in Genesis 2:18, "And the Lord God said, 'It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.'" Satan heard God say that the marriage relationship was a good thing for man. It was a benefit to have a helpmeet. The woman would be man's complement, his completer, his crown of glory, his companion and partner. Marriage was a good thing for man. So Satan determined to break up this most intimate of human relationships. Or at least he would attempt to get couples to be so distant within their relationships they might as well be alone.
Then Satan watched as God carried out the remedy to the "not good" thing that man was alone. In Genesis 2:21-22, Satan saw God work: "And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man." God lovingly crafted Eve specifically to be Adam's complement, his completer and helpmeet. Eve was exactly what Adam needed. And Adam's response showed this. In Genesis 2:23, Adam said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man." Adam was ecstatic - he was overjoyed. "This is perfect," he thought, "This is so wonderful." And Satan burned with jealousy.
Then Satan heard God's commentary on their relationship in Genesis 2:24-25, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked , the man and his wife, and were not ashamed." That was marriage as it was intended. The two became one flesh. This is on a much deeper level than simply the joining of their bodies, or sharing the same address, table, or bed. In marriage, there is a oneness in our names, in the children we produce together, and the history we build together. We rejoice together in good times and we sorrow together in the bad. We go through life together as family. We knit our hearts together as one. that was God's intention. And Satan burned with jealousy.
And they were both naked. That means so much more than that they didn't have any clothes on. There was nothing held back between them. There was a total transparency. They had no secret, no hidden agendas, no masks. There was no duplicity in the marriage, no deceit - just beautiful oneness, completely without embarrassment. Satan, having lost his own relationship with God because of his ambition, deceit and duplicity, hated the peace and contentment that existed between this first couple. He determined to destroy it. And he had a plan. That plan was accomplished at the fall. It will be the topic of my next post.
Since Satan was there when God created mankind, Satan knew what God said about that part of creation. The first thing Satan probably heard was this: Genesis 11:26-28,
"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the seas, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.'" NKJV.
Satan saw God's desire was to create man in His own image, both the the man and the woman, each complementing the other to form the complete image of God. They were to bear the very image of God in their persons. All Satan ever did was reflect the glory of God, and so he burned with jealousy.
Plus, he had heard that man was to have dominion. That was exactly what Satan had wanted, remember? That was the reason for his fall. In Isaiah 14:13, we read of Satan, pre-fall as Lucifer, saying, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God." The stars of God are the other angels. Satan wanted to be the ruler - king of creation. Now he has heard that man is to be given dominion over this earth, a position Satan coveted greatly. His jealousy burned hot.
What else did Satan see and hear? He heard God planning in Genesis 2:18, "And the Lord God said, 'It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.'" Satan heard God say that the marriage relationship was a good thing for man. It was a benefit to have a helpmeet. The woman would be man's complement, his completer, his crown of glory, his companion and partner. Marriage was a good thing for man. So Satan determined to break up this most intimate of human relationships. Or at least he would attempt to get couples to be so distant within their relationships they might as well be alone.
Then Satan watched as God carried out the remedy to the "not good" thing that man was alone. In Genesis 2:21-22, Satan saw God work: "And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man." God lovingly crafted Eve specifically to be Adam's complement, his completer and helpmeet. Eve was exactly what Adam needed. And Adam's response showed this. In Genesis 2:23, Adam said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man." Adam was ecstatic - he was overjoyed. "This is perfect," he thought, "This is so wonderful." And Satan burned with jealousy.
Then Satan heard God's commentary on their relationship in Genesis 2:24-25, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked , the man and his wife, and were not ashamed." That was marriage as it was intended. The two became one flesh. This is on a much deeper level than simply the joining of their bodies, or sharing the same address, table, or bed. In marriage, there is a oneness in our names, in the children we produce together, and the history we build together. We rejoice together in good times and we sorrow together in the bad. We go through life together as family. We knit our hearts together as one. that was God's intention. And Satan burned with jealousy.
And they were both naked. That means so much more than that they didn't have any clothes on. There was nothing held back between them. There was a total transparency. They had no secret, no hidden agendas, no masks. There was no duplicity in the marriage, no deceit - just beautiful oneness, completely without embarrassment. Satan, having lost his own relationship with God because of his ambition, deceit and duplicity, hated the peace and contentment that existed between this first couple. He determined to destroy it. And he had a plan. That plan was accomplished at the fall. It will be the topic of my next post.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Why Marriage Is Under Such Intense Attack
That marriage is under intense attack isn't in question. But why is marriage under attack? Why does Satan hurl so much of his energy toward destroying our marriages? That is a question I want to think about. There are a couple of reasons -the first we'll look at today, the second on a following day. But the first reason is that marriage is the foundation of society. If marriage crumbles, all of society does too.
Long before there were governments, schools, hospitals or churches, there was a family. God established the family as the first and most basic of all human institutions. God first established a home with a loving husband and a loving wife, and later with children running around in the yard long before He established any other human institution.
On the sixth day of creation, we see this conversation in heaven as the Triune God talks with Himself in Genesis 1:26-28,
What grew out of marriage? First, from the authority of the father developed the patriarchal system of government with an aging father/grandfather ruling over his extended family, and then his tribe. This developed into other forms of government - into monarchies with the city kings of ancient times ruling over their city and surrounding territory, to kings over countries, and eventually to democracies. Second, from the parental responsibility to raise and educate their children developed the formal systems of education we see today, and schools, colleges, and universities developed over time. Third, from the nurturing responsibility of parents developed those institutions designed to care for those who did not have families, and we see the development of hospitals and orphanages and retirement homes. Fourth, from the responsibility of parents to train their children about God developed the system of synagogues in Judaism, and churches, Sunday Schools, and Vacation Bible Schools in Christianity.
You can not think of any social institution or cultural organization that did not grow out of the family - that did not grow out of the home - IT IS THAT BASIC AND IMPORTANT! So if marriage fails, so do all the institutions built upon it. If marriage fails, so does every other social institution. Can you see how important the home and marriage are? They are the cultural building blocks of society.
As a result, marriage has always been under attack from the enemy - by Satan the adversary, the Devil, the destroyer and the enemy of our faith and well being - and by the world system he controls. Satan does everything he can to demean the marriage and the family, because if he destroys our homes, he has effectively destroyed our society. That is one reason why we must defend and protect our marriages.
Long before there were governments, schools, hospitals or churches, there was a family. God established the family as the first and most basic of all human institutions. God first established a home with a loving husband and a loving wife, and later with children running around in the yard long before He established any other human institution.
On the sixth day of creation, we see this conversation in heaven as the Triune God talks with Himself in Genesis 1:26-28,
"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the seas, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'" NKJVTo fulfill that plan, God acted to create the man from the dust of the ground and breathe life into him. Then from the man, He formed the woman, and presented her to the man. God's inspired commentary on the first marriage is found in Genesis 2:24, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." That was the creation of the first marriage - the first of all human institutions. All other institutions grew out of marriage.
What grew out of marriage? First, from the authority of the father developed the patriarchal system of government with an aging father/grandfather ruling over his extended family, and then his tribe. This developed into other forms of government - into monarchies with the city kings of ancient times ruling over their city and surrounding territory, to kings over countries, and eventually to democracies. Second, from the parental responsibility to raise and educate their children developed the formal systems of education we see today, and schools, colleges, and universities developed over time. Third, from the nurturing responsibility of parents developed those institutions designed to care for those who did not have families, and we see the development of hospitals and orphanages and retirement homes. Fourth, from the responsibility of parents to train their children about God developed the system of synagogues in Judaism, and churches, Sunday Schools, and Vacation Bible Schools in Christianity.
You can not think of any social institution or cultural organization that did not grow out of the family - that did not grow out of the home - IT IS THAT BASIC AND IMPORTANT! So if marriage fails, so do all the institutions built upon it. If marriage fails, so does every other social institution. Can you see how important the home and marriage are? They are the cultural building blocks of society.
As a result, marriage has always been under attack from the enemy - by Satan the adversary, the Devil, the destroyer and the enemy of our faith and well being - and by the world system he controls. Satan does everything he can to demean the marriage and the family, because if he destroys our homes, he has effectively destroyed our society. That is one reason why we must defend and protect our marriages.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Marriage is the Critical Foundation of Society
A coupe of weeks ago, a number of people from our church attended the Stand For Marriage Rally in Augusta, Maine. It was really a great rally, and it pumped up the audience to stand for marriage and become politically active. But the main speaker, Tony Perkins from the Family Research council in Washington, D.C., quite frankly got a little personal. He gave an excellent presentation. But going beyond the need to speak up for traditional marriage, he pointed out the need for us Christians to actually live out what we claim to believe. That's a common scriptural principle. First Thessalonians 2:12 is just one place Scripture commands us to, "walk worthy of God." And he pointed out a scandalous statistic - that the divorce rate for evangelical Christians is almost identical for that of the general population. That should be a surprising statistic, but it is shocking in its implication.
The truth is, many in the church don't have a lot to be proud of when it comes to making our marriages work. And if we can't do it within the church, what do we have to offer the world? But if the marriages of Christians are in as bad a shape as the marriages of the world, one of the problems must be the pulpits of America. Either the preachers aren't preaching what the Bible has to say about marriage, or the people aren't listening and obeying. God has a lot to say about how marriage is to be conducted.
I, for one, have been convicted of my need to preach again on marriage. I have preached on the topic many times in the past, but not in my current church. I don't know whether the people in my church have rock solid marriages, or if they are hanging on to their relationships by the skin of their teeth. But I do know that the Bible has the answers for them. If both the husband and the wife would faithfully follow the principles laid down in Scripture, their marriages would be strengthened and preserved. Their marriage would be indestructable. Their marriage can become one the world can emulate with confidence. It can be one of those that will last a lifetime. The Word of God is that powerful if it is believed and obeyed.
Because I believe the Bible is the answer for troubled marriages, I am going to preach a series of messages from the book of Ephesians from chapters five and six to my congregation. This portion of Scripture provides the most complete and definitive passages on the relationship between a husband and a wife in all of Scripture. Since I will be preaching on marriage over the next few weeks, I thought it would also make a good topic for here. If you follow these posts, I trust you will benefit by the study. May God bless and strengthen your marriage.
The truth is, many in the church don't have a lot to be proud of when it comes to making our marriages work. And if we can't do it within the church, what do we have to offer the world? But if the marriages of Christians are in as bad a shape as the marriages of the world, one of the problems must be the pulpits of America. Either the preachers aren't preaching what the Bible has to say about marriage, or the people aren't listening and obeying. God has a lot to say about how marriage is to be conducted.
I, for one, have been convicted of my need to preach again on marriage. I have preached on the topic many times in the past, but not in my current church. I don't know whether the people in my church have rock solid marriages, or if they are hanging on to their relationships by the skin of their teeth. But I do know that the Bible has the answers for them. If both the husband and the wife would faithfully follow the principles laid down in Scripture, their marriages would be strengthened and preserved. Their marriage would be indestructable. Their marriage can become one the world can emulate with confidence. It can be one of those that will last a lifetime. The Word of God is that powerful if it is believed and obeyed.
Because I believe the Bible is the answer for troubled marriages, I am going to preach a series of messages from the book of Ephesians from chapters five and six to my congregation. This portion of Scripture provides the most complete and definitive passages on the relationship between a husband and a wife in all of Scripture. Since I will be preaching on marriage over the next few weeks, I thought it would also make a good topic for here. If you follow these posts, I trust you will benefit by the study. May God bless and strengthen your marriage.
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