21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.c
22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her 26to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.
28In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29Indeed, no one ever hated his own body, but he nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church. 30For we are members of His body.d
31“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”e 32This mystery is profound, but I am speaking about Christ and the church. 33Nevertheless, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Too many pastors fail to prepare those considering marriage for the inevitable marriage conflict.
The marriage relationship was cursed by God because Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God’s only command.
Now the woman will resist willing submissiveness to her husband and will desire to rule him and the husband will no longer find it easy to love his wife but will force submission.
The cure is found in New Testament teaching wives to submit to their husbands in the same way the church submits to Christ and husbands must “give themselves up” for their wives in the same way Christ gave himself up for the church.
God also uses the conflicts of marriage to test the authenticity of our love.
It’s easy to love someone who is beautiful and compliant. Sadly, and too often the conflicts of marriage proves our lack of love for God and for our mate. Worse, conflict also expose our unyielding pride and selfishness.
