Ephesians 5:21-33
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
In verse 28 Paul asserts that "he who loves his wife loves himself". In other words, there are benefits to loving our spouses. The world teaches us to think about ourselves first and what we can get, so we tend to become users of others, objectifying them for our own desires. But the Bible shows us that as we give to others, we also receive. If we take our focus off of what our spouses "should do for us" and move it to what "we can do for our spouses", we will end up healthier and happier. Earlier in verse 28 Paul states that "husbands should love their wives as their own bodies". In other words, there is no longer a distinction between their well-being and my well-being. Instead we are now "one flesh" and our fates are intertwined. So rather than moving away from our spouses to fantasies and affairs, we should be moving toward them as an act of blessing for both of us.
Lord, I confess to often being selfish in my relationships. Help me to sacrificially love my spouse.
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
In verse 28 Paul asserts that "he who loves his wife loves himself". In other words, there are benefits to loving our spouses. The world teaches us to think about ourselves first and what we can get, so we tend to become users of others, objectifying them for our own desires. But the Bible shows us that as we give to others, we also receive. If we take our focus off of what our spouses "should do for us" and move it to what "we can do for our spouses", we will end up healthier and happier. Earlier in verse 28 Paul states that "husbands should love their wives as their own bodies". In other words, there is no longer a distinction between their well-being and my well-being. Instead we are now "one flesh" and our fates are intertwined. So rather than moving away from our spouses to fantasies and affairs, we should be moving toward them as an act of blessing for both of us.
Lord, I confess to often being selfish in my relationships. Help me to sacrificially love my spouse.