A Mutually Good Marriage Eph.5:22-25 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
A mutually good marriage places duties and responsibilities on husbands and wives. We must each do our part. And you should do your part regardless whether your spouse does his or hers. We’ll address the husbands first. Husbands provide for their wives:
Love – Eph 5:25, “husbands love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it.” The husband establishes the quality of the marriage by loving his wife the way that Christ loves the church. We love him because he first loved us. So, your wife will love you more as you love her more. According to Tit 2:4, women have to be taught to love their husbands. A good way to do this is to love her first. If you want a mutually good marriage, be sure to love your wife.
Praise – Prov 31:28-20, “her husband also, and he praiseth her.” Hopefully your wife will be as virtuous as the woman described in Prov 31. And as such, she deserves your continual praise. You can praise her for her cleaning, decorating, cooking, child-rearing, loving, caring and so forth. If you want a mutually good marriage, be sure to praise your wife.
Honor – Prov 11:16, “a gracious woman retaineth honor.” Your wife is a gift from the Lord according to Prov 19:14. Prov 18:22 says, “whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord.” So, give her the honor due her. 1 Pet 3:7 requires, “giving honour unto the wife.” If you want a mutually good marriage, be sure to honor your wife.
Wives provide for their husbands:
Submission – 1 Cor 11:3, “but I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” Husbands must be fully submitted to Jesus Christ and the will of God. But even when they are not, wives must be in subjection to them [1 Pet 3:1]. Eph 5:22 says, “wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.” So, the wife must be submitted to her husband. This is not popular in our society. Wife, if you cannot submit, then you are not ready to be a wife. As a friend said, “A man must rule his house or he will wreck it.” Their mutual responsibilities fulfill the need of the other. He fulfills her need to be loved by loving her and she fulfills his need to rule by submitting to him. If you want a mutually good marriage, be sure to submit to your husband.
Obedience – In Titus 2:5, aged women teacher the younger women to be “obedient to their own husbands.” Marriage vows commonly leave out the question, “will you obey him?” and commonly leave out the phrase “to cherish and to obey.” Consequently, we now have a greater than 50% divorce rate in the USA. If you don’t want to obey your husband, then don’t plan on being married “till death do us part.” If you want a mutually good marriage, be sure to obey your husband.
Reverence – Eph 5:33, “the wife see that she reverence her husband.” To reverence is to deeply respect. He is to honor you and you are to deeply respect him. It is not often that we see women who reverence their husbands these days. So, you aren’t going to have much of a pattern to follow if you only look for this pattern in the world. If you want a mutually good marriage, be sure to reverence your husband.
Meekness and quietness – 1 Pet 3:4 talks about, “the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” Prov 27:15 says, “a continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.” Women are becoming more and more vocal as they are in positions of authority, politics, business, and media. Wife, you should learn how to control your mouth. You may not be strong enough to physically control your husband, but you can put him down so hard with your mouth that one would think he had been in a prize fight with a world champion boxer. If you want a mutually good marriage, be sure to address your husband with a meek and quiet spirit.
Conclusion: If spouses will do these few things in their marriage, they will enjoy a mutually good marriage.