Ephesians 5:33 – LET EVERY ONE OF YOU IN PARTICULAR
Saturday, June 27th, 2009Ephesians 5:33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
This verse concludes a passage regarding how husbands and wives are to interact with one another. This verse basically summarizes the command that husbands love their wives and that wives are to respect their husbands. In this passage we learn how the marriage relationship is similar to the relationship between Christ and the church. We are given the explanations as to why men are to love and women are to respect. Now that we reach the conclusion of this passage, we are reminded of the perfect will of God regarding the marriage relationship without any qualifiers.
God’s command for married men is that they love their wives. God’s command for married women is that they respect their husband. There are no qualifiers that men do not have to love their wives if their wives do not first respect their husbands. There are also no qualifiers for the women that they do not have to respect their husbands if their husbands do not first love them.
God designed the marriage relationship so that the two became one. Nonetheless, while the two are one, each of the individuals in the marriage relation is still an individual human being who is able to choose to live as one or chose to live for their own selfish desires. When a man does not choose to love his wife, he is disobeying God and he is living in sin. When a woman does not respect her husband, she is disobeying God and she is living in sin. The problem is, because the two are one, when one sins, there will be consequences that both will suffer.
When one decides to live according to their own standards, they will not have a marriage that is pleasing to the Lord. As a result, God may withhold HIS complete blessing upon that marriage. In 1 Peter 3:7, we are told that if a man does not honor his wife, his prayers will be hindered. God designed marriage so that the married couple is going to be able to do more together than the two ever could have done on their own. However there are many pitfalls along the way that can destroy the oneness and diminish the ability of the couple to do all that God desires.
Just because you see other men who beat their wives or commit adultery or ignore their wives, it does not mean that you can do this or that these actions are pleasing to the Lord. You may think that this individual is living a good life but you do not know all the facts and you do not know what is going on in the background. You cannot measure how good your marriage is by comparing it with others, instead, you must compare your marriage to the perfect standard that God has established for you in this and other passages on marriage.
God’s ways are different then the ways of this world. Rather than seeing what you can get for yourself out of the marriage relationship, God commands that you concentrate your attention upon what you can give. By learning to put the needs of your spouse above your own needs, you will see your relationship grow with your spouse in ways that you never imagined.
Once you are married, you are no longer supposed to live for your own selfish desires. Instead, you must add temperance to your life and must put aside your desires in order to meet the needs of your spouse. God has told us how we are supposed to live our lives, HE has revealed to us HIS perfect will; now the only question is, are you going to obey the perfect will of God for your life regarding your marriage?